Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the street?

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rory22

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Saw a piece in the times today about somebody being horrifically beaten to death on a city street-http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0626/1224249575180.html

I found it sad that people's reaction nowadays is to take out their phone and press record instead of helping. The question I was asking myself was would I step in? And I'm ashamed to say I probably wouldn't because you don't know what your getting involved with. What do others think you should do in this situation?
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

If acquaintances or neighbours, probably yes. Anyone else, probably no.

Like you say - you don't know what you might be getting involved in and you even run that risk with friends or acquaintances.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Chivalry is dead!

Seriously though, I would love to get involved, but the chance of someone pulling a knife, syringe etc are too great these days, and the types who carry these are not afraid to use them.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

I would get involved to the extent that I would stand at a safe distance, phone the Guards and shout and attract attention from others until it is stopped.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Kine said:
but the chance of someone pulling a knife, syringe etc are too great these days, and the types who carry these are not afraid to use them.
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TBH what would worry me more would be reprisals if the thing was in any way gang linked.

If for example I overcame and disabled the attacker (whether he was armed or not) and he turned out to be 'connected' bascially, I would probably end up executed in my bed.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

eg some guy attacks someoneon the street and you go over and and help ,maybe throw a punch or wrestle him to the ground.... you'd definitely be up for assualt if that guy said you attacked him.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

If for example I overcame and disabled the attacker (whether he was armed or not) and he turned out to be 'connected' basically, I would probably end up executed in my bed.
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That is a worry, but is it a case if you see two fellas thumping each other- leave them at it. if you see a guy twice the size of a women and he's dancing on her head we should not stand back we should step in and possibly save her life. I would like to feel that if my wife or daughter was on the ground on a busy street in the early afternoon being kicked to death somebody would help rather than getting a clip for youtube!
The reason I am interested to know what other people think is because I've never been in this situation and really don't know how I’d react, but as I said before I fear I'd do nothing but am unsure if this is the right thing to do.

I heard a story of a guy in America who saw somebody being badly beaten and he walked over close and started singing really loudly! Bizarre as it is he seemingly confused the hell out of the attacker who stopped hitting the other guy!
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

I'll admit that if it was two or more men involved I probably wouldn't intervene, but if it were a woman/girl being attacked then I have no doubt that I would help. Even though one often hears the stories about someone helping a girl in a situation only to have her turn around and attack her rescuer for touching her 'fella'.

It happened to me years ago in a nightclub in Kenmare when I was a foolish teenager. While walking around the dancefloor after one too many, I saw a gang of lads kicking the c**p out of some guy on the ground who was curled up in a ball with his back against a wall. I wandered in oblivious and picked your man up, sent him on his merry way, turned around to walk off and promptly had my nose burst open by some thug's forehead. Did the original victim even thank me, even though he was a neighbour from home? You can guess the answer. Needless to say I'd think twice in future.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Like you said Baldyman, my sister was walking home and she came across a man beating the cr*p out of a woman on the street, she went over and told him to stop and of course, the woman turned around and told her to leave her man alone and mind her own 'f'ing business, after some other serious few threats and thankfully not getting punched in the face. Makes you wonder but I think I would intervene, couldn't walk by. I would shout threats from a distance like calling the police etc., not within range though of being hit and so I could leg it to safety, so I wouldn't stop Inspector Gadget if he was having a brawl. Get a long armed right hook!!
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

It is very difficult to know how one would react unless you are in the situation. My son's friend was badly beaten up in Moscow last year - totally unprevoked. He was left with a fractured mandible and orbit bone of eye. That was the physical damage, mentally he took along time to come to terms with what happened.
If I was a big guy I certainly would come to the assistance of someone who appeared to be under sustained attack; but as I am a 5'4", 52kg female I don't think I would be the right person for the job. I seriously feel that self-defence should be part of the school curriculum, and even now I am considering doing a course in it.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

A couple of years ago there was a Google employee from Dalkey who intervened in a row between a couple somewhere in Sandymount. The male of the rowing couple went off and got a knife and stabbed the innocent guy to death.

Personally I know a teenager who was attacked by a gang on O'Connell Street in Dublin one evening. Nobody stepped in to help and he was lucky to get away.

I think personally I would phone emergency services rather than using my phone as a camera. However I suppose photographic evidence might come in useful if someone is caught. Not that it's much help to the poor woman who died yesterday.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Going back years ago, myself and my sister and our other halves at the time were on hols. in Isle of Man. Out for dinner on our last night, we witnessed a two girls and two guys dragging another girl up the road by the hair. The girls were instigating the assault and the guys were standing guard so to speak. They were literally dragging her along by her hair ripping the knees out of her. There were loads of people wallking up and down the seafront and it was like passing through the red sea - people just standing back looking, but letting them through and saying nothing.

My sister's first reaction was to say, let her go and with that one of the other girls let go the girl but immediately turned on my sister. At that point, I had to get involved. It turned into a big melee, and we literally had to shout for someone else to call the guards because people just standing gawking.

Couple of months later, we got a lovely letter from the girl we rescued and her mother (calling us her daughters two guardian angels) and a note of thanks from the two Guards. Girl was actually quite badly injured and guards felt if things had not been "distracted" at the time, it could have been a lot worse.

I am a lot older now and not as fit as I was. Times have changed as well and whereas before the worst that could happen was that a punch might be thrown, now knives guns etc would be the norm. Not to mention "connections" as another poster mentioned above.

I just hope if something like what happened the other night to that girl in Dublin happens to me, that I get a bit of a payback and my guardian angel turns up.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

A relative of mine in his innocence also got in the middle of a bloke slapping a woman about. As the relative got the upper hand on the bloke he paid the price with the womans high heel lashing into the back of his head.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Same thing happened to an uncle and aunt of mine, some years ago they saw a woman getting beaten up by a bloke so they stopped it only for the guy to turn on my uncle and the girl to turn on my aunt.

Both got badly beaten.

So would I get involved, not a hope.

I'd call the guards and let them deal with it.

If it was a friend or a family member then I might get involved, or at least stick around to cut them down from the tree, and give them a decent burial.

*edit* Rory I put in the link to that newspaper article

[broken link removed]
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

About 4 years ago I was the victim of an attempted mugging in Liverpool at lunchtime, broad daylight!! The scumbag had attempted to grab my bag and in the scuffle I fell backwards knocking my head of the road. At this point the mugger then went to punch me and if it wasn't for two blokes across the road I dread to think of what might have happened!! They chased him off but regrettably he was too quick for them. They truly were my guardian angels and to this date I regret not getting their names in order to thank them, as you can imagine I was in a state of shock. They took me to a nearby cafe and stayed until the police came but got off before I got their info.

It is a very difficult question as to whether or not someone should get involved but I know that if those two men didn't at my time of need, I just can't imagine how much worse it would be.................
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Not exactly the same but related area - as an employee of a supermarket some years ago, we were all given instructions about what to do in the event of a robbery where a thief threatened staff to snatch money from a till, to get the staff to open the safe or if a bank-run was being made and the staff were held-up.

In each event, staff were told to comply with the demands made by the robber, not to put themselves or anyone else at risk of assault during the robbery and not to do or say anything until it was absolutely safe to do so. Clearly there is a major issue of public liability involved in that example, plus a robbery is different to an assault because normally, the thief just wants the cash and to get out of there asap avoiding any other bother, but it's instructive because we were all told about the huge uncertaintly in tackling anyone physically because of possible concealed weapons, that they could be drunk, high or suffering withdrawal symptoms or simply better able to inflict damage than you are.

I know myself that it can take some seconds to work out what it is that you might be looking at on the street and there are a few moments of shock. the best thing to do based on the above is to stand at a safe distance and holler while someone else calls the cops.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

I would intervene. Wouldn't be able not to, even though I'm sure I would have all the warning signals others have spoken of.

Have been on the receiving end myself, have been mugged on a bright evening in Galway city a few years back when I inadvertantly got separated from a group of friends there for the weekend ( I dawdled behind looking in the shop windows). Never forget the horrible feeling.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

Most people do what they can and feel capable of in these situations.
The unfortunate thing is that the majority of people freeze,when they see shocking things, it is a natural reaction,they can not help themselves.A small percentage of people react quicker and in a different way,and actively get involved in situations and can end up being a victim.Which type of person you are can not be known,till you are in a situation.You can train and overcome some of the tendency to freeze or to react.Neither of the above types of people are wrong or right,only what happens in any given situation.The most that we can hope for is that everyone does what they can.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

There are lots of ways people can "get involved" from a safe distance.

This incident outside the Rotunda happened in the afternoon. How many people were in their cars & drove past while it was happening? How many people could have driven their car up onto the footpath to try & distract the scumbag who was beating & stamping on this woman? Called the Guards? Run into the hospital to get security?

The fear of "getting involved" stems from people wanting to protect their own personal safety. I understand that. But to walk/drive by/video someone getting beaten & stamped on?

This whole incident made me sick.
 
Re: Would/should people get 'involved' if they see people being attacked on the stree

This incident outside the Rotunda happened in the afternoon. How many people were in their cars & drove past while it was happening? How many people could have driven their car up onto the footpath to try & distract the scumbag who was beating & stamping on this woman
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I agree.

I suppose thinking about it and reading the experiences of people that have been involved in similar situations I have come to the conclusion that it's impossible to know what to do until you’re in the situation. I think shouting and letting the perpetrator know they have been spotted and the police are on the way seems most practical. I think it is no harm to have a course of action outlined in your head before you find yourself in a situation.

Thanks for all the comments.

Think I'll don a mask and spandex for the weekend and go around looking for trouble so I can shout at villains; I could be a new type of hands off super hero. Just have to think of a name now........

Maybe Captain Holler (from a safe distance)?
 
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