Bystander Effect

As I ponder on what experiences I’ve had with what Social Scientist refer to as the “Bystander Effect,” many such situations come to mind. The research conducted was very interesting, and generally both categories mentioned would apply quiet easily. However, the research does fail to take into account the very complex, unwritten code of ethics that does exist in the violent neighborhoods surrounding my home. The first of such is referred to as the “Snitch.” No one wants to be recognized as one, and to be so, could be fatal. The next would be the very deeply rooted distrust for law enforcement in my community. Many individuals in South Central Los Angeles are reluctant to call the authorities because only in the hood, could a bystander, who in most ordinary conditions would be classified as innocent, could miraculously become guilty. So it is from my experience involving these two phenomenons, that I contemplate when comfronted with a decision to entervene.

While in elementary school I witness the theft of another child’s lunch money from the coat room. At the risk of being ostracized on the playground by the other children for being a snitch, I decided it would be best to alert Miss Collins as to what I saw. The three of us, myself, the accused, and the victim where escorted to the Principles office where the accused child denied stealing. He was instructed to empty his pockets, “he had nothing.” I was then instructed to empty my pockets, and it just so happen that I had twenty-five cents my mother had given me, the exact amount of money stolen. I was now the one being accused of having committed the theft, and I was suspended immediately. After my mother's visit to the school the next day,  my name was cleared of the crime, but for the next week no child wanted anything to do with me.

From that day forward, when I witness some ones property or persons being violated, it’s not the danger or the efforts of others that influences my decision to get involved. In addition to the magnitude of the offense, it is the Guilty Bystander Effect that I think about first. Could I somehow become the perpetrator for my acts of heroism? I guess only in the hood, could a predicament like this exist!