I hate to sound blaise or snarky but honestly. Why do you think the standard line in self defense classes is *If you are ever attacked shout FIRE not HELP.*

You can't just blame it on Kids These Days. Look at what happened to Kitty Genovese. There were no such things as iPods, BlackBerries, PDA's etc to blame it on back then. Most people just don't want to get involved.

OP here. I agree that gender might have played into their inaction but they heard someone asking for help. Grunts, thuds, hysterical screams? And "God, please help me." I can't believe that none of this triggered anyone's rescue impulse, that their adrenals didn't kick into high gear. I mean, we know they had access to cell phones! I wonder if the victim was mortally wounded or might she have been saved? Does anyone know?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's freaking me out that employees heard what they heard and did not call the police. I'd read reports that they heard noises, but did not appreciate until yesterday that they could hear actual words, and that it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong.

I thought the exact same thing! What. In the fuck were these two people thinking? How difficult would it have been to dial 911 -- even if you're not that sure, maybe it was a joke, maybe they're just moving heavy furniture ....

This guy and this chick are the embodiment of what is wrong with the 'earbuds glued permanently into my ear canal, eyes down on a flickering screen 115% of the time' generation that has been "brought up on technology." Which of course is fostered by their employer, but does go beyond that. (ie, you can be oblivious to the bus about to run you over because you're staring at a text on your Droid, not iPhone).

No need to engage, ever, with your surroundings or reach out.

ITA, and I like how you've stated it. I'm so sick of Gen Y people constantly staring at their gadgets and plugged into their iPods. Something egregious happens right in front of them and they don't even blink an eye. I was walking in CH the other day when an old Latino woman fell down on the street. She was lying on the sidewalk and three young people just walked by her. I scrambled to go help her and raise her up. She was so glad of the assistance, and thanked me over and over. I'm not saying this to brag on myself, but WTH is wrong with the people that passed her? I'm 41, FWIW.

I'm 38, but let's not make this a generic age thing. It's not age specific. Malcolm Gladwell wrote about it in an essay included in the tipping point that studied trainee priests at the princeton theological society, who were asked to give a short talk about a bible passage and then confronted, en route to the venue, a person who was slumped over and obviously hurt on the way. The biggest factor contributing to whether or not the priests stopped to help or not was how early or late they were running. Those on time or running late did not help, those who were early were more likely to help.

And the bystander effect has been studied long before gen y and its distractions showed up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect

I think the only thing to do is to be more mindful in life. It takes an effort to be engaged and present. Ignoring seems to be the norm. Tragic.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

It's freaking me out that employees heard what they heard and did not call the police. I'd read reports that they heard noises, but did not appreciate until yesterday that they could hear actual words, and that it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong.

I thought the exact same thing! What. In the fuck were these two people thinking? How difficult would it have been to dial 911 -- even if you're not that sure, maybe it was a joke, maybe they're just moving heavy furniture ....

This guy and this chick are the embodiment of what is wrong with the 'earbuds glued permanently into my ear canal, eyes down on a flickering screen 115% of the time' generation that has been "brought up on technology." Which of course is fostered by their employer, but does go beyond that. (ie, you can be oblivious to the bus about to run you over because you're staring at a text on your Droid, not iPhone).

No need to engage, ever, with your surroundings or reach out.

ITA, and I like how you've stated it. I'm so sick of Gen Y people constantly staring at their gadgets and plugged into their iPods. Something egregious happens right in front of them and they don't even blink an eye. I was walking in CH the other day when an old Latino woman fell down on the street. She was lying on the sidewalk and three young people just walked by her. I scrambled to go help her and raise her up. She was so glad of the assistance, and thanked me over and over. I'm not saying this to brag on myself, but WTH is wrong with the people that passed her? I'm 41, FWIW.

At some point they will grow up and out of their immature selfishness. Or they will see the light when something bad happens to them and no one helps them.

OP, I read that this morning, despite really wanting to ignore news about this trial because I hate the sensational stuff. I find this really upsetting. In a WaPo article they gave the woman hypothetical scenarios "would you have intervened if you heard X, Y, Z, ?" and she continued to say "I couldn't say what I would have done."

I think it is pretty standard to assume someone else is intervening or to hesitate but this is hard to forgive. They could have saved a life. I am the guy who dials 911 for firecrackers, if I'm not 100 percent certain it is firecrackers. I try to force myself to stay in the moment and to intervene. Our neighbor recently told us she heard gunshots while in another neighborhood but did not call the police because she didn't want to be "hassled."

The only way to bear a story like this is to let it shape us moving forward - never be that person who listens out of prurient interest rather than the interest of helping.

Anonymous wrote:

It's freaking me out that employees heard what they heard and did not call the police. I'd read reports that they heard noises, but did not appreciate until yesterday that they could hear actual words, and that it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong.

I thought the exact same thing! What. In the fuck were these two people thinking? How difficult would it have been to dial 911 -- even if you're not that sure, maybe it was a joke, maybe they're just moving heavy furniture ....

This guy and this chick are the embodiment of what is wrong with the 'earbuds glued permanently into my ear canal, eyes down on a flickering screen 115% of the time' generation that has been "brought up on technology." Which of course is fostered by their employer, but does go beyond that. (ie, you can be oblivious to the bus about to run you over because you're staring at a text on your Droid, not iPhone).

No need to engage, ever, with your surroundings or reach out.

ITA, and I like how you've stated it. I'm so sick of Gen Y people constantly staring at their gadgets and plugged into their iPods. Something egregious happens right in front of them and they don't even blink an eye. I was walking in CH the other day when an old Latino woman fell down on the street. She was lying on the sidewalk and three young people just walked by her. I scrambled to go help her and raise her up. She was so glad of the assistance, and thanked me over and over. I'm not saying this to brag on myself, but WTH is wrong with the people that passed her? I'm 41, FWIW.

There is something wrong with those employees but don't forget that the criminal spreads their shit on everyone including innocent and clueless bystanders. That violent criminal should never have been hired in the first place.

it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong.

This is why those two Apple employees suck so very much. There is really no way for anyone (over the age of about 10) to interpret the words of the dead woman any other way other than acute distress. They walked over to the wall, leaned in, and heard this:

"God, help. me. Somebody, god, help me."

Nah, you know what, let's stack up these iPhone cases neatly so we can get outta here.

Anonymous wrote:They probably thought it was just 2 girls in a verbal argument or at worst maybe a cat fight. I don't think the first thing you think of is a vicious murder. If it were only 1 female voice or maybe 1 female and 1 male, their reaction might have been different. I personally would have been curious enough to go check it out myself, but maybe not call the police right away.

This. I also think they might have done something if it were two male voices in a heated argument.

It's freaking me out that employees heard what they heard and did not call the police. I'd read reports that they heard noises, but did not appreciate until yesterday that they could hear actual words, and that it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong.

I thought the exact same thing! What. In the fuck were these two people thinking? How difficult would it have been to dial 911 -- even if you're not that sure, maybe it was a joke, maybe they're just moving heavy furniture ....

This guy and this chick are the embodiment of what is wrong with the 'earbuds glued permanently into my ear canal, eyes down on a flickering screen 115% of the time' generation that has been "brought up on technology." Which of course is fostered by their employer, but does go beyond that. (ie, you can be oblivious to the bus about to run you over because you're staring at a text on your Droid, not iPhone).

No need to engage, ever, with your surroundings or reach out.

Sickens me!! And now the defense us trying to use this fact to prove that the killing happened so quickly that it couldn't have been premeditated - because if it was long and drawn out, the apple employees surely would have intervened. Don't know how those defense attorneys sleep at night.
And how the apple employees can live with themselves.

You guys keep telling people here to MTOB all the time when they see something weird going on.... that's what they did.

They probably thought it was just 2 girls in a verbal argument or at worst maybe a cat fight. I don't think the first thing you think of is a vicious murder. If it were only 1 female voice or maybe 1 female and 1 male, their reaction might have been different. I personally would have been curious enough to go check it out myself, but maybe not call the police right away.

Anonymous wrote:It's freaking me out that employees heard what they heard and did not call the police. I'd read reports that they heard noises, but did not appreciate until yesterday that they could hear actual words, and that it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong. Of course there's nothing that can be done, it's just another heartbreaking detail in a very sad story.

ITA. Awful.

It's freaking me out that employees heard what they heard and did not call the police. I'd read reports that they heard noises, but did not appreciate until yesterday that they could hear actual words, and that it was obvious from what they were hearing that something was really, really wrong. Of course there's nothing that can be done, it's just another heartbreaking detail in a very sad story.