“Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder Didn't Call the Police”, by, Martin Gansberg
S: This essay is in the form of a New York Times article from March 27, 1964 where an assailant, Winston Moseley; 29, stabbed Catherine “Kitty” Genovese, 28, three times within a thirty-five minute period early one morning. The brutal murder was seen by at least thirty-eight people in a heavily populated neighborhood, yet none of these witnesses called the police until Ms. Genovese had already died around 3:50am. When asked why they didn’t call the police earlier, none of the witnesses could come up with a definitive answer. The most frequent response was; “I didn’t want to get involved.” This case confused police due to the high level of apathy to violence, an attitude that has become more prevalent in American culture as time has passed.
R: I have heard many times of similar occurrences (typically in New York) where someone would be the victim of a violent crime where there were many witnesses around, and yet none of these witnesses would try to get involved or even report it to the police. I would like to think that if I were put into one of these witnesses’ shoes that I would do something, and I am sure that I would. I have, however, asked people I know from New York if this is true, and they all confirm it. I ask them why they didn’t do anything and they always respond, “Hey man, I ain’t trying to get stabbed.” This makes me wonder how long it takes fear to overpower righteousness, and when the stress of maintaining cohesion overpowers one’s moral compass.
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