Comments on U N L O A D E D: When No One Cared

MsQ - Yes it's a terrible video but I'm glad you s...

2008-06-22T12:46:36.607-04:00

MsQ - Yes it's a terrible video but I'm glad you saw it and are providing feedback. I will concede that some may have been in shock but some did strike me as just not caring. That's what got me.

It took me a while to actually see the video since...

2008-06-21T14:30:50.918-04:00

It took me a while to actually see the video since I knew the result. I didn't want to watch it!

I am not sure how to interpret the video - part of me was very disturbed by how people drove/biked/walked around the man and yet as I put myself in the position of each of those passerbys I thought - some things you don't quite register - like you drive by and by the time you realize what you saw, you're half a block away and then you think that stopping will cause traffic to pile up behind you and so you're moving along getting further away and you figure out that some is calling 911 or perhaps you pull over later and call 911 but you're already long past the scene.

I think people were in shock - that first guy didn't walk away - he just responded in very slow motion.

I'm not even sure how I'd respond in a crisis like that! If I were by myself I could see running up if there were others, I may look for a "leader" - I dunno. I would be calling 911 though!

I like what Jill said about making eye contact and telling someone to take action. Some people do go totally blank.

I have had stressful (not emergency) situations where others are paralyzed. Giving them directions focuses them.

MikeV - I'm glad this got so much attention becaus...

2008-06-18T00:47:23.701-04:00

MikeV - I'm glad this got so much attention because maybe this is the kick in the head that we need. I don't find the answer "not wanting to get involved" acceptable here. This is a very serious accident.

there is NO excuse to not get involved at the leas...

2008-06-17T19:58:10.578-04:00

there is NO excuse to not get involved at the least in a "call 911" level.
end of story. anyone that thinks different is wrong.

Jill - Wasthe individual behind the wheel and pass...

2008-06-16T18:28:39.403-04:00

Jill - Wasthe individual behind the wheel and passed out your ex-husband? After the things you told me about him that's where my mind went.

But seriously, the advice given in the CPR class is sound. I bet I would assume the same thing as well. I have to keep that in mind and NOT assume anyone is calling 911 and do it myself. So what if there have been 50 calls about it already. Better safe than sorry. There is really no sound on the video so you missed nothing there.

You know, I don't think that many people can reall...

2008-06-16T09:26:33.250-04:00

You know, I don't think that many people can really say what they would have done. Nurse Myra can because by nature of her job she is routinely exposed to people who are critically injured & Urban Thought, because he's been in crisis situations.

I've called 911 before when I saw someone who I didn't know if he was sleeping behind the wheel (with his car completely stopped in the middle of the road blocking a lane of traffic) or passed out or hurt or dead or what. And I always figure if 911 is called multiple times, better safe than sorry. But, y'know, that doesn't necessarily mean I'd react well in a crisis. It only means I'm not particularly afraid to call 911 & the not getting involved thing must not apply either...

The other thing is that the video is only a minute and a half long. It does seem like an eternity and it does appear that people are apathetic and I had to watch it with the sound off because my son is sleeping nearby (so maybe I'm not getting all the information) BUT it could be that the person who walked right by and then disappeared off the screen reached directly for her cell phone.

It could be that people had delayed reactions because it was so awful & they may have been panicked or shocked or whatever. Maybe it didn't happen that way, but I would like to hold out a little hope to those ready to give up on the human race entirely...

That said, one of the things that I remember very clearly about CPR class is them saying that in a crowd, people will always assume that someone else has dialed 911 already or is dialing 911. They said that if you are caring for the hurt person, you need to literally make eye contact with one person and say something like "YOU! In the ORANGE SHIRT! CALL 911!!!!" to break that one person out of his or her stupor.

Hopefully the wasted time didn't make a difference to him medically, but so very sad.

Thomas that's a good observation and one that I ha...

2008-06-15T15:11:40.886-04:00

Thomas that's a good observation and one that I have found myself in. Usually it's involving arguments. Another example, someone's care is broken down on the side of the road. We've all drove by, have we not? This particular situation is, as you say, quite extreme. And hopefully not the norm.

The issue isn't so much one of indifference as it ...

2008-06-15T11:39:59.733-04:00

The issue isn't so much one of indifference as it is a desire to not complicate the crisis or one's own situation.

Granted, this is an extreme and unexcusable example but normally, when we see a stranger in a crisis, the unstated thought process includes questions like, "what expertise do I have to offer here?" "Will I make the situation worse?" "Will stopping to help make me late for wherever I'm going?" "Is it likely that there's someone else here that's willing to help?"

I'm not defending the behavior of the people in this video, simply asserting that there's more to it than simple indifference. It's the result of confused priorities and fear of action not just apathy.

Tom - While Madison has grown for sure with McMans...

2008-06-15T00:13:23.395-04:00

Tom - While Madison has grown for sure with McMansions, so have Hartford and New Haven. And I am sad to say that with the growth, there has be a spike in nasty crimes. As the high rises in Hartford have doubled over the last 10 years, they have been totally unable to halt the crime in the surrounding areas. It really is sad. But that's still no excuse for this here. You're right the attention that it has got in the media has prompted religious and community leaders in this area to come down hard on the people there. I think this is a wake up call, at least I hope it is. We don't need more Kitty Genovese stories. Her tragedy was one too many.

American Hill Billy - Yes, an act of kindness is good karma and while some may kick it back in your face it's all karma to me. What goes around comes around. That story with the dog is awful. More proof that we're going WAY off course.

Enemy - Yeah Hartford looks like it could be a thriving city as you drive by it with all the new building going up but it is a ghost town after 5 PM. there is no culture, no nightlife...nothing. East Hartford sucks! I never bother going up there. It's a waste.

But this ties into your series about city life vs. small town life. Would such indifference happen in a small town? I think not. I hope not.

I did this once, and got booted offline. Long stor...

2008-06-14T22:39:54.484-04:00

I did this once, and got booted offline. Long story short a dog got hit by a car less than an hour ago two street prostitutes were kicking it. My wife jumped out of the car. To help. The Putas Proceeded to try to kick my wifes ass for helping the injured dog. I pulled up. Yelled Mira Putas, and told them, I was going to let our trained attack dog eat them and their pimp who was involved at this point. Neither one of us were hurt. Then the cops showed up and told those M.F.s where they would be spending the night....the area was/is a gringo hot spot....I guess I am patting my wife, and my backs........WE can all do this, think positive

Peace and Freedom

I saw this video on another blog. My brother in la...

2008-06-14T17:01:28.562-04:00

I saw this video on another blog. My brother in law lives in Hartford; I've visited there many times; yes, it is not a thriving urban metropolis, and from what I hear, East Hartford is worse, although none of them approach Detroit, D.C. or my fair city. So I too was surprised that it happened there, but not that it happened. I think the Genevose syndrome was at work here, because in terms of street violence, getting involved would not have hurt anyone--it's not like reporting drug sales on your street and the gangbangers take revenge because they know you. I also think people are sheep--with their dumb eyes, they see something happen to another and temporarily they are challenged to get out of their head and do something that has nothing to do with them. I don't know if American urbanization is to blame; in Chicago, there was a hit and run of a four year old boy. The people in the neighborhood chased down this driver and beat the daylights out of him while the child and later the driver got medical help. In this neighborhood people knew each other.

So maybe it is the don't bother me problem, selfishness, who is fuck is my neighbor anyway, oh I'm scared...of what, God knows. It isn't an isolated incident. It happens a lot. But so does the other thing I described. Hopefully this will be a lesson to us all to get off our tails and help someone when they get hit by a car.

That's an awful story. I'm glad it's gotten so mu...

2008-06-14T16:26:43.747-04:00

That's an awful story. I'm glad it's gotten so much coverage, because we need to see ourselves and what we've become. It's definitely this decade's answer to the Kitty Genovese incident.

To an extent I could understand people being intimidated out of calling the police, if that's a high crime area; but only to an extent. I lived in Connecticut a long time ago (Madison) but I was never very familiar with Hartford. All I've ever seen is the glitzy highrises you see from Rt. 91 as you drive past.

When I was in high school, New Haven was supposed to be this badass intimidating place, and I'd guess Hartford has roughly the same demographics and crime rate.

I sure hope they catch that hit-and-run driver; as far as I know they haven't.

Note of suggestion to all concerned here. Get the...

2008-06-14T04:03:41.621-04:00

Note of suggestion to all concerned here. Get the word out to people to help anyone at anytime they can!! OUR government wants responses like was shown here. So open that door the next time you see an elderly person, or be the one to help push that broken down car out of the road. Ricardo, I read your response to my comment, and Sir you are one of the few that are 100% ON TARGET!

Peace and Freedom

Deb - You know it's easy for me to stomp my foot a...

2008-06-13T14:14:23.133-04:00

Deb - You know it's easy for me to stomp my foot and yell about what should have been done and what could have been done. But until it happens I don't know what I would do but I hope it would be more than what I saw if that makes sense.

You're right. But from what I saw from the footag...

2008-06-13T13:47:06.718-04:00

You're right. But from what I saw from the footage, traffic was stopping anyway. It's so difficult to do things so planned sometimes, as well as unfortunate. I do see your point.

Beingammey - Welcome and thank you for coming by....

2008-06-13T12:57:14.624-04:00

Beingammey - Welcome and thank you for coming by. Yes I think the 911 scenario you laid out is very possible and scary when you think about it. And just being there, like you said, talking someone through it, still goes such a long way. It does make a difference.

I too hope that if anything horrible like this happened to me that someone would be there. A little humanity goes a very long way.

I do not understand apathy. Or indifference, like ...

2008-06-13T07:11:12.726-04:00

I do not understand apathy. Or indifference, like what appears on this video. I also grew up in Los Angeles and have seen a lot things happen that needed my action. I am the person that would be sitting on the street next to this man (not touching or moving him) but just talking to him until help arrived. I would ony hope that if I were hit by a car in my wheelchair on the street (totallly possible) that someone would act on my behalf and try to comfort me with kind words until help arrived. Imagine being hit by a car and then imagine lying there in the street, alone but not really.

I am sure people did not call 911 because they figured someone else did. That can never be assumed. If 911 operators already got 200 calls, mine would be the 201st call. I am praying for this mans healing. Thanks for posting this Ricardo.

American hill billy - Welcome! We have become so o...

2008-06-13T02:47:26.366-04:00

American hill billy - Welcome! We have become so obsessed with lawsuits that it's more harm than help nowadays. This is a shame but it's where we're at.

The EU and other nations ban our meats because they are so full of steroids and who knows what else. As for the government wanting to dumb us down, yes you're right. What did they tell us to do after 9/11? Go shopping. What do the want us to do with the economic stimulus payments many of us are getting? Go shopping. Basically they want obedient consumers so they can keep their pockets lined.

Has this numbed us out to the horrors of the tragedy we saw here? Perhaps.

Leon - Yes, self reliance is never a bad thing. Use it and never lose it!

Dear God. This is truly horrifying. I lost even mo...

2008-06-13T01:52:10.101-04:00

Dear God. This is truly horrifying. I lost even more faith in humanity. Just goes to show you that you should depend on yourself as much as possible.

My response is:It is OUR governments fault!!! I h...

2008-06-13T00:57:39.575-04:00

My response is:

It is OUR governments fault!!! I have family in fire departments; only they EMS, and Police are covered by the good Sumaritan(spelling??) act. This means that you, or I being kind enough to help; even touching the person can get the pants sued off of us!! These are the Facts.
Another consideration is what "We The People" are being fed. Most of the world has bans against all US food imports....Why???? Look it up yourselves........right now in South Korea they are having massive protests over the importation of OUR beef!! The FDA/USDA say it is fine for us, but the Koreans know better. Also, the lame duck President is only going to talk to th EU for the last time as President about war with Iran, but what is interesting is that the entire EU bans OUR chicken....what am I eluding to???? they are dumbing us down. Literacy rates in OUR country are now below 80%, and in OUR nations Capital average under 40%. I don't blame anyone, but the policy makers!!! Let's get real, and stand up. Of note is OUR world peace ranking google it if the link doesn't work. http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi/results/rankings/2008/

SJ - Be gad you haven't as it's not an experience ...

2008-06-12T01:36:14.735-04:00

SJ - Be gad you haven't as it's not an experience any wants to see. But I'm sure this happens much more than we realize all over the world. Would you help them SJ or would shock get the better of you?

Nursemyra - Isn't it awful? This also made the news around the world if you can believe it. I felt ashamed of the human race also. You're a good nurse, nursemyra.

Urban - Yes, I agree. This does not make you a snitch unless the cars that hit him belong to some local drug lord. even so, just report that there's a man down and you didn't really "see" the car if this is the way you want to operate. It's rather cheesy and sleazy in my opinion. You know what else? I told people that this would NEVER happen in NYC and people looked at me like I was nuts. But you prove my point, you and everyone else were all over it. Glad you're ready to give a helping hand when a crisis strikes.

Dr.A - I recall reading about that study. It goes into peoples instincts of wanting to please an authority figure. Other tests like the one you described were done expounding on this premise. They found that many people did terrible things that they never thought they would have done.

BBE - Yes, people did call on their cell phones or so they say. It could be damage control by the city leaders. They say 4 calls were made. The attack and murder you're referring to is Kitty Genovese. she was attacked, raped and killed as her neighbors watched. This is where the term Genovese syndrome came from.

Aside from this terrible story, I'm quite well. Very well now that I see you back.

Leah - They lack of emotion and the "ho-hum" attitude of the people in this video make them look like robots. I've seen more reaction when I run computer people over while playing Grand Theft Auto on my PS2. The pedestrians in that game react to what's going on. Are they smarted than these people or is it shock? It does not look like shock to me.

Maritza - I know what you mean and I've done the same. But in the middle of the street with lots of blood is when you know it's more than just a drink. These people saw the accident. This is what scares me.

Deb - Yes I have heard that you should not move someone after an accident because you can injure them more. While people did call 911 could someone have at least help divert traffic?

JohnB - That, my friend, is a terrible tragedy you just shared but valued for this discussion. Clearly we know it's not just the people of Hartford but it can happen anywhere. Did people stop in their tracks or did they just stroll on by?

As for the Seattle story, this is my kind of town. It restores my faith in humanity.

"...to me human beings are a dichotomy of utter predictability to complete mystery."

Brilliant words sir. Brilliant and true!

Having lived in big cities most of my life (LA, Se...

2008-06-11T22:09:40.461-04:00

Having lived in big cities most of my life (LA, Seattle, etc) and being one whom is not afraid to walk out into them, I have indeed witnessed things like this first-hand. Unfortunately for me, most of these things I have seen before the age of 12, in LA for instance, there was this one accident I watched at the age of around 8 years where a yellow car pulled out onto a busy blvd without stopping. A car going about 40 mph plowed right into them without being able to stop...this car that reared them, their occupants all not wearing seat belts (no one did back in '79)literally flew out through the windshield (from a force roughly calculated to in excess of 8 times the force of gravity) and side windows and tumbled out onto the street like rag dolls, and none moved after doing so. I'd say I remember about the same lull in time before anything happened as what is in this video...

However, in downtown Seattle I once saw a bicyclist fall off his bike and immediately had his legs crushed as he tumbled in the street by a car driving behind him, which run him over good and proper. Everyone within 10 feet rushed to him on the spot: someone helped block traffic while others waited alongside for an ambulance.

Who can say why or what causes the contrast?...to me human beings are a dichotomy of utter predictability to complete mystery.

unfortunately, when you see someone on the street ...

2008-06-11T18:29:03.123-04:00

unfortunately, when you see someone on the street lying down - you assume they are drunk. I've seen lots of people lying on the street and i do not help because my first thought is "drunk, homeless". How sad. I do hope that if I saw the actual accident, I would have done something.

This is sad. Unfortunately, the best thing someone...

2008-06-11T15:12:25.000-04:00

This is sad.

Unfortunately, the best thing someone can do is call 911, which probably happened. For whatever reason, like you said in your post, fear can really paralyze people. I don't know if I could even handle seeing someone in so much pain or seeing blood for that matter --- being honest. I'd be calling 911 immediately. I can't touch him anyway because they say never touch an injured person until the EMT/ambulance arrives.

This broke my heart watching this.

Yuck. It seems like humans are becoming more and m...

2008-06-11T14:58:51.192-04:00

Yuck. It seems like humans are becoming more and more disconnected from each other and sadly this is the result of it.

I mean, I could do my banking,play a game, go shopping, have a few 'conversations' and put in a full eight hours of work without ANY real human interaction.

It scares me, but what do you do? We're turning into robots.