The mentality of the gathering crowd, watching someone get hurt here…
Why should I do anything? I’m NOT the only one who’s seeing this! Besides, I gotta, head into work now, I’m already late, and the boss warned me if I were ever late again, she’ll FIRE my ASS!
Why should I do anything? I’m NOT the only one who’s seeing this! I just need to, keep my nose down, and TRY not to get involved, because, I don’t want ANY trouble for myself here. Why should I do anything? To help that person who’s being kicked, just because he’s homeless? Plus, he probably DESERVED it, he must’ve done something so awful, that’s caused him to live on the streets, and I got nothing to do with that, so, why should I care?
here’s a comic strip that makes this concept easier to understand, found online…
How many times a day, do you encounter similar thoughts like this, when you come across someone who looked pitiful, like that dirty-faced homeless man, living out of a cardboard box on the streets? Or, how many times, did you turn away, from someone needing assistance?
And, it’s, exactly DUE to this mentality, that there are people around us who will eventually DO something, that’s kept that act from happening, because, as the crowd gathers up to watch, the responsibilities of each and every one in the crowd becomes, diluted, and then, nobody DOES SHIT!
And that, is how the bystander effect and the diffusion of responsibility end up harming someone in need………