EyeBrock EyeBrock:
Unfortunately, most people stand by and do nothing when anything bad happens. The most anybody does is call 911. Everybody seems to abdicate responsibility to the police or other authority figures.
Sheep, wolves and sheepdogs and all that.
Some of that I attribute to Asian immigrants, who seem to have the motto "not my business," and who infect our society that way.
Then there's diffusion of responsibility with larger groups of people. Everybody thinks somebody else will step up.
Another piece is when people who do step up actually get whacked by the law themselves for assault or such. Especially if an adult male gives some teenage punk a few whacks. At one time that was considered the norm - the men in society regulated the young punks. Now, you're just as likely to be charged with "child" abuse.
Another piece - we had a guy in BC who intervened when another man was beating up his girlfriend. The guy got severely beaten for his trouble, but the woman would not testify at the assaulter's trial, saying " I didn't ask that guy to help me." I'm sure as a cop you know to be very cautious when getting the the way of a domestic, or you get attacked by both parties.
But in this case, I don't think the kids were even inclined to do anything. Just all desensitized and watching the spectacle.