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Are Bystanders Guilty When Video Is Involved in a Death?
Kitty Genovese’s death decades ago on a quiet Queens street in NYC set off a flurry of articles with shocking headlines, but did it help in any way?
A young, homeless man with a history of arrests, assaults, mental health issues, and homelessness died on a subway train in NYC recently, and it was videotaped by a bystander. Does this make you a bit uneasy, and are you asking questions regarding the responsibility of onlookers to respond or to stand by and quietly video an incident?
For me, it brings up quite a bit, not only the old Bystander Effect experiments on NYC subways but the violent, repeated attacks on Kitty Genovese that ended in her death in a doorway, held by a neighbor as she bled out. Neighbors were blamed for not calling the police, but that was inaccurate and depicted those living in Kew Gardens as callous, apathetic, and uncaring about a woman screaming in the night. Watch Kitty Genovese’s brother’s documentary for the real story.
I write from experience because, many years ago, while riding on a NYC subway, a man pulled out a screwdriver and menaced a woman with it. Without thinking, and I’m not a hero, I said, “What are you doing? Leave her alone.” He seemed surprised, put the screwdriver away, and moved out of the car. Yes, I could have been seriously hurt, but I didn’t think…
