Sipping a Big Gulp while fellow patron dies
 

http://www.wichitaeagle.com/201/story/112757.html


I find this horrific and unacceptable behavior. My response to situations leads me to help others in need of assistance, whether it be an emergency or merely if the individual has unknowingly dropped something in the parking lot or forgotten their change. Unfortunately, when I read the article this morning I was not surprised at the behavior of the patrons in the store. And me not being surprised shocked me as well. What is happening to us as a society? Where did this come from? How could someone step over a dying woman, make a purchase and walk out of the store munching on cheetos?

Well, "us as a society" has been happening at least since the story of the Good Samaritan... everyone walked over that left-for-dead guy (attacked, robbed, beaten nearly to death), too, except for one.

I'm just as frustrated as you are (I wrote about something similar in my journal a while back, though it wasn't as extreme of a situation), but at the same time, I really wonder whether it's just not in human nature to be altruistic and help others, if we don't get anything out of it ourselves. The ones who do go out of their way to help others are rare, or at least it seems from stories like this one.

It's just freakin' sad, is what it is. Makes you wonder who raised those people who ignore someone dying under their feet.

It is a big stretch but they should go after some of those costumers the ones who snapped pictures and walked over her to continue shopping, for negligent homicide. What they did in my mind was criminal.

What kind of asshole uses a cellphone to take photos of a dying person????
I really hope karma plays a huge part in that moron's life...

I think such idiocy is actually more rare, hence it makes the news, but still...sheesh!
I have:
Called 911 for an obvious drunk driver on more than one occasion.
Stopped and pulled over to help a disabled biker.
Had a woman pull off the road because her tire was flat.
Constantly bend over to pick up whatever fell for people.
Offered my witness to more than one car accident.

Small things and I know there's more of the same, but is it that hard for someone to take 10 seconds to help?

Despite being a rather realistic (some say cynical) person, it still shocks me sometimes to hear news like this. Humanity really is a bit ridiculous! Who the hell are these people's parents and why didn't they raise them right?

It's hard for me to believe that it must be for some people. It's unimaginable to me--I can't not help. I deliberately took first aid and CPR training, as well as biohazard training, out of a desire to help people. I'm becoming a teacher because I want to help. I hold doors open, I've changed tires for people, and I contend that we can fight one H word--"hate"--with another--"help."

It seems to me that people like the ones in the OP never learned the value of helping others. Charity is a virtue some are unfamiliar with, I suppose--yet I wonder how many of the people in the OP's article expect help or a handout when it's needed?

I suppose it's a little vindictive, but I do have a small hope that karmic or divine retribution will come back to bite them. I hope in that experience that they do learn the value of giving, helping, and caring for your fellow man.

This story is fishy. My guess is none of the people in the store witnessed the crime. If they didn't witness it, it's simply another drunk person with injuries crawling around a convenience store (which is more frequent than you think). There was probably a misunderstanding about what was happening. This combined with many people's fear of being involved with something serious makes it plausible. Stupid, but explainable.

Now...if these people witnessed the crime and knew for a fact that she had just been stabbed, then that's an entirely different situation. They can probably be charged criminally if they witnessed the crime.

Sad indeed. I'm proud to say that I've done quite a bit for strangers in my life, and this just encourages me to do so.....

The gold standard for this kind of behavior is the Kitty Genovese murder:
http://www.oldkewgardens.com/ss-nytimes-3.html#gansberg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese
Note: The incident was famous and inaccurately reported, but it led to pioneering research on the bystander effect by Darley and Latane (1968).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect

I tend to believe this version. That side of town is very "seedy" or "hood", or whatever you prefer to call it. Not that I approve of anyone's actions, but I'm more likely to believe that it happened at 25th and Hillside than at Central and Maize (I'm from Wichita, if you couldn't tell).

I say throw the inconsiderate bastards who stepped over her/took pictures of her dying in jail. Honestly...

When Grancey first showed this to me I assumed (as Bacchanal confirmed) that it was a seedy part of town. And sadly, to me that in itself connotes several things. First, what do you expect from people like that? I hate to admit that was my gut reaction, but it's true. I can't help it, but I'm an adult human with pre-conceived notions about certain aspects of human behavior. Certain geographical locations within our society seem to invoke reactions of raw survival rather than altruism, and I'll bet that if this had happened in another part of town then there would have been a much different reaction from the store patrons.

Secondly, what if they didn't witness the crime and they didn't see any blood oozing out onto the floor? Then she would have seemed like any other drunk or drug addict that people in those areas probably encounter every day and have learned how to ignore. How many times have you encountered a staggering person and immediately dialed 911? And how many times did you just avoid eye-contact and go the other way? But ... if they saw blood, then that's a different story.

Thirdly, people in certain areas of towns are raised to believe that you never snitch no matter what and you don't get involved no matter what. It's a matter of sheer survival to them. Ignoring suspicious things is how you get by.

I think this story is every bit as much a commentary on how suspicious we've all become of people in distress. There are too many horror stories out there about folks getting blindsided when they tried to help others that seemed to be in need and the whole thing was just a trap. What would I have done? I hate to admit it, but unless I saw blood I probably would have avoided looking at her and tried to avoid it. And then when I got back to the car and told Grancey, she would have made me call 911 to help.

In fact, just a couple of weeks ago we were driving around in a "good" part of town and we saw a guy jogging that didn't seem to belong. He looked very gangsta and very threatening and I pointed him out as if to say, "What's he doing in this neighborhood?" What Grancey noticed was that he had stopped running and was doubled over. She made me U-turn immediately and go back to see if he needed help or needed us to call 911. By the time we got back, he was upright and jogging again, so we didn't interfere. But there, in a nutshell, is two different reactions to the same sitiuation by two people who have been together for 22 years.

I doubt they saw her getting stabbed, but if someone is having that much distress, and has been stabbed three times - there's no blood? Really? People just see what they expect to see and don't want to get involved with the crazies.

I live in Queens, and when I was walking home last year, I saw a guy sitting on the sidewalk - I just assumed he was a drunk (there are a lot of those around). But then I noticed his cane and thought... well, maybe not! So I asked him if he was okay, and it turns out he was in the midst of a sugar low (=drop in BP) due to diabetes, and had fallen! I got some help to get him back up and we called an ambulance and all that. But because no one looked past the initial impression, no one had stopped. He said dozens of people went by - this was during a street fair, so there were a LOT of people out.

Actually.. that happened to Q once too. He gets VERY occasional migraines that are overwhelming pain events. He came home on the train, and was curled up in the fetal position, and NO ONE asked if he was okay or if he needed a seat - they probably assumed he was on something or coming down from something, and left him alone. But he wasn't smelly or dressed oddly - he was just a guy. But odd behavior = scary in the city.

People just see what they expect to see. If she wasn't out and out bleeding, they just saw a junkie or something.

I can see that. I can understand that. Hell, I can even appreciate that.

But, if the people thought that she was just another junkie, or a drunk, which is certainly not out of the realm of possibility, then why were they taking pictures with a camera phone? Certainly that is not a normal reaction to something that one sees on a daily basis and has grown immune to.

I hate to think the worst, I really do. But this just smells too much like last weeks tuna cassarole.

Ahhh, the pictures. Good point. Then yes, you are correct in my estimation. Really, even if they thought she was a junkie, I don't know why someone wouldn't call about it, since she was clearly so all over the place - someone that strung out could be rather dangerous to others.

Yawn.

People don't want to get "involved."

It's that simple.

Who's to say that if some of them had tried, and I emphasize the word tried, to help her that they wouldn't have been stabbed themselves?

It's really easy for all y'all to sit there safe at home behind your locked doors and say that you would have leaped forward to save her, but in reality, be honest, you wouldn't.

You just wouldn't.

It's part of the herd mentality, ie; just move along and pretend every thing's normal and I won't get hurt.

And please, two minutes either way wasn't going to save her life, that's a bunch of crap.

A person can be stabbed numerous times and have very little if any blood flowing from the wounds, and if thyey're wearing dark colored clothing this covers up the blood as well.

Keep in mind, real life, ain't like the movies, not every little cut and gunshot wound sends a geyser of blood/flesh into the air, in fact that's very rarely the case.

In the city I remember this guy who reeked of alcohol from three feet away. He was piss drunk and depressed, so I went to talk to him to see if I could help. I've been drunk in shitty situations before, and even though the guy didn't look clean cut at all, I went with the belief that he couldn't try anything.

He talked to me for a while, and I think I was able to steady him in his "drunkness". At some point he showed me his white van, so I got sort of worried (he could've turned out to be acting drunker than he was, and stronger than me). Eventually he asked me if I could walk him back to his apartment. My friends were about 25 ft away, so I asked my two of the guys to come with me in case he tried something.
His apartment was close, and he was extremely grateful when we got there. He wouldn't let us leave without giving us money first though, as a "thanks", even though we insisted. So I ended up getting 30 bucks for my time.

Something could've happened to me, but I decided to trust him.

I don't believe all of us here would just stand and watch in one of these weird situations. It's pretty dismissive for you to judge everybody here like that, IMO. Some people do try and help.