People Care More About Dogs Than Other People!?!..WTF

[Luthien]

I'm sure many of you have seen the show "What Would You Do?" or others like it, where situations are staged in public to see how bystanders will react. The situations range from children bullying each other, domestic violence, child abuse, and so on.

What I always find shocking, is the number of people who stand by and do nothing, or simply walk away. One finding is that women are more likely than men to step in to try to stop what's happening, and that far too many people simply do not want to get involved.

I also watched a video on youtube recently that mentions a case (happened in 2004) where a woman was raped in a subway station in front of several bystanders, and two subway employees. No one stepped in to stop it, the only thing the subway workers did was hit the panic button, and that poor woman was actually raped while they stood and did nothing to actually stop it.

I was pretty pissed when I heard about that. I mean seriously, do people have no regard for each other?? I can't imagine how she must feel towards the human race.

So anyway, tonight I am watching the news, and the breaking story is about a man who was dragging and old dog in the subway. He apparently got angry with it, because it was too tired to walk any further and he pinned it down, squeezed its throat, and then started dragging it by its leash.

Okay, the guy is a jerk. Poor dog.

What pissed me off is that several people jumped right in, took the dog from him, called the police, and several of them were caught on tape crying over what had been done.

I am sorry, but it is sad when we're living in a world where people care more about animals than other people. I am not knocking animals, they're great, but honestly, if I saw a guy abusing a dog, and several feet away someone abusing a child or woman, I would step in to save the person first. That's just me.

I think it is disgusting the way many people view others...it seems we're living in a world where people just do not care for one another, and Dogs, are held in higher regard.

That's the end of my little rant..what do you guys think?

 

[Noone.]

Hello Luthien.

I have said before this is why firemen dont' carry guns, I would rather go to prision
than watch another human being suffer.
Also if my dog had a gun she would of shot the owner.
Take care.

Fire.

 

[Mina]

I agree with your disgust, Luthien. I've thought about this type of thing before, and have come up with a couple of theories. Let me know what you think...

At least in the US, I've wondered if it isn't in part due to our lawsuit-happy legal system. People will sue each other over just about anything anymore. Perhaps that makes folks afraid to intervene when the parties involved are all people. I'm not excusing their lack of response, but it would be a sad commentary if that's one of the reasons.

The other is perhaps self-preservation. People might think that if they stepped in to help the victim, perhaps the attacker would begin directing their "attentions" toward the good samaritan. And as many people often think of themselves before others, well, it's just easier and safer to do nothing.

Good topic...!

 

[Luthien]

Fire,

I like how you can be completely serious when the occasion calls for it, and still find a way to make me LMAO before you're done your point, I can actually picture Bo with a gun...LOL! Thanks.

Mina,

I've heard both of those theories before, and after extensive studying in the social sciences, I know they are both commonly expressed reasons, and that they might have merrit.

I guess we need all types, but I am sorry, I couldn't stand there and watch a child get abused, or a woman raped and do nothing, and I hold ill will against those who can.

It makes me ill to think of what others do to each other...and I can just imagine how that woman felt knowing her degradation was watched, that someone could have helped her, but they were too worried about their own skin, or pocketbooks...:dontknow:

(Hey Fire, I just used pocketbook in a sentence...LOL.)

 

[Deleted member 541]

I too think it's because our society has become lawsuit happy, and that animal abuse is becoming so news worthy, because of cases like Vick, and his fighting dogs.....

We are no longer a society that *helps our neighbor*, instead we tend to turn the other way. Very sad, but becoming more and more prevalent....

 

[midi]

I really don't think it's anything to do with dogs over humans - compassionate people have feelings for both. Apathetic people could care less about other people or dogs or babies or cute kittens.

I recently encountered a case of domestic violence. The guy was drunk and so angry that he was actually hitting his girlfriend's car with his bare fists. It was so loud I could hear it through closed windows. The girl was screaming for somebody to call the cops. Did I go out there? I'm not that crazy. That action would have fed his anger and he would have laid a violent beating on me too. In darkness, I stumbled for the phone and called 911. They sent out a cruiser and in no time, the drunk wife/car beater was yelling and screaming at the cops.

There is the mob mentality - they're either going to rush the assailant or stand there and do jack squat. When I called the cops, I was scared out of my mind.

 

[Luthien]

But, at least you called. I am not saying go out there and get beat, I am saying do something, whatever you can to help.

I still think the self preservation thing should only be to an extent though, I am sorry, but "we were afraid we might get beat" wouldn't have cut it for me if I was the woman who was raped in that subway...

I guess I am a bit sensitive about it though, as I am a rape victim, I just can't handle thinking someone would have watched my assault and not helped me, or that I could stand there and watch it happen to another person without trying to stop it.

I'd take a fist in the face to stop someone getting raped..yep, I would.

 

[midi]

Yeah, cell phones - some of those people would have had cell phones. They could have called 911, definitely.

Being on a subway, that's a crowd, that could have lynched the rapist - but they went the other way, completely passive.

 

[becvan]

Our world is saturated with violence every day. It's in the books we read, the shows we watch, the news, online, in video games, board games and any time we step outdoors. People are simply desensitized to it. So it's no surprise that there is very little reaction.

People will react to animals being attacked, because it is not something we see everyday. Dogs aren't raping, molesting, torturing, stealing, vandalizing, bumming, murdering and making war on each other on a daily basis. So we tend to be more protective of the more sane species.

bec

 

[pebbels]

Hi Luthien
I can undrstand your frustration about the subway incident, there were plenty of people around to overcome the rapist, but i haved to agree with what Becvan has said. We had a good samaritin do the right thing here in New Zealand by helping out a woman getting attacked and he was stabbed and killed, the victim and attacker live and another incident was a guy abusing and threatening a woman on the foot path and this good samaritin went to help and the woman turned on him and told him to leave her partner alone, thats like wtf, so people a very wary now of getting hurt themselves badly by trying to help, but having said that there is mobiles.

Pebs

 

[Riggs413]

Hey Luthien, my point of view......and I don't disagree with what you have said...

In having conversations with family members, I find I actually stress the point that if you do get involved, you just don't know who you are dealing with in today's world.

In the case of one of my family members witnessing a violent attack on the street, I advocate that they should call 911 but not to get directly involved due to my concerns for their safety.

(Yes this is a blanket statement and I do tailor my responses differently for another family member that is in the army. For him and myself, I expect us to get involved, given our training).

The easy way out, morally wrong for me to suggest this, who knows. I just know that after many years on the street as a police officer I saw time and again, good samaritins (sp) hurt when they "stepped in to help". Personally, I wouldn't want that for a member of my family.

Interesting thread, I will be thinking about it this week, as I take my dog for her walks.

Oh and the guy arrested for abusing the dog, (I watched the same newscast) was a hired dog-walker!

 

[starshine]

The thing is, it's different people in each case. Each case is unique. What's to say the dog rescuers wouldn't have done the same for a human being?

Thing is also. Recently in the UK the London Mayor advised people NOT to intervene in people being hurt. Great, huh?