as I have said before, there is no justification in my mind for anyone refusing to intervene on behalf of someone being raped; especially if the victim is a child.
bye JoePa
- Thread starter Kurt
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And yet you are presuming to know better than I as to how I would react? Interesting p.o.v....
Um, no. I was not referring to you. The woman I cited studies these things for a living and she thinks that in most cases the person would not intervene at that immediate moment. I don't know you, so I don't know what experiences you have had that would lend to you either responding or not. I would imagine that the type of people who would respond are those with military training and wouldn't be as traumatized. Read the grand jury testimony. I feel like if it makes you sick to read that, you are probably not the type of person who would respond immediately in that situation. My main point is that whether the person responds immediately or not has less to do with their morality than how prone they are to being traumatized by a very graphic experience.
I disagree - because it makes me sick/is so shocking is why I am so sure I WOULD act. The shock and severity of the incident would be part of what was driving my actions.
The fight or flight reaction of the shock of seeing something horrendous is interesting to ponder. We'd all like to think we'd do the right thing in any situation but it may be a little more complicated. I could imagine being the low man on the totem pole with powerful personalities you fear. I can imagine seeing that and being so shocked, bewildered, and confused that maybe I couldn't believe my eyes for a few minutes. Maybe my whole world was crumbling and my head was spinning.
But I can't imagine any person in "normal" society who wouldn't at least go get help or call police within a few minutes of witnessing such abuse. It is disconcerting because we like to think a tight ship like a PSU organization is better than "normal" society. To be looked up to. I am saddened that is no longer the case and I fear what is around the bend. The only way I can sort it out in my head is there is a cult-like mentality going on whereby normal rules of human behavior don't exist.
It makes me wonder what horrors might happen within an even tighter and more secretive organization like a religion, government, or military.
But I can't imagine any person in "normal" society who wouldn't at least go get help or call police within a few minutes of witnessing such abuse. It is disconcerting because we like to think a tight ship like a PSU organization is better than "normal" society. To be looked up to. I am saddened that is no longer the case and I fear what is around the bend. The only way I can sort it out in my head is there is a cult-like mentality going on whereby normal rules of human behavior don't exist.
It makes me wonder what horrors might happen within an even tighter and more secretive organization like a religion, government, or military.
My feeling is that if you ponder for a second (here and now) about whether you would freeze or act, then you will most likely freeze. The people most likely to act are those who think that they will. The well rehearsed perform better. It's that simple.
What keeps getting lost is that this man was NOT his boss. He was not even a fellow employee. He had retired years ago.
So IF the reason he kept quiet WAS because he worried about losing his job if he said something, it again comes back to Paterno......and a former player and current employee thinking Paterno would fire him if he tried to help the kid. During and after the fact.
Yes, there is a great deal that gets swept under the rug by big organizations - especially when trying to protect their brand. But there are also always people there frustrated by that status quo and willing to help - even if that means negative consequences for them.
So IF the reason he kept quiet WAS because he worried about losing his job if he said something, it again comes back to Paterno......and a former player and current employee thinking Paterno would fire him if he tried to help the kid. During and after the fact.
Yes, there is a great deal that gets swept under the rug by big organizations - especially when trying to protect their brand. But there are also always people there frustrated by that status quo and willing to help - even if that means negative consequences for them.