When someone’s getting hurt, whose business is it?

When someone’s getting hurt, whose business is it?

Saturday, March 20, 2010

STAFF WRITER

On Jan. 28, a 15-year-old female was seen brutally beating another girl in the Seattle bus tunnel. The incident was captured on video by surveillance cameras. As shocking as this vicious attack was, the camera also revealed a different sort of disturbing behavior: unarmed security guards in yellow vests, standing and watching the beating — which continued with kicks to the head and the ribs after the victim was knocked to the ground.

The questions at hand are: How could these security guards stand there and do nothing? Why did they make no physical effort to stop the beating? How far would this attack have had to go before human decency would supersede the “rules of engagement” on which these security guards based their decision not to intervene and not to even attempt to restrain the teenage girl, so the beating would stop?

“On a human level, they certainly should have intervened. Everybody agrees on that,” stated Sgt. John Urquhart from the local sheriff department. “However, their role in the tunnel, what they’re trained to do, what they’re ordered to do, is to observe and report. In other words, not get involved. And that’s really very, very common with civilian security. Unfortunately, the public expects more.”

While one can argue that it is important to follow orders and abide by policies, there is something to be said for humane behavior, which includes empathy and concern for others. The guards acted callously and “just did their jobs.” How many of us could stand there, witness a teenager get punched in the face and ribs and do nothing? If we had been those guards, how many of us, fearing for our jobs, would have followed the company’s rules? Were all of the guards born callous, or were they carefully taught?

Statistics reveal that, with few exceptions, we are largely a society of bystanders. When we encounter psychologically or physically harmful situations, most of us choose to look the other way or wait for someone else to handle it, because of peer pressure, low self-esteem, embarrassment or simply not knowing what to do. Are we capable of redefining and improving our role as pro-social bystanders, a.k.a. “upstanders”?

Scientific research tells us that most of us are born with the capacity for empathy and sympathy. And as Emma Goldman, the famous social activist, said: “No one has yet realized the wealth of sympathy, the kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.”

Are we educating our kids to lose this facility for empathy, sympathy and getting involved? Do TV, the internet and other media desensitize kids, teens and adults to tolerate or ignore bullies, or to be unkind or competitive at any cost? Is the reality of reality programs that they program our kids to behave like the lost boys from “Lord of the Flies”? How will the next generation learn to stand up, speak out and get involved? Where is that intervener behavior modeled for them?

British writer Gilbert K. Chesterton wrote: “Education is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another.” If education is our soul, what are we teaching the next generation?

As both a human and humane society, we have a greater capacity to serve as its proactive members and intervene at the sight of harm or violence. We need to start somewhere. The more we engage in pro-social behaviors and share these examples, the more “normal” intervention, helper and solution-oriented behavior can become.

The next time you see someone getting hurt in public, are you prepared to intervene? Or will you turn away? Will you be prepared to say “Stop!”? To call the police? Are your children prepared and have they practiced to report a bully? A mean child? Are they prepared to protect a victim? Can you discuss what you would do with family, friends and colleagues? If and when the need arises, will you be ready?

Lynne Azarchi is executive director of Kidsbridge, which has created a tolerance museum/learning lab (kidsbridgemuseum.org) on campus at The College of New Jersey in Ewing. Kidsbridge conducts an annual competition for community service and provides other character education and diversity appreciation programs, including weekly life skill programs for Trenton youth.