Teen Gang-Raped: Why Bystanders Kept Quiet?
The gang rape and beating of a 15-year-old girl on Richmond High School grounds after her homecoming dance was horrific enough. But even more shocking, police said that, as many as 20 bystanders are believed to have watched without intervening and may have even filmed or photographed the attack.
This is a classical case of group crime, and conformity, where people do things just because everyone else is doing it. Had one person stepped up and opposed to raping the teen, he would have been able to change the hall dynamic.
This is also, peer pressure, where in adolescence value fitting in and being liked more than, self-identity. Some of the rappers may have done it, just so they are not picked on.
Is it mob mentality, or fear?
Teens, brain being undeveloped, they thing differently than adults, they are living in their own society where the rules are different, where there is this issue of inappropriate sexuality, undeveloped sexuality a lot of violence, and there is a tolerance effect, a lot of these teens, have seen so many things through virtual reality, through fantasy, that when it comes to real life their tolerance level is so high, that they now must see some thing much more horrific in real life, for them to realize that this is reality.
Are we manufacturing this, is this a media effect? Well, there is a link between what we watch and how we behave by the availability heuristic, there are other factors that play a significant role in these kind of behavior. Though correlation is not causation, there is a correlation effect between kids from abusive families ,and kids turning out to be abusive.
So, Where do we go from here?, what do we do about this apathy, and silent witnesses? I think that parents should get involve in teaching their children, to intervene, don’t just be a bystander, be heroes instead, and even use some minor sanction when it’s appropriate, but more importantly, change the mindset of bystanders, and that will take more than, just one person opposing the group, but a lot more people are needed to achieve this.
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Sometimes as I am writing my blogs or reading other I feel like it is pointless to write passionately about how I feel on certain issues beacuse this world will NEVER be fixed. It sounds like peace and love if we talk to the kids to be the hero in these situations. I mean I agree with this post, but the reality is these kids are under pressure to be accepted or not to be a snitch so while there may be 1 out of a group of 50 who will do the right thing it just makes me depressed how this era we live in has gone down the hill. I think we should express how important it is to stand up for what you believe in and not just follow the crowd.
ReplyDeleteUnfortuantely i agree with the comment above. It's a sad, sad thing that we as a public se something worng but are to lazy to fix the problem. I beleive that kids this age are under great social pressure but these young kids need to draw a line of wehat is right and wrong. SOmething this horrific cannot just be passed by. These kids need to be taught how to stand up and fight for what they beleive in. Its sad that young kids are usually casted out if they are not foloowing "scoail norms" however kids need to be taught that its ok to be different and to speak your mind if something bad is going on that needs to be fixed.
ReplyDeleteThis was a particularly sickening (though definitely relevant) post. I hate hearing about stories like this, but it's a well documented psychological phenomenon where the more people are around, the more likely you are not to stop it. You lose your sense of personal responsibility and I think we talked about in class the idea of 'group think'. You can start talking yourself down and saying 'Well, someone else will definitely help', or maybe thinking people won't help you in turn if you get overwhelmed, which seems more likely... either way... wow. I'm appalled.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard to believe that people would actually just stand by and watch but it shows how important the need to fit in is to many people. Parents definitely play n active role in teaching their children how to handle situations but most parents probably don’t think that need to tell their children things like that. Parents think that a lot of things are common sense but teenagers with undeveloped brains dont really use common sense all the time and need guidance. The need to fit in is especially great among teens and so this is the age where finding their own self identity should be emphasized.
ReplyDeleteI could not believe this when I read it. Not only do I think that rape is extremely wrong, the thought of twenty people not doing a thing makes me sick to my stomach. I know if I saw a girl getting raped I would attack the the guy and hurt him really bad, but if he was a little bigger than I am I would get help immediately. I know that being raped scars someone for life and is something that a girl should never go through. I think that those people are so dumb and I think that they honestly do not deserve to live.
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ReplyDeleteRape is never an issue anyone can explain. It has never made sense but it possibly comes from a long history of women being viewed as subservient towards men and eventually the world feeling as if in some sort of way the person deserved it based on their actions. I feel the major cause is school and media. School possibly because this is never an issue discussed with children just in case it is not discussed at home. Fighting is somewhat tolerated based on suspension and the child is directly returned sitting next to you with the chance to humiliate you once more. Correct actions should start separating violent children from the others on a permanent basis if necessary.
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