Makeup Blog for Discussion 12-3-11
In the textbook, the authors mentioned about a girl that was brutally gang raped for two hours in Richmond, California, reading this hit a little close to home because I live about an hour away from the city where this happened. Even though my hometown is relatively safe, the thought that this had occurred just a mere one hour from where I live was just horrifying. But what was even more shocking, disturbing, and baffling was what had happened; a girl being gang raped while 20 bystanders looked on. The bystander effect was only something I've seen on TV, not something I imagined could happen in real life.
However, after further thought, I realized that this type of situation had already happened. For example, in Nazi Germany when all the Jews and other minorities were persecuted, so many bystanders looked the other way. But, what many people don't realize is that there is always another side of the story, sometimes there are other reasons why bystanders just look on. Maybe the bystanders feared for their lives or their families' well-beings. Nevertheless, these reasons do not excuse people do to nothing about the situation. Instead, the best way to prevent the bystander effect is to think about what you would do in these situations. So ask yourself this, "Would you turn your head and pretend you didn't see anything? Or, would you call for help?"
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