http://www.cnn.com/2009/CRIME/10/29/california.rape.victim.friend/index.html
Friend of gang rape victim blasts school officials over safety
To be sure, this was a very horrible crime and there was no reason people shouldn't have called 911. Is it possible though that the reason no one came to help is because no one wanted to be responsible? If ten to fifteen people were involved in the assault and rape of this one girl, is it all that unreasonable that no one would go and stop the perpetrators, themselves? If ten people all watched and did nothing about it, maybe it's because they figured someone else would call the police and get involved.
According to the readings for this class, the cause for social loafing in this context mostly has to do with the third reason which is:
"It may be that participants
felt that the contingency between their input and the outcome was
lessened when performing in groups. Individuals could "hide in the crowd"
(Davis, 1969) and avoid the negative consequences of slacking off, or they may
have felt "lost in the crowd" and unable to obtain their fair share of the positive
consequences for working hard. People can receive neither precise credit nor appropriate
blame for their performance."
It's possible that someone would assume someone else would call 911. Another thing is that they may be hiding in the crowd because they want to help but don't want to be responsible for making the situation worse. I think most people who watched wanted to do the right thing, but were too shocked and too afraid to stand up do the right thing and call 911.
Was there a lack of responsibility with the school? Absolutely. Security guards and the assistant Principal should have checked identification and both had the authority to kick non-authorized people off the grounds. However, I don't think we can blame an individual for not wanting to confront a group of ten people that is currently beating and raping someone.
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I absolutely think we can blame individuals for not stepping up and doing something. Keep in mind this happened over a two-hour period. Two hours this girl was violated and beaten by many offenders and not a single onlooker said or did anything. I would rather receive the same beating and violations that poor girl received then to take any part in passivity. One of my favorite movies is The Accused. In it, Jodie Foster is a victim of a gang rape in a bar. A crowd of people stood around observing, cheering at times, and not offering any help. The D.A. in the movie figures out a way to prosecute some of the onlookers for their cheering as encouraging a crime. Maybe I have an unreasonable expectation of the human race or idea of people taking responsibility but I don't think that's it. It deeply sickens me to think about people witnessing and saying nothing. Multiple things could have happened yes, but none of them leave anybody completely void of responsibility. If somebody happened upon the scene, realized what was going on, decided they couldn't watch and walked away, wouldn't they then be in a position to let an authority figure know what was going on without being fingered as the "rat"? I don't think there is any excuse or justification for somebody realizing what was happening and staying to watch. What kind of a person does it take to watch something like this happen? I can hardly stomach the thought let alone the sight. I'm not saying that these kids weren't scared. Who wouldn't be? Sometimes doing what right is the scariest thing to do. It's understandable but it's not excusable or justifiable under the circumstances that were described. I feel really strongly about this and I really think that we all should. Can you imagine if it was your mom, sister, girlfriend, or daughter? Do you honestly believe that you wouldn't hold these scared witnesses partially responsible? Can you say of yourself that if you saw something like this, got scared and did nothing, would not feel the least bit guilty or responsible? There's a reason for your answers to these questions...
ReplyDeleteKrisB, I'm trying to look at this from an objective point of view. I know personally I would have called the police and have before when I witnessed an assault on a woman in Butte about 2 years ago. It was over before I could stop it but I logged the guy's plate and called him in. I got a subpoena but the guy jumped bail so the court did not convene on that day.
ReplyDeleteI'm trying not to use my own personal experiences. I'm just trying to put an explanation on why people did not act in a truly horrific circumstance.
I understand you're attempt to be objective. I think I might lack the ability to be objective about situations like this. I find it extremely hard to not think about it personally. I think we almost have to take it personal as members of society. When things like this happen it's not just a crime against the individual, it's a crime against humanity and the society that we are all a part of. The human element that we all share is much too strong for me to set aside.
ReplyDeleteWhat a horrible thing to have happened! The degree that people will go to to fit in is incredible. I think in this case people got scared an no one wanted to step up when it was really needed. I like how you used social loafing to help try and understand why people acted the way they did, or that they didn't act. I think we can blame an individual for not helping. They should put themselves in the victims shoes and think how badly they wanted someone to help. People need to steop in and help because it could happen to them.
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