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Disturbing Metro assault
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Anonymous
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I found this very disturbing, but it is useful for everyone to understand the kind of things that can happen on the metro these days. I've lived here for a long time and have never thought of the metro as unsafe, even at off hours. I'm re-evaluating that judgment now.
http://dcist.com/2011/01/really_everything_about_this_is_qui.php |
Anonymous
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Wow, surprised your main take-away from the article is that metro is unsafe.
I found it infinitely more disturbing that no one did anything. Reminds me of the story and video that came out in 2009 when a man got hit by a car (hit and run) on a busy street in Hartford, and lay on the street while tons of passerbys either gingerly steered their car around them or gawked at him and kept walking. It took several minutes while dozens and dozens of people did nothing before someone finally called 911. A random attack is just that, random, and most violent crime happens among people who know each other. So while teens randomly beating someone for no reason is disturbing, that doesn't scare me nearly as much as the fact that so many people stood by and didn't help. |
Anonymous
| Well, it was certainly unsafe for that guy; not sure why you are "surprised" by that conclusion. |
Anonymous
| I agree with you, PP. It's shocking. I can understand being afraid to physically intervene but to not call 911 or the station manager? Crazy. |
Anonymous
Ummm....did you watch the video? Two girls bothering a man, and the man is fighting back. Nothing more than some yelling and slapping. This is hardly the type of incident that would leave me feeling vulnerable about safety on the metro. He probably made some inappropriate comment to one of the women, and then they started screaming and slapping at him. The article made it sound like some totally innocent victim being trampled by a (presumably male) gang of some sort. |
Anonymous
| It is disturbing. I wonder if no one did anything to help him because he was a middle aged white man being attack by teenage black girls. Maybe people were thinking he could handle himself or that he had done something to them. |
Anonymous
| I read he was waiting at the stop reading a book minding his own business. |
Anonymous
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WTF?? That video is insanely disturbing. I'm glad the victim has video evidence and the lunatics are held accountable.
To the PPs who don't find this disturbing - really? |
Anonymous
| PP again - meaning I *hope the lunatics are held accountable. |
Anonymous
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These stories make me so sad. There is a lot of unprovoked, gratuitous violence happening in our community (greater DC, i mean). This is not isolated. But I am always so freaking shocked that people won't lend a hand. I really and truly like to believe that I would have stepped up. Don't most of you agree? But I wonder if many of the people standing around also thought that they would have stepped up, but something prevented them from doing so. Groupthink in a bad way, where everyone either assumes that someone else will have called the police or that they're too busy to call the police but someone else will, or that what they are doing is more important. I don't understand it. I read an article somewhere about how a bunch of priests were told they had to give a talk on human kindness but it was staged. On the way to their supposed "presentation" they encountered someone needing help (injured) and whether or not they helped depended only on whether they were late or not. Those who were running late did not help. Those were right on time did not help. Those who were running ahead of time helped. Then there was the incident where a woman was killed despite tons of people in the apartment building seeing the violence go down. Everyone thought surely someone else will call the police. On my neighborhood's listerv, you'd be shocked at how many people will email "did anyone else hear gunshots?" But then when I reply and say "did you call the police?" They say no!!!!!! WTF, what if your husband had been caught in the crossfire and died because nobody bothered to call the police, but yet had time to ask a fucking listserv about it?
For this reason, I phone the police all the time, even though human nature makes me think someone else will have done so. I also stop to help people who are stranded motorists, even though I think most people do have cell phones. I'm sure it means I'm exposing myself to danger, but I guess I'd rather get hurt by someone taking advantage of me than to be teh kind of person who would never help someone else. One last thing: if I was at that metro station with a child, I would have probably run away to safety before calling teh police. I do behave differently now that I have a kid. (In my younger days I would have intervened more directly perhaps). However, to just not call for help? It's time more people lived more mindfully. |
Anonymous
| The accounts I've read indicate the attack was unprovoked, and the man did not fight back other than to protect himself, and he was left bruised, cut, and bleeding. It's disgusting that people are blaming the victim, and it's pretty clear that you don't ride metro. These kids are out there just looking for trouble and will make their own if they can't find any. |
Anonymous
| I read recently that Billy Nye the Science Guy collapsed walking to the podium to give a speech at a California university and not a single person called 911 -- but everyone immediately began Tweeting the news to their friends. |
Anonymous
| I've seen high school kids horsing around being obnoxiously dramatic, loud and physical with one another during rush hour at that station. Maybe some were thinking it was horseplay? |
Anonymous
Oh so you are saying "he asked for it". How enlightened. |
Anonymous
That's so sad. Ugh. I like the science guy. He must feel really freaking sad about that. I'm telling you, it's bad groupthink. Let's all promise not to be like that. |