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The Killing Of Kitty Genovese Research Paper

1047 Words5 Pages

Erick Rubalcava
Mrs. O’Grady
Period 4, English Honors II
28/02/2023
Conformity? Or Murder?
(Are we even safe infront of a crowd?)

Would you expect someone to help you if you were being murdered? “The Killing of Kitty Genovese” by Michael Dorman. In the early hours of March 13, 1964, Catherine Susan Genovese known as Kitty Genovese was stabbed and killed after her shift as a bartender in Brooklyn, New York. This ghastly scene happened in the presence of 38 of her neighbors, and not one of them tried to help her or stop the man that was doing this horrific act. Genovese’s neighbors watched her as she was stabbed and attacked for 50 minutes, and the only type of help she got was, a man yelling from his window, “Let that girl alone”. Which caused …show more content…

Detectives investigating Genovese's murder discovered that no fewer than 38 of her neighbors had witnessed at least one of her killer's three attacks but had neither come to her aid nor called the police (Michael Dorman). This piece of information ties to the bystander effect, especially because it shows that amongst the large group of bystanders (her neighbors), not one tried to stop or help the situation. Recent and past news events involving bystanders who witness but do not report or help victims in crisis have led concerned citizens in the state of California, and across the country, to lobby their state representatives to create stronger Good Samaritan laws. My own view is the state of California needs a new bystander law that would require an individual to report or assist another person in imminent danger or peril or face substantial fines, possible jail time, and/or both, if they can do so without putting themselves or others in danger because It will decrease crime since people will be less likely to commit crimes and hurt other people when they know someone will report it, if one person helps it means more people will be more likely to help …show more content…

This shows how by helping, you can not only better the situation, but also make things better for you. A recent interview by, Sweeneylawfirm, shows how they feel about having the bystander law set. They think that it will potentially gain them services, because more people will be alive to tell the tale and serve the defendants. From personal experience, I have helped someone in a situation that could have gotten me hurt. So the common argument from above isn’t wrong. But when I helped the person in need, they thanked me for taking them out of the situation that they were in. If I had not helped them, the same thing could have happened to

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Kitty Genovese had a job as a bar manager at the Eleventh-Hour Club, a small neighborhood tavern on Jamaica Avenue and 193rd Street in Hollis, Queens. Usually she had to work late, sometimes until the early morning. On March 13, 1964, she had just left work, and was going home in the early morning (Silk). Genovese had arrived in her neighborhood at about 3:15 a. m. She parked her car in the Long Island Railroad parking lot close to her apartment (Silk). Suddenly, someone attacked her.

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After a young lady, Kitty Genovese, was stabbed to death, it was found that there were about 38 witnesses to the stabbing but none of the people had tried to help Genovese in any way. Of the 38 witnesses, no one had even called the police (Darley & Latane, 1968). Researchers were curious as to why in emergency situations, bystanders do not help the person in need. They found that in Genovese’s situation, most witnesses saw that there were many others watching. The responsibility to help, and also the blame of not helping, was spread out amongst the witnesses.

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I believe the good samaritan law can make the world a better place because we can save more lives and catch more murderers. I believe people should take action than living with

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Some believe that bystanders are innocent, because they aren't the ones causing the pain. However they still witness what is going on around them, while watching others suffer. In “The Harvest Gypsies” John Steinbeck says, “The better dressed children shout and jeer, the teachers are quite often impatient”(John Sternbeck). This shows how just a little words and actions can affect people or add on to the problem. In “Killers of the Dream” Lillian Smith expresses, “Some learned to screen out all except the soft and the soothing; others denied even as they saw plainly and heard”(Lillian Smith).

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In particular, a benefit that would result from the law is that it will encourage citizens to take action and help the individuals that are in desperate need. When people begin to make better choices and become involved, many innocent lives will be saved. In addition to this, the article “If Decency Doesn’t, Law Should Make Us Samaritans” by Gloria Allred and Lisa Bloom, the authors assert that “The real reason individuals do not reach out is because they feel disconnected from strangers in need... If each of us recognized a moral responsibility to come to the aid of others, we would all gain the benefits of a stronger and safer community” (Allred and Bloom 2). This quote says that people do not help others in need because they are not close to each other but if a federal law was created that said they were obligated to give assistance to those in imminent danger, everyone would benefit from it and communities would be much safer. Despite the fact that someone who is in a crisis and is in need of help might be a stranger, that should be no excuse for one to not lend a hand.

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The Bystander Effect: A Result of a Human Drive Repetitive cries and screams for help were heard in Kew Gardens, New York on the Friday night of March 13th in 1964. As the 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was approaching her doorstep, an attacker –Winston Moseley- came from behind and started to stab her repeatedly. Despite her loud calls for help, turning on the bedroom lights along the neighborhood is all what her calls were capable of. None of the thirty nearby neighbors wanted to go under the spotlight of answering the call of duty so it wasn’t before 20 minutes when the anonymous hero that lived next door decided to call the police. It was four years later when our victim’s story became the perfect example to explain the social psychological

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Not everyone is perfect and not everyone is a jerk and of they are you need to help it might help a friend out and it might just work and when it does you feel like you did something to help and you did help out a friend that needed it the most and you did something good for a person which makes you feel really good about yourself and be nice to

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