Apathy vs Empathy

[ke1985]

In the midst of callous and apathetic individuals, Linda touched many with her care and concern for the "least important" of society:

I hope it touches your heart as it does mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YQhTLoGuA

*The video illustrates a mock scene where a beautiful woman acts like she has passed out verses a homeless man. It takes an average of 6 seconds before an individual stops for the woman. An average of 3 minutes for the homeless man.

At the end, Linda reaches out to the man when no one else will.

 

[ke1985]

19 views but no response?

I wonder why.

 

[brinny]

In the midst of callous and apathetic individuals, Linda touched many with her care and concern for the "least important" of society:

I hope it touches your heart as it does mine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YQhTLoGuA

*The video illustrates a mock scene where a beautiful woman acts like she has passed out verses a homeless man. It takes an average of 6 seconds before an individual stops for the woman. An average of 3 minutes for the homeless man.

At the end, Linda reaches out to the man when no one else will.

Linda Hamilton made me weep....compassion is so rare...i'm lifting her up to Abba right now.

 

[b&wpac4]

The sad thing is it takes so little to reach out, but most people don't feel the need to be bothered by the concerns of people we deem undesirable. I find it telling that most major religions emphasize helping the poor and needy, since I don't believe it is a trait naturally occurring in a great many people.


As to the replying thing, for quite a while I was unable to reply due to a bug. Not sure if that is why there was so little response, but that was mine.

 

[sandwiches]

The mentality in these cases is that someone else will help, so why bother? Actually, the amazing thing is that in these cases, once one person helps, most everyone that was apprehensive will help out as well.

 

[Steezie]

I think it might be more useful to examine WHY this occurs.

As a society, we tend to value youth, beauty, and wealth more than anything. Perhaps its time we try to shift our focus as a society

 

[plindboe]

Actually, the amazing thing is that in these cases, once one person helps, most everyone that was apprehensive will help out as well.

Indeed, there's certainly some psychological thing going on here, other than people just being indifferent. To overcome the herd mentality and do something independently, to break out of the routine of daily life and adjust to a very different and dramatic situation is probably not as simple to do as we like to tell ourselves. With these considerations it's probably not a coincidence that a homeless person was the first to react.

Would be interesting to hear some thoughts from someone who knows more about psychology than I do.

Peter

 

[Autumnleaf]

The first thing I thought is the guy looked like he might just have passed out drunk, as happens with bums sometimes. The woman looked like she would not have passed out drunk so she might be really hurt.

When I was younger I saw a guy passed out by the street and I walked over and asked if I could help. When he answered he said he just had a bit to drink but he could sure use a dollar or two if I had them to spare. I guess that experience prejudices me about these scenarios.

 

[clarksided]

Which is completely unwarranted. That's what a lot of people do in order to avoid helping the homeless or indigent, though; they just pretend they're all drunks and addicts.

Empirical evidence unequivocally disproves that, but whatever helps you I guess.

 

[Fantine]

Linda Hamilton's example shows how one person can inspire other people to care. What a beautiful person.

 

[mahoutragicqueen]

The first thing I thought is the guy looked like he might just have passed out drunk, as happens with bums sometimes. The woman looked like she would not have passed out drunk so she might be really hurt.

Someone who is passed out drunk is in danger of alcohol poisoning and still needs help.

 

[Everlasting33]

Linda Hamilton's example shows how one person can inspire other people to care. What a beautiful person.

Exactly. I want to follow in Linda's footsteps. She is so inspiring

 

[Autumnleaf]

Someone who is passed out drunk is in danger of alcohol poisoning and still needs help.

Right. How many times have you gone to skid row to call for help for such people?

 

[sandwiches]

Right. How many times have you gone to skid row to call for help for such people?

What does that have to do with the video or the comments below? The people in the video saw someone on the ground, seemingly unconscious and they ignored them. Don't try to evade the issue with this strawman.

 

[clarksided]

Right. How many times have you gone to skid row to call for help for such people?

These people weren't in the middle of Compton, they were on a busy city street in a reasonable part of town (judging by their attire and apparent affluence).

 

[RealityPixie]

**Psych student hat on**

It is pretty easy to judge these people, guys. But as much as we all like to think we are above this sort of stuff, statistcis show that we are all just as likely to make an excuse and walk on by. There was some mention of a 'herd mentality' earlier, and to a degree this is true. Going back a few thousand years, for a member of a tribe to be excluded from the group would mean certain death. Therefore we eveolved an inbuilt mechanism to make us more likely to conform. If everybody else is standing around, that is the norm. Nobody wants to be the person to break the norms and therefore risk expulsion from the group. This ancient mechanism unfortunatley often results in situations such as this one.

Another factor is that of deminished responsibility. Everyone wants somebody to step up and take control, and in many cases assume that somebody will. If they see somebody on the street, they assume that nobody has helped them because they arn't in need of help, or with all the people around that somebody else has taken care of it.

With my limited psych eye, it would seem that the woman who helped him did so because she was already an outcast (it said she had occasionally been homeless, I think). She has already distanced herself from the group, and would have a hightened sense of empathy for his situation if she had been there herself.

**Psych Student hat off**

It is terrible, unfortunately that is the kind of behaviours that living in cities does to people At least somebody stepped up to help that man, even if he didn't really need it.

 

[Archer93]

'The kindness of strangers' versus the 'somebody else's problem field'.
I've been on both sides of that situation- once on a night out in town I saw a homeless person collapse- the fumes of alcohol off him suggested that he was simply drunk but when the ambulance arrived it transpired that he'd had a heart attack. He was alive when he was put into the abulance, but I don't know what happened afterwards.

On another occasion I was on my way to work in the morning when I passed out on the tube train- people helped me to a seat and gave me some water. I got off at the next station to go home again but had to sit on the steps to recover a bit before I could go over the bridge to the other platform- I was slumped over and obviously in distress, wearing a suit and not looking in the slightest way homeless, but none of the station staff even enquired of me if I was alright.

I don't have any conclusions about this. Maybe some people are just nice, and some people just don't want the hassle.
And I have much respect for Linda Hamilton in that video.