Bystander effect

[Lanx]

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

do you help an innocent on the street? this weeks news is about the poor little girl we see get into an accident in China, here's the google
http://www.google.com/search?q=2+year+old+girl+hit+by+truck&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

warning, do not watch if you are squeemish, or if you have kids, for this story i don't have kids so i'm indifferent, it was still "omg wtf" but for ppl who have kids do not watch.
youku is the chinese youtube btw

the news story goes on to say that the first one was arrested later and the second one was arrested as well, the reason why many surmise that the bystanders did nothing, not only ignore but walk past the girl is because of lawsuits. Somehow, China courts believe that if you help an innocent, like call 911 (i think it's 999 there, whatever) or bring them to the hospital, you feel guilty cuz you must of done the harm, and the victim can sue you and in a large majority of the cases, barring irrefutable evidence such as video tape, the victim wins, that's why no one helps out.

you know 15 years ago i would help out whoever, heck that's what the boy scouts practically trained you to do, you don't wear that stupid neckerchief cuz it makes you look dorky and other kids can pick on you in the street (oh yea that''s happened,lots) no it's cuz it is a sling, a tourniquet, a bandage, whatever... but now a good samaritan could be sue'd for doing cpr wrong or break a rib doing the heimlich
http://www.newsomelaw.com/medical-malpractice/florida
i mean there are clauses put in place so someone who saved your life cuz you were choking on a piece of steak but broke a rib can't be sued... is silly.

honestly now, if i saw a woman get mugged successfully, as in the theif is fleeing away, oh well, i ain't gonna chase him, she can replace anything in that purse, who knows if that guy has a gun or has hulk drugs in him (this would be done different if it was done to ppl around me or myself), heck if a person was getting attacked with a knife, i'm just gonna call 911, i ain't going in there, is my kung-fu from 20years ago going to help me? nope, i'd just end up as another victim.
to what extent do you call youself a good samaritan? calling 911 is the least you can do... doing cpr, while never having done it, could kill a person (there's that frigging thing in the middle of the chest that could be pushed into the heart if you don't know what you're doing).

if i saw this little girl, i'd be like the lady and pick her up outta the way... i mean good lord it's a little girl (the flop... is horrendous). I remember walking my dog and hearing flop flop flop, and turn around and see this little girl running to my dog and just hugging it saying clifford(a lot of kids do this, not as forward as she was), then i was like "little girl, where's your parents?" apparently she was chasing me for 2 blocks... you know what? i was like "omg little girl, hold on to the dog leash", i didn't want her holding my hand cuz who knows what ppl would say... never found her parents, but i found her brother he was just riding his bike and called her over.

[Pretendo]

Oi, the scourge of humanity!

It's hard to say how a person will react in a situation until actually presented with it.  Everything depends on the moment.  Would I have helped?  I honestly don't know...

[TheSoulhunter]

Around here you cant get sued for doing first aid, even if it causes harm,
but you can get sued for doing nothing like this a-holes in this video...
Seriously, some countrys have ****ed up laws >_<

[Ekaros]

It's a problem, you see someone attacking other person, better not to hurt the attacker or you can be sued, and often you pay for damage...

[Malphas]

I've noticed this attitude in urban Southeast Asia before, I don't think it's entirely the law's fault. It seems more culturally ingrained in these places to mind your own business than it is in the rest of the world.

[Input Nirvana]

I can tell you from being a traveller, although this is very extreme, similar is not uncommon. Many things we are aghast about in the U.S. is common place elsewhere. It's sobering and has shaped many of my ideas of how I want to live and my priorities.

Basically, we live in a bubble, and not a very realistic bubble. In so many parts of the world it is survival oriented.

[Playtrumpet]

Probably one of the worst things I've seen on video. Honestly, if anyone's not sure about watching, don't watch it. It comes down to the fact that a little girl was the victim of a hit and run and bystanders did nothing.

Screw laws and fear of persecution. You (at the very least) SAY SOMETHING when you see someone lying unconscious on the ground. Where has humanity gone? My hope in the human spirit has never been so crushed.

[Input Nirvana]

Morality is a different issue.

[Lanx]

story update
http://www.chinasmack.com/2011/stories/lady-who-helped-little-girl-run-over-by-van-rewarded-25k.html

[bootstrap]

One of the saddest stories in the last few days. I've witnessed bystander effect happen all around the world, but more so in some Asian countries. Living in Asia now, but having lived in Western countries for more than half my life, I think I'm in a position to compare. But I realize it's only my own personal experience. I suspect it's got a lot to do with having a "mind your own business" mentality which people are taught. But that's often used in the wrong context. You ought to mind your own business if you hear the couple next door having an argument (or having sex), for example. But when "mind your own business" is used as an excuse for not having the courage to do the right thing, that becomes a moral issue.

[xmrxkrazy]

This had nothing to do with the "bystander effect," nor does it relate in any psychological way as the Kitty Genovese incident. The bystander effect refers to the delayed/lack of action(s) from individuals in a group. In this accident, the passers-by confronted the situation separately; they were not linked to one another.

This is the effect Asian(Chinese) conditioning.

[Lanx]

i think it's cuz of this:
[Note: "Nanjing judge" refers to the infamous 2006 case of a man named Peng Yu who helped a woman to the hospital after she had fallen only to have the old woman accuse him of knocking her down. The Nanjing judge in that case ultimately ruled that common sense dictated that only the person who hit her would take her to the hospital, setting a precedent that continues only further discourages and reinforces many Chinese people's wariness to help others in similar situations.]

we didn't see ppl come together like this:
[video=youtube;xf2bwjedB1Y]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf2bwjedB1Y[/video]

eh who knows, hopefully the Chinese judges captial punish the drivers, heck i don't like capital punishment but if it's China doing it, then it''s cool, remember when there was like lead or some weird chemical in milk for children? those CEO's got put to death, now we don't see that happening anymore in the food industry.

[Malphas]

heck i don't like capital punishment but if it's China doing it, then it''s cool

Uhm... what?  Ha ha.

[Lanx]

capital punishment in the US means you stay on death row for 20 years pumping iron and educating yourself, while in China i still believe it, means you pay for your own bullet, how awesome is that?

[Malphas]

Ah if that's what your objection is based on then fair enough.