If you had the opportunity to go back in time and save someone’s life with no more than a phone call would you do it? I’m sure you would, along with the 37 bystanders who witnessed the assault of an innocent young woman who cried for help, yet did nothing. Although it is not surprising to hear about homicides often occurring in New York City, the murder of Catherine ‘Kitty’ Genovese is an iconic tragedy because of the lack of compassion and humanity exhibited by the neighbors who could have prevented this tragic death. It seems though people are losing a sense of community over the fear of “getting involved”.
It was just a late night for Catherine, also known as Kitty, returning home from work around 3am. She parked her car and proceeded to walk to her apartment, about 100 feet away, in a quiet upper middle-class neighborhood. Less than a block away she was then grabbed by a strange man, "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please help me!” She screamed. A light turned on in a nearby apartment and a voiced replied, "Let that girl alone!” Then the lights went out, the attacker walked away, Kitty was
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Fifty years ago and still there are no explanations as to why witnesses refused to report any sign of crime in the event of it happening. When police questioned the neighbors in the community as to why the authorities weren’t notified sooner, they received vague answers like “I don’t know” and “I didn’t want to be involved” or “I didn’t think it was serious”. This type of social behavior is what brings a community down. In my opinion, because there were multiple witnesses, everyone assumed that someone would do something to help, therefore not feeling obligated to do anything. When in fact, everyone did nothing, and an innocent young lady lost her life as result of the failure of the community to step
On March 13th, 1964, in New York, a young woman by the name of Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was just coming home from her late shift at work. It’s three a.m., and as she’s walking to her apartment building, she notices a suspicious, hooded man some distance away. Rightfully concerned, she goes to the phone booth, aiming to call the police, but never makes it in time. She’s stabbed in the back, and then in her gut. When her screams cause the neighbors to turn the lights on, all they do
38 people in Queens watched a woman named Kitty Genovese get stabbed and they did not call the police according to “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police” by Martin Gansberg. People follow the majority of people because they don’t want to do anything out of their comfort zone. Fear, ignorance, or following the crowd can keep people from taking action and speaking up to save the person in danger. When someone is in danger of being wrongly hurt, the bystanders are responsible for calling the police to save the person in danger. They shouldn’t put themselves in danger, but they are obligated to report the incident.
In the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight year old barmaid Catherine "Kitty" Genovese was murdered and raped on the street in Kew Gardens, New York. The incident did not initially receive much attention until Martin Gansberg's infamous article, "Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder, Didn't Call the Police", was published in the New York Times two weeks later. In reality, only twelve people witnessed the event yet each did nothing to significantly help Genovese until it was too late. The Genovese murder has become the definitive example of the "bystander effect", the social phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to help someone in distress if there are other people present. The bystander effect occurs wherever there is
The general statement made by the author, Anna Quindlen, in her work Getting Involved, is that it is vital for human beings to be apathetic, and care for one another. More specifically, the author argues that isolating oneself from local conflict will not resolve any issues. She writes, “Neighbors heard screams and shouts and the unmistakable sound of something hitting a human being…But nothing was really done until…[the] little girl was taken to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.” In this passage, the author is suggesting that being a bystander is detrimental and can lead to severe, preventable outcomes. In conclusion, the author’s belief is a topic that need to be spoken upon more often, the society is in desperate need of compassion
The Bystander effect is a controversial theory given to social phenomenon where the more potential helpers there are, the less likely any individual is to help. A traditional explanation for this Bystander Effect is that responsibility diffuses across the multiple bystanders, diluting the responsibility of each. (Kyle et al.) The Bystander effect, also known as the Genovese Syndrome, was created after the infamous murder of “Kitty” Catherine Genovese in 1964, on the streets of New York in front of thirty-seven witnesses. After studying the Genovese syndrome and doing research on how this phenomenon occurs today, it is clear The Bystander effect is not theory, but actually fact.
In the past few decades, a new stream of research has emerged in American crime and criminality. It entails the study of sensationalized murder stories. Such an inquiry is critical to understand Americans past in crime and criminality. Case studies such as the murder of Jewett are riveting thus creating a nuanced portrait of a historical moment. Such study paints a picture on important changes in American culture and society over time. With this in mind, the paper details the sensational murder of Helen Jewett. A cursory glance at the argument shows that Jewett personality and lifestyle shatters the common ideas particularly in popular minds about prostitutes as pathetic and broken persons living impoverished lives. However, understanding Jewett murder demand a closer look at the 1830s and 1840s prostitution.
In 2010, Alfred Tate-Yax, a 31 year old homeless man, in Queens, New York bled to death as more than 20 people ignored him for nearly an hour before emergency services arrived. Alfred was brutally stabbed several times after saving a woman, who fled the scene before he collapsed, from being mugged. One man even rolled him over to see his bleeding wound but walked away and acted as if he didn’t see anything. Although he ultimately risked and sacrificed his life to save a stranger his kindness wasn’t returned by any of the approximately 20 indifferent bystanders who passed or even made contact with him. Surely, if someone would’ve called the police sooner this heroic man might still be alive. How was it really that difficult
In 2010, a homeless man named Hugo Alfredo Tale-Yax, saved a woman who was being mugged. He collapsed on a Queens, N.Y. , sidewalk after the mugger stabbed him several times. The incident was captured on the surveillance camera and more than 20 people can be seen passing by as he lay bleeding to death. Tale-Yax was already dead when help finally arrived on the scene. It is sad to know that
After reading, "Thirty-Eight- Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police" by Martin Gansberg, I was completely shook and confused as to why about 40 people didn’t report this to the police. It just sounds so inhumane and insane to see someone being stabbed and not helping. How can 38 people watching this bloody scene be okay with it and not call the police department? In the article, it mentioned that the investigator said that even if one person had called the police, she could have been saved. If I were in a similar situation, I would have immediately called the police and ambulance regardless of my condition or what time it is. In the article, one man said that he was simply “too tired” to call. How can someone lack so much care and sympathy
"My city had its 40th homicide. So we are in desperate need of immediate action. Residents want something
“The Black Dahlia Murder” has been an unsolved murder case since 1947 involving a young actress named Elizabeth Short. Elizabeth Short was killed in cold blood she was cut and half and was left in a vacant lot. Elizabeth Short’s body was found on the cold morning of January 15, 1947 a women named Betty Bersinger. When officers Frank Perkins and Will Fitzgerald arrived to the scene they witnessed Elizabeth’s naked body cut in half.This case is a witch hunt.
Fear roamed through cities, due to the violence people were witnessing and enduring. Not only were citizens terrified to get involved in anything but they sat back and ignored the shrieks of a woman being murdered. If I were to be in a similar situation that kitty Genovese's neighbors were in, I would have called the authorities right away. But, you have to look at this situation in a different perspective considering the events that were occurring back in the 50's and 60's. it's completely understandable on to why her neighbors didn't call the authorities. I'm the type of person who can't stand seeing people suffer or getting hurt by others, but to be honest I don't know what I would do if I saw someone getting stabbed to death. Would I help
The story Kitty Genovese was heartbreaking, and to know that some people are not sensitive to the need of their fellow man. However, it is unfortunate to say the lack of neighborly interaction cause the young lady to lose her life. According to the article of the New York Times, it stated that people found fault to blame the alienation of living in a large cited. The specific neighborhood was blamed, and basic human nature was blamed. Why is this? I would say people are willing to help in non-emergency situation and not in a real emergency situation. More so, the blame game is played when thirty-eight people stand by listen and watch the drama of a human life played out before their eyes and did not lift a finger to help.
In today's culture, most people enjoy engaging in each other's lives through the shield of social media. However when put in the public front, most are quick to keep their heads down and mouths shut. When a bystander witnesses events such as theft, assault, or any other crime, it is easier to keep quiet and act as though nothing is wrong. Least the attacker turns on you as well. One action though that never fails to spark a conversation, are the rare stories where a person goes beyond what is “expected” of them to try and help a person that is a victim of a crime. Thus leads to question whether it is a bystanders responsibility to intervene when bearing witness to a crime. However, it is a person’s moral duty in society to help those in crisis
Murder is a form of violence that does more harm than just destruction of property but leads to a loss of life in the process, and that makes it more severe than other forms of violence that may just end at injuries to people or destruction of property (Staples 2014). The sociological approach to issues of murder in the city highlights how the society or the environment increases the cases of death or reduces them in a case where there are few cases of murder and how the revelation would relatively contribute in mitigating the cases of violence (Pratt and Godsey 2003). The trend in deaths across different cities including Philadelphia is a motivation that results from how the city operations are set and are functioning, the level of security