Pizzagirl

BTW, about the Kitty Genovese case - I am reading "Superfreakonomics," and one of their stories is about the Genovese case, and apparently that the notion that 30 people stood around and watched as someone got stabbed isn't quite true -- that indeed the police were called promptly, but took a while to show up.

pugmadkate

My mother was an ER nurse in a fairly tough area, so I think she learned how to overcome fear. I used to want to die of embarrassment when my mother would "jump in", now I do the exact same thing.

Training also plays a part. I see that with the military because not only are they trained to go into dangerous situations, they are trained exactly what to do and to process it post-crisis. Over and over again until it becomes rote.

mousegray

Sometimes people don't want to get involved because they don't want to be intrusive. I hate being approached by strangers, unless it's for directions, so I tend to respect others' space and privacy. Also, it's different being a woman. I just feel more vulnerable getting involved with the homeless men in my area, but my H will talk to them freely and has gotten to know them. I will drop a dollar into someone's cup but I don't want to engage them in any way. I've been harrassed by enough strange men in my life not to know better.

What I don't understand are people who won't speak up in completely harmless situations, like when someone has left something behind on the bus. (I must say that NYers perform extremely well on this.)

owlice

I think NYers are overall involved when something out of the ordinary happens -- they are willing to speak up and to help. They may keep to themselves much of the time, but fall down the steps or blackout on the subway, and help is right there in the people around.