Only One
As I type these words, there are still news reports about a group of people in Cincinnati who participated in what was described as a “beatdown.” One headline that I saw was:
5 charged in horrifying viral Cincinnati brawl that left woman knocked out cold
One interesting (and disturbing) report I saw indicated that there were about one hundred people who were at least in that area when this happened and that one of them called 9-1-1. My immediate thought when I heard this was – only one?
That news story reminded me of something that was still somewhere in the cobwebs of my mind. I was almost certain that a similar incident made headlines across the nation some years ago.
After doing a little research, I discovered that I was correct about a somewhat similar story. I also discovered that the reporting of the earlier incident was, at first, over-sensationalized and inaccurate. (Along with all of that, I was also reminded of how old I am when I discovered how long ago the incident occurred.)
The early reports of that incident in 1964 “informed” the public that thirty-seven or thirty-eight people had watched a young woman in New York City get sexually assaulted and murdered without anybody trying to help her and/or to come to her aid in any way. (The number depended upon which news outlet was “reporting.”) It was later learned that the number of people was exaggerated and that some people did, in fact, try in some ways to get involved, and that Miss Genovese died in an ambulance on the way to the hospital and not at the scene of the attack.
While there were some inaccuracies in the reporting, the death of Kitty Genovese led psychologists to do some studies about something that goes by different names. Those different names may also reflect some differences, but they seem to me to have some things in common.
It could be that you have heard of “The Genovese Syndrome,” “The Bystander Effect,” and/or “Diffusion of Responsibility.” As I understand it, whichever “label” is used, the idea is it is less likely for an individual to take part in something as the number of people involved increases. Maybe you’ve seen that where you work, in your neighborhood, your family, or where you worship.
Here is how I’ve seen it work (or not work). When something needs to be done, everybody seems to assume that somebody will do it, but the result is that nobody does it.
All of that made me take a look at that guy I see in the mirror on a regular basis. Maybe you could apply this to your own situation as well.
Here’s the question I need to ask that guy in the mirror: Would I do the right thing, take a stand, refuse to do the wrong thing, and/or get involved if I happened to be the…
only one?
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
