Advice That Might Save Your Life One Day

by John Hawkins | June 18, 2008 1:13 pm

This is counter-intuitive, but as a general rule, if you’re in trouble and need help from a stranger, you’re better off if there are only one or two people around rather than dozens.

Here’s just one more incident[1] that proves that’s the case,

The town of Turlock and much of the rest of the nation was shocked when a 27-year-old man beat and stomped his 2-year-old son to death on a rural road. But what was nearly as stunning for many people was that none of the motorists and their passengers who stopped and saw the attack tried to tackle the man.

Police officers and psychologists familiar with violent emergencies, however, said they weren’t surprised at all.

A volunteer firefighter and at least five others saw Sergio Casian Aguiar assaulting his son Saturday night on the road west of Turlock (Stanislaus County), but it wasn’t until a police officer arrived in a helicopter that the attack finally ended. Aguiar refused to halt the attack and raised his middle finger at the officer, who shot him to death, authorities said.

Bystanders are justifiably scared and confused in such situations, the experts said Wednesday, and they lack the experience needed to respond with force. They can also be mesmerized by shock.

If an emergency occurs and there is only one person around, that person knows it’s do or die. Either he does something or it isn’t going to get done.

On the other hand, if there is a group of people standing around when an emergency occurs, they will all wait for someone else to do something because they don’t want to get involved.

So, if there is a group of people around and you’re in trouble, you need to specifically point to a person and tell him what you want him to do. That makes the person feel as if it’s his personal responsibility to do something and he will be much more likely to do it.

If you are in a group of people watching a nightmare go down, understand the dynamics; if you don’t take charge, tell people what to do, and take action yourself, it won’t get done.

PS: None of this would have helped the poor 2 year old who got kicked to death, but it might make a difference for you if you’re caught in a similar situation.

Endnotes:
  1. one more incident: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/06/18/BA2G11ARO9.DTL

Source URL: https://rightwingnews.com/uncategorized/advice-that-might-save-your-life-one-day/