tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post847850057418300871..comments2024-03-18T06:42:53.449-07:00Comments on HEROES IN THE NIGHT: KITTY GENOVESE and the 38 WITNESSESTea Kruloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07994495796501352329noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-45480140548057693752010-03-18T22:29:33.456-07:002010-03-18T22:29:33.456-07:00More eyes on the street means less quiet places fo...More eyes on the street means less quiet places for bad things to happen. Simple math, you don't have to be Charles Bronson from Death Wish to do this, just being Jimmy Stewart from Rear Window would help.Zhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00588181958191133598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-78235674631441215972010-03-17T05:17:51.422-07:002010-03-17T05:17:51.422-07:00The case of Kitty is not the only one demonstratin...The case of Kitty is not the only one demonstrating the sad results of the psychological effect that has become known as the bystander effect. Here is another one: <br /><br /><><br /><br />Petru Barladeanu was accidentally shot by Italian mafia in a crowded street in the center of Napoli close to the Spanish Quarter, on the 26th of May, 2009. The event took place at a moment when the street was full of people who witnessed the assault at early hours of the evening. Taking refuge at the entrance of a station, Petru Barladeanu fell and died half an hour later in the presence of his panicked wife who called for help. As shown in the CCTV video of the event the victim was surrounded by ordinary people who looked at the victim without giving any help whatsoever and then fled the scene. The victim eventually died and the perpetrators were convicted only months later. None of those who refused to assist the victim were either identified or charged by the prosecutors.<br /><br /><><br /><br />I've read alot of criticism from anti-RLSH about their disdain of RLSH patrols and how ineffective or silly they are. But then I think about incidents like this and then I have to ask myself if these people could have been saved if just one of the people seeing the crime happen or seeing the victim's serious injuries would have stepped up and done something. Would Kitty have been saved if someone seeing this have brought her into the safety of their home and called the paramedics? Would Petru have been saved if someone would have called for medical assistance or provided a modicum of on the spot help? <br /><br />RLSH patrols are not trying to replace the police. To think so would be ridiculous. But situations like those mentioned above point out that you can have people around capable of helping, capable of making a difference and potentially saving lives but if they are consumed by apathy then it won't matter whether it's 5 bystanders of 5000. Chances are things will end up tragic. <br /><br />The RLSH care. It's why they do what they do despite the false accusations that they do it for the glory or their egos. And yes Silver Sentinel, you are right. It's time to start turning things around. Take care folks and stay safe.Dragonhearthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02345138625352410119noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-51118942909368866562010-03-13T17:45:16.598-08:002010-03-13T17:45:16.598-08:00I didn't read Watchmen and had no clue about R...I didn't read Watchmen and had no clue about Rorschach's connection to this. All I knew was her name and her connection to the "bystander effect". I don't feel an affinity because this incident inspired something in a damned comic book. It speaks to me because it is a well-known example (even if exaggerated) of something fundamentally wrong with people not caring to get involved.<br /><br />Tonight, Golden Valkyrie and I are going out to honor the memory, not just of Kitty Genovese, but of all those who have suffered because of the apathy of society. We are going out to make a statement, "Here, and no further. This will not happen again on our watch."<br /><br />Silver SentinelUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14407573031485695743noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-18196013788340670502010-03-13T15:34:41.919-08:002010-03-13T15:34:41.919-08:00I can think of one at my level. Meow and I bought ...I can think of one at my level. Meow and I bought flowers to the makeshift memorial outside Ward Weaver's house/crime scene along with half of Portland.<br /><br />http://karisable.com/wweaver.htm.<br /><br />Wikipedia reports that only a dozen individuals were in earshot of the incident.<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitty_Genovese<br /><br />"Later investigation by police and prosecutors revealed that approximately a dozen (but almost certainly not the 38 cited in the Times article) individuals nearby had heard or observed portions of the attack, though none saw or were aware of the entire incident.[9] Only one witness, Joseph Fink, was aware she was stabbed in the first attack, and only Karl Ross was aware of it in the second attack. Many were entirely unaware that an assault or homicide was in progress; some thought that what they saw or heard was a lovers' quarrel or a drunken brawl or a group of friends leaving the bar when Moseley first approached Genovese."<br /><br />Also<br /><br />"The lead is dramatic but factually inaccurate. None of the witnesses observed the attacks in their entirety. Because of the layout of the complex and the fact that the attacks took place in different locations, no witness saw the entire sequence of events. Most only heard portions of the incident without realizing its seriousness, a few saw only small portions of the initial assault, and no witnesses directly saw the final attack and rape in an exterior hallway which resulted in Genovese's death.[1] Additionally, after the initial attack punctured her lungs (leading to her eventual death from asphyxiation), it is unlikely that she was able to scream at any volume.[14]"<br /><br />I guess if people want to commemerating this day then I guess they should as it's their rights. But this is sort of like believing in Santa Claus. Yeah, St. Nicholas was real, but the modern day stories are exaggerated.<br /><br />http://www.stnicholascenter.org/Brix?pageID=38Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-6527975198996205522010-03-13T14:43:45.940-08:002010-03-13T14:43:45.940-08:00Zetaman, thanks for pointing that out. I went in a...Zetaman, thanks for pointing that out. I went in and added that as a footnote to the main write up. I guess I forgot or lost in my subconscious it was part of the Watchmen plot. <br /><br />Agent B, I think your analysis is accurate, but I think people don't analyze to that detail because they see the story as more symbolic of apathy. What I mean is I don't think people care about the race or other details, they care about the thirty some neighbors not moving to action.<br /><br />I think you are both right in that there are many other stories that equally or better provide terrible examples of society ills. <br /><br />Some stories seem to stick and others don't without much logic as to why they capture our (or the media's) imagination.Tea Kruloshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07994495796501352329noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-6845475824092241512010-03-13T00:28:13.891-08:002010-03-13T00:28:13.891-08:00Zetaman has it right on the money: Watchmen is pr...Zetaman has it right on the money: Watchmen is probably the only reason that Kitty Genovese's name gets tossed around so much.<br /><br />The problem is that it probably didn't happen the way the New York Times initially reported, making RLSH hollering about her death all the more embarrassing.<br /><br />There was once an extensive website with maps and crime scene photos and everything... but I'm having trouble finding it, so this On The Media will have to do and a transcript is here: http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2009/03/27/05<br /><br />Captain Carnage called a fellow hero out on his bullshit(http://forums.superherohype.com/archive/index.php/t-283482.html) but the majority opinion was that beautiful Italian women need rescuing from cruel heartless bystanders and dastardly black men. Don't kid yourself: this has Missing White Woman Syndrome (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_white_woman_syndrome) written all over it, and that the killer was swarthy was icing on the cake. <br /><br />One has to wonder, however, how people from the sixties would have reacted if it was then widely known that Genovese was a lesbian who shared her Kew Gardens, Queens apartment with her girlfriend Mary Ann Zielonko. If that had been widely reported, society would have dismissed the case as "bad things happen to bad people".<br /><br />Kitty Genovese tell us little about how bystanders behave, but very much about how society picks and chooses who to mourn.Agent Berylliumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05358864485668569532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-37675744992725206252010-03-12T22:45:34.256-08:002010-03-12T22:45:34.256-08:00This is one of those things that have relevance wi...This is one of those things that have relevance within the RLSH community simply because of the cultures affinity to Watchmen. This is bizarre in itself because a majority of RLSH are not comic book readers. <br />This is a very sad case of apathy, but it happened a long time ago. I can think of numerous of tragic events that the RLSH community can draw inspiration on and possibly should. However I believe this one is so focused on because someone somewhere read Watchmen for the first time. They read how the character Rorschach was inspired by the death of Ms. Genovese and decided they want to turn it into a RLSH holiday of sorts. I have felt that it was bizarre of so many RLSH to want to “patrol” on her death and not be inspired by other injustices in our nation to do a national patrol as well. <br />I I could be just wrong and off base though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6750399704496351785.post-29414335466216206292010-03-12T18:47:53.843-08:002010-03-12T18:47:53.843-08:00If people were less self-centered and willing to w...If people were less self-centered and willing to watch out and stand up for one another, people like me wouldn't be needed. While everyone wants to be needed, this is not the way I would prefer to be needed. People...all people...should be willing to stand up and tell those who terrorize our neighborhoods that we will not sit idly by and let these things happen.The Watchmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06916769526399725123noreply@blogger.com