Bystander
As you wait to cross the street, a blind man is standing in
front of you. Without warning, he begins to cross the street even though the
light has not changed in his favor. He seems to be in no danger until you see a
car about a half mile away speeding towards him. Totally unaware of the
situation, the man continues walking across the street. As you and many others
watch in horror he is struck by the car. Although every single one of you had
plenty of time to rescue him, you just watched, hoping that someone else would
do it. After all, you don\'t know him so it\'s really none of your business.
This is what is referred to as \"bystander apathy\". People close
enough to see, hear and possibly touch one another are socially distant and totally
indifferent to the fact that another human being may be dying, in immediate
danger, or asking for help. This extremely sad urban problem is just that- a
problem of cities. The likelihood of this occurring increases with the number
of people present and it is probable that there will be many people to witness
an event when it happens in high density cities.
