What Is the World Coming To?
THIS question is often asked when we read about the things that ordinary people do. For example:
● Dorice, a young woman from Queens, New York, was slashed in the head, face and leg by an unknown man, who then ran away without saying a word. Bleeding profusely, she rang several doorbells in a nearby building, looking for help. Some householders called the police, but nobody would let her in or help her. Why not? Seemingly they were afraid. “It’s a terrible world,” said her mother after Dorice’s ordeal.
● A plane crashed near Detroit city airport. One man lay dying and another was critically injured. When emergency crews reached the scene of the accident, they found that the injured men had already been robbed of their wallets and other valuables. Who would do a thing like that? “Ghouls,” commented the New York Daily News in giving the report.
● An out-of-control van ran onto the sidewalk and knocked a four-year-old boy out of his mother’s arms. The mother, thinking her son was dying, screamed: “Don’t die, don’t die.” The driver, uninjured, leaped from his vehicle to help the injured boy and his panic-stricken mother. Immediately, a mob of passersby, seeing the truck unattended, looted it and fought among themselves for a share of its cargo of sweatshirts. “It’s very depressing,” remarked an observer. “It’s a jungle.” The boy suffered a crushed pelvis and fractured ribs.
● An assistant psychology professor and his students staged a number of faked crimes in the streets of different cities over a two-year period to test the response of bystanders who witnessed the “crimes.” The results? Mostly, no response! During one staged car break-in, a bystander wanted to join in. Another time, they quite openly “stole” a motorcycle. Just 50 feet (15 m) away, a police car was parked. But nobody interfered. Other “crimes” included stuffing an apparently unconscious man into the trunk of a car. In New York City, only 3 percent of the “crimes” were reported by witnesses. This was ahead of cities like Boston and Miami, where no one reported them.
● A 26-year-old man, friendless and depressed, climbed to the top of a 100-foot (30-m) smokestack on New Year’s eve, shouting: “I want to die! I want to die!” Three Emergency Services police sped to the scene and climbed the chimney to rescue him. An automatic boiler at the base of the building turned on, and smoke poured up out of the chimney, causing the young man to choke and gag, almost causing him to fall accidentally. A crowd had gathered below by now, watching the drama. Seeing the young man’s distress, some raised their hands, made a fist and booed. Others screamed: “Jump! Let him do it.”
What is the world coming to? A very good question!