People suck.

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: Injury
Whether you think they are drunk or not, you have a duty to call. There are certain words that, when yelled out, should be taken seriously regardless of skepticism.

Help, Fire, Ouch, Rape, No...

"Ouch"? The other 4 I can see, but "ouch"? If my neighbors called the rescue squad every time I hurt myself and bellowed "ouch", I'd have an ambulance in my driveway once a week.

ZV

 

[Josh]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: Injury
Whether you think they are drunk or not, you have a duty to call. There are certain words that, when yelled out, should be taken seriously regardless of skepticism.

Help, Fire, Ouch, Rape, No...

"Ouch"? The other 4 I can see, but "ouch"? If my neighbors called the rescue squad every time I hurt myself and bellowed "ouch", I'd have an ambulance in my driveway once a week.

ZV

I don't think I even say "ouch". Does anyone actually SAY "ouch"? If I hurt myself doing something it's usually along the lines of "ahh fuckk dammit" etc not "ouchie ouch ouch that was a booboo"

 

[Wheezer]

Well, #1 never scream help.....you scream fire....that has a tendency to put people in motion because they don't want their shit to get burned up, so it is a self preservation kind of thing.

#2

Would you call the police if your neighbor was screaming for help?

depends on the neighbor.....I used to have a convicted repeat pedophile two doors down from me.....if it was him....nope. letting him die would help the greater good.

Same goes for a rapist.....fuck 'em.

 

[Bibble]

In school they taught us to yell "fire!" if we were in trouble because people are desensitized to words like "help."

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Bibble
In school they taught us to yell "fire!" if we were in trouble because people are desensitized to words like "help."

"free money" works as well

 

[0roo0roo]

this is why i don't understand gun banners faith that in that the police will always be there to protect you

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
this is why i don't understand gun banners faith that in that the police will always be there to protect you

Most people who want to ban guns do not believe that.

 

[irishScott]

Close or not, if you hear something like that IMO you have a responsibility to investigate, and if necessary call the cops/ambulance. You may be desensitized, so what? 9/10 times it won't be anything significant, but the 1/10 time it will be serious and a person could be hurt, or in this case, killed. I'll take those odds to potentially help/save someone.

People are selfish, unfortunately.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Close or not, if you hear something like that IMO you have a responsibility to investigate, and if necessary call the cops/ambulance. You may be desensitized, so what? 9/10 times it won't be anything significant, but the 1/10 time it will be serious and a person could be hurt, or in this case, killed. I'll take those odds to potentially help/save someone.

If I followed that logic then I would be walking out of my place at least 5 times a night within a 3 hour time span and my place isn't even that noisy. That's the problem. Even in places where the noise level is about average you will never get everyone to check out everything because they naturally zone it out. You would be shocked how much regular muffled noise can sound like muffled cries for help in a lot of places. I am more of a fan of paying for the installation of a panic button. It's really cheap and does the job.

 

[mattocs]

I'd call, and then go check it out.

But people don't have a responsibility to help others...It is the right thing to do, but I don't think anyone should have to help anyone else.

 

[MikeyLSU]

I may have gone to check on them first before calling, or just called, but I seriously doubt I would have done nothing.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: mattocs
I'd call, and then go check it out.

But people don't have a responsibility to help others...It is the right thing to do, but I don't think anyone should have to help anyone else.

Obviously it shouldn't be against the law not to call, but thinking like that is just not a good thing. The best places to live in this country are the ones where it is normal for most people to be willing to lend a helping hand to others especially when they need it. People are generally happier when living around others like this and that is very important.

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: irishScott
Close or not, if you hear something like that IMO you have a responsibility to investigate, and if necessary call the cops/ambulance. You may be desensitized, so what? 9/10 times it won't be anything significant, but the 1/10 time it will be serious and a person could be hurt, or in this case, killed. I'll take those odds to potentially help/save someone.

If I followed that logic then I would be walking out of my place at least 5 times a night within a 3 hour time span and my place isn't even that noisy. That's the problem. Even in places where the noise level is about average you will never get everyone to check out everything because they naturally zone it out. You would be shocked how much regular muffled noise can sound like muffled cries for help in a lot of places. I am more of a fan of paying for the installation of a panic button. It's really cheap and does the job.

Unless you can't reach said button. Also, you don't have to respond to every muffled noise. Obviously that would be ideal, but ultimately impractical. If I hear a distinct "help" I'll be checking it out.

 

[imported_Imp]

A year or two ago, a tennant living next door, a female, screamed for a solid minute or two at the top of her lungs after 10pm. My house didn't call the police, but turns out one of our other neighbours did. Cops came running pretty quickly, lo and behold, nothing happened.

Now you ask why we didn't call or cared much... This house use to be rented out to the shittiest crowd in the city. They had 4am parties, drunken escapades past 3am with loud yelling. Crackwhore girlfriends who broke a large window (which got some of them kicked out, hence the "use to") in a fit of rage when her boyfriend told her off about doing crack again (third hand info since I was out of town when this happened). I'm not justifiying anyone not calling the cops, but this shows that history is very important.

 

[Xavier434]

Originally posted by: irishScott

Originally posted by: Xavier434

Originally posted by: irishScott
Close or not, if you hear something like that IMO you have a responsibility to investigate, and if necessary call the cops/ambulance. You may be desensitized, so what? 9/10 times it won't be anything significant, but the 1/10 time it will be serious and a person could be hurt, or in this case, killed. I'll take those odds to potentially help/save someone.

If I followed that logic then I would be walking out of my place at least 5 times a night within a 3 hour time span and my place isn't even that noisy. That's the problem. Even in places where the noise level is about average you will never get everyone to check out everything because they naturally zone it out. You would be shocked how much regular muffled noise can sound like muffled cries for help in a lot of places. I am more of a fan of paying for the installation of a panic button. It's really cheap and does the job.

Unless you can't reach said button. Also, you don't have to respond to every muffled noise. Obviously that would be ideal, but ultimately impractical. If I hear a distinct "help" I'll be checking it out.

I agree, but again, the distinct sound of someone saying "help" is rarely the case in situations like these. It could have been the case in this story but the truth is that we have no idea. That depends on a great many details which the story does not portray.

 

[jjones]

NYC? I'm surprised the police were called at all.

 

[TwiceOver]

I would call the police. Even if I thought they were just drunk I'd call to get them to shut the fuck up.

 

[xSauronx]

Originally posted by: MrWizzard
When I was young my parents told me to yell, FIRE! incase something happened because people had become numb to HELP!.

Sad story...

ive heard the same, though not from my parents.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Brainonska511

Originally posted by: Anubis
this isnt the first time this has happened, yes it sad and it sucks

theres some famous case where someone in NY wa sbeing stabbed on the street screaming and people did nothing

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect

I'm so glad I don't suffer from that psychological condition... one of the few I don't suffer from, but alas, I can say I'm clean.

Then again, that's part of my civic duty and is where I've committed my life to the things I have.
Now while I've never been presented with that situation to really prove I would, I have gone out of my way to help someone before. And knowing all about the bystander effect and watching numerous experiments on it, I'd say I'd be in the position to not trust fellow man to help one of their own, so I'd feel way to guilty passing the person without helping, knowing that they likely wouldn't receive help.

 

[cdmccool]

I don't know how anyone can say what they would/wouldn't have done without being there. The thing is, none of us know exactly how the situation went down. There are so many little details that every single person here would have to analyze before deciding to call the police.

I mean, how loud can someone scream after being stabbed dozen of times so badly that they die at the hospital 2 hours later? Did she actually scream "Help!", or was it more of a soft moan that is being sensationalized for the sake of the article. I mean, let's face it, the story is more interesting if the reader is led to believe this girl was screaming bloody murder for half an hour, and was ignored by her neighbors.

 

[mundane]

Monsignor: And I am reminded, on this holy day, of the sad story of Kitty Genovese. As you all may remember, a long time ago, almost thirty years ago, this poor soul cried out for help time and time again, but no person answered her calls. Though many saw, no one so much as called the police. They all just watched as Kitty was being stabbed to death in broad daylight. They watched as her assailant walked away. Now, we must all fear evil men. But there is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men.
Connor: [as the brothers exit the church] I do believe the monsignor's finally got the point.
Murphy: Aye.

 

[Dessert Tears]

Originally posted by: mundane
Sermon opening The Boondock Saints

Dramatic, but not entirely correct: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese

 

[zeruty]

A friend of mine lives in a large apartment complex with predominantly hispanic residents...
The majority of hispanics seem to stick together, have a tight knit community... while my friend, being white, is excluded and doesn't know any of the other residents. A week or so ago, there was a hispanic couple arguing outside their apartment...and the guy started beating up on the woman...and she was screaming something in Spanish. My friend didn't do anything, because he figured some of the other hispanics in the complex (probably 30 apartments had line of sight with where it occured) would help her or call 911... but the cops never came.
Crazy...

 

[nanette1985]

I hear screaming and gunshots from the apartment across the hall all the time. They are a nice, mild-mannered elderly couple with hearing problems who like to watch action movies with the sound really loud. They could get shot and scream for hours and I'd never think of calling the authorities.

It's hard to know what really happened in that news story. Sad that the woman died.

 

[Pacfanweb]

Being that I live in a fairly nice, sort of isolated neighborhood, if my neighbor started screaming for help, I'd head her way with my shotgun and tell my wife to call 911. Cops would take too long to get here and help.