Bystander Effect

Bystander Effect In Martin Gansberg’s, “38 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police,” was about a young woman had been fatally stabbed. Catherine Genovese was the woman who was on her way back from work when a man had come up to her and stabbed her. The man had not killed her on the first stab or the second stab but finally the third stab was the fatal blow to end her life. The attack lasted over 35 minutes and over 38 people watching the poor woman getting stabbed. No one even thought of calling the police until the women finally died. After the police were called, they started to ask the neighbors what they saw and some did not want to talk, but then a man, who was Miss’s Genovese’s neighbor, who stepped forward and confused to seeing the murder happen before him. The police had questioned the man that if he witnessed the murder why didn’t anyone step forward and actually call the police to report the incident, knowing the man was at fault he didn’t have a direct answer. According to the police they were indicating that if a call was made that the women would probably still be alive. Something that really shocked the cops was that all those who watched the incident, no one decided to call and report it. The article was to show that not everyone does the right thing, people have fear, and people do not want to get involved. Everyone usually has the mentally that people are expected to do right when something wrong is happening. Robberies and murders happen frequently and most people would react by calling the police immediately when they are witnessing the crime. This shows when anyone is put in a life or death situation, they would want anyone who is near them to help in any shape or form. Everyone would expect someone to call the police if lives were in danger; “ the “good people” failed to call the police” (38 who saw murder 899). The people did not take any action during the crime, they should have called the police or try to stop the man. Any attempt of

Cited: Gansburg, Martin. “38 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police.” The Norton Reader: An Anthology of Expository Prose. Ed. Arthur M. Eastmen, et al. New York: Norton, 1965. 699-901. Print.