Rant about Inconsiderate Morons

[rekall]

Look! If you're driving along during the bright and sunny afternoon and find a elderly man laying on the sidewalk you should stop so that you can:

1. see if he's all right.
2. help him up
3. call for help if he's hurt/having a heart attack/having a stroke

What you don't do is keep on driving along without a care in the world just because you don't know the person. That man could have been dying yet plenty of idiots didn't care. >_<

Backstory: Because I'm the only one around that can drive during the afternoons right now (my aunt sleeps during the day since she stays with my grandfather on the night shift, my brother works, my mom doesn't drive, my grandmother gave up her license 1 1/2 years ago and my dad's on the day shift with my grandfather) I'm doing all of the running around, buying things, doing banking, paying bills, etc. Anywho this afternoon I was downtown of our town walking down the sidewalk (I park and walk whenever I'm down there) when I see a few blocks away that an elderly man is lying on the sidewalk (considering his age I thought he was having a heart attack or a stroke). As I'm trying to hobble forward to him (my feet were killing me since I have new shoes and thus couldn't move very fast) I count at least 20 cars drive by (note: that's only counting the cars who were on the same side of the road as the man since cars going in the other direction probably didn't see him) before a truck full of workers finally stop to help him. Since the man now had help I continued on my way but it only took less than 10 minutes for the group of workers to help the man up and make sure he was alright.

I'm disgusted by the fact that so many people couldn't be bothered to take 10 minutes out of their day to help an old man. Hell as they were driving by they couldn't even be bothered to call 911 on their cellphone.

Comments

[pysche924.livejournal.com]

There's actually a psychological explanation for situations like that - other than people are inconsiderate jerks - and it has to do with the fact that 20+ cars *did* pass the man. I forget the exact term, but it's a proven hypothesis that people are by far less likely to help someone in need when there are a lot of other people nearby, because they all assume someone else will do it. For example, there was a murder case in New York - I think there - in the 1960s, when a man stabbed a woman in her apartment, left, and then came back and stabbed her again until she finally died. She had 30+ neighbors, all of whom heard her screaming the first time, but none of them called the police because they all figured one of the other neighbors would. If they had, she would have lived. Things like that are sad... people always want someone else to play Good Samaritan, I suppose.

But of course my wifey would've helped because she's such a sweetheart. ^^

[bnomiko.livejournal.com]

Yes, I studied this briefly in psych and criminology classes, and I forgot what the term is as well, but it's true. And in group situations, a lot of the time the only way people will help is if a single person sticks their neck out and tries to help, then others will start following.