cultural jet lag

I thought it was Kitty Genovese. Wasn't sure enough.

That's a whole other cultural topic in the making, which is we reveal who and what we are in the forum, but wear sheep's clothing among the sheeple to avoid panicking them since they just don't get it that there is a difference between the the sheepdogs who aren't in uniform and the wolves."
 
There have been a couple of shots taken at NYC and its people and, as a native NYer, I feel the need to respond. Please don't be so quick to judge an entire place or population. I've lived in NYC my entire life & I travel extensively for my job. IMO, and w/o bashing other places, NYC is no worse & a lot better than many other cities both in the US & abroad.

I also remember the Kitty Genovese case. In fact, there is a Phil Ochs song, "Small Circle of Friends", that refers to the witnesses who did nothing while Kitty Genovese was assaulted & eventually murdered -- over a 1/2-hour period -- on the streets of a residential NYC neighborhood. Actually, there were 38 people who heard her cries for help but did nothing.

Asked about it afterwards, one witness replied, "We didn't want to get involved." The killer, who was caught & is serving a life sentence, wasn't surprised by witness apathy. He is quoted as saying, "I knew they wouldn't do anything - they never do."

Sadly, the appaling apathy displayed by the Genovese witnessses is not unique to NYC. There are examples of varying degrees of apathy every night on the evening news. Fortunately, there are also examples of people who refuse to stand idly by and who risk their lives to help others -- even in NYC.

------------------
Cheers,

--+Brian+--


 
I think you are right, Brian. I hear that Washington, DC, for example, has a higher crime rate than NYC.

However, Reno is plenty big enough for me. I have an aversion to big cities, don't care what or where, they are simply too much for me.

NYC takes the most hits simply because it is THE BIG APPLE and gets more press than any other city in the world.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
I know you're right, Brian.

I've never been to the Big Apple. Yet, reflection shows me that there have been numerous times I've stood idly by when someone needed help. Usually I did not fully understand the ultimate consequences of my inaction.
 
I'm sorry if you were offended by what I said about NY, Brian. I will amend that statement to "People are ill", which is more like what I feel.



------------------
Namaste,
Jeff Paulsen

"Oh, a magic khukuri. Why didn't you say so?"
 
A year or so back, a good Samaritan right here in Reno stopped to help a man with a disabled auto. The Samaritan ended up getting shot to death and his car stolen by the man he stopped to help.

It is stories like these that make many of us hesitate, myself included.

------------------
Uncle Bill
Himalayan Imports Website
http://members.aol.com/himimp/index.html
 
:
You can live.

You can live in fear.

You can live in fear and still be able to sleep nights.

You can live in fear and not be able to sleep at night for the moans and screams of those you did not reach out to.

You can live in peace and sleep at night by doing what is right when it needs doing.By doing that you protect yourself and your family,your neighborhood,your county,your state,your country,and your world.

At least that's the way it should be.

------------------


>>>>---¥vsa---->®
Cornbread ain't s'possed ta be sweet!....Dagnabit gurl,whut did they teach you way up north in ....;) hehehe.


 
Thanks for the change, Jeff. I didn't post because I was offended, per se, but rather that I saw a need for clarification.

Yvsa, you got it exactly right: "You can live in peace and sleep at night by doing what is right when it needs doing."

------------------
Cheers,

--+Brian+--


 
Brian, I put it the way I did ( in New YorK City ) because I wasn't sure enough of the name, but to me it makes no difference. Kitty Genovese marked a watershed in our beliefs about ourselves, wherever you live in America.
 
You're right, Rusty. The fact that it happened in NYC is irrelevant. It could have happened anywhere & was another low point from the 60's in our nation's history. Good thing we had Woodstock.
wink.gif


------------------
Cheers,

--+Brian+--


 
Bill knows how I feel about this subject. In short, I feel that helping others who are under criminal assault is worthwhile, but it pays to be armed in such circumstances. The "Kitty Genovese syndrome" is linked to mass disarment as pioneered by NYC in 1911. I can truthfully say I did NOT ignore a "Kitty" type victim, and what gave me the confidence to push four lunatics off the victim and yell at them that it was "over" was an illegally-carried handgun in my front right pocket. Which was never drawn, never seen by the responding cops who cuffed the actual criminals...but if they HAD attacked me for daring to stop their fun, I had one round for each of the four nutcases on tap.

So my main "fear" was getting popped for illegal carry in the People's Republik of Kalifornia...but I wasn't all that terrified of the loonies, they sensed this, they went away and luckily, got grabbed by the cops.

Jim
 
I guess it is a universal truth that everybody everywhere is going American!
Changes is actively happening in ...
  • The way of thinking!
  • The way of living!
  • The way of dieing!
All that happened for the sake of ...
  • Development.
  • Technology.
  • Economy.
The problems is ...
  • The influence of the negative things is effectively faster than the positive things!
The results are ...
  • Their religion are disappearing!
  • Their life ethic are in a clash!
  • Their mind are confused!
  • Their culture are in books & musium!
  • They are losing their self identity!
  • Shock!
  • ...
DILEMMA! Their dilemma! Our dilemma!
So little of us that make efforts to preserve the old good things while grabbing the new good things!

Insyaa-Allaah! May Allah help all of us!




[This message has been edited by mohd (edited 29 September 1999).]
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top