As I slumber peacefully, I wake up to a girl screaming help me help me to the top of her lungs around 2:30am. I get up look out the window and see a guy facing the hood of my friends car. Where ever the girl was I don't know because I couldn't see her. I get up put some pants on grab a knife and look out the window because I first thought he was trying to break into my friends car. I then called the sheriffs office. She says someone is in dispatch already for the area. Ok I' thinking they'll be here in the next 2 or 3 minutes since the station is up the street not even 3 minutes away and the are supposedly in the area already. I opened the door to get a better view still couldn't see her, she stopped screaming by that time. So I called my girl that lives across the street since they was on, on top and or on side of her car, she doesn't answer. I knew she was sleep but was hoping she got up anyway. Meanwhile I'm watching through the window and he kind of kneels down a little. Now I'm thinking he was or attempting to rape her. A truck drove by slowed down where they were I guess to not hit them because they were in the street and the person didn't want to hit them. 10 minutes has passed. The guys walks off slow and calm and I finally see the girl bolts off in the opposite direction. My neighbor comes in right at that second. Then the cop pulls up. I call my neighbor talk to her asked her if she seen the girl she said she wasn't paying attention. Saw the cop drive back and forth then lay back down. I got a call this morning from a good friend of mine which is a male. I talked to him about it. His response was it not my business so he wouldn't have have done anything. I called my girl back and talked to her about it and she came over right away. After our debate (that's not over), It was pretty much implied that I'm a snitch and he's a b**** because I would be the Samaritan and it's none of his business. His excuse was you don't know what she did to him to make him do that, which is no excuse at all. No female deserves to get her ass kicked by any man. He said he would help a child before he would help a female. I asked him if he saw a baby drowning in a pool would he help. He said no because he cant swim. My response was that could have been your mom or sister son or someone you knows mom aunt sister niece. He response I stay in my own little world If it ain't affecting me I don't care about it. My girl asked the guys that live next door to her. They said they heard it and did nothing as well. WTF seriously Anyway what are your views about the situation and what would you have done? I need to bring this up in ethics class! sheesh I really don't want this in the D&D
Personally? Calling the sheriff's office is the right thing, the minimum thing to do. Opening the window and asking mystery guy what the **** is going on is also okay. This "mind your own business" and "don't snitch" bullcrap threatens to end the basic social contract, so I have no patience for it. "Don't snitch" is fine if you are going to fund and become your own police force. But if we're all just going to let people be raped, then we're headed back about 1 million years or so. "Feral bands of mud people" and whatnot.
Your "male friend" sounds like a tool. You have the right attitude. The bystander effect can be quite dangerous. It's ironic that anyone would tell you 'it's not your business' to help. In reality, it's not our business to assume someone "deserves" to be assaulted. Horribly primitive mindset.
You absolutely did the right thing. Your friend is an idiot. In fact, he could be subject to criminal liability if he acted like he talks.
Frankly, your male friend needs to grow a set. Yes, you don't know the situation -- but as a compassionate human being you have to step in. Calling the sheriff was correct. Considering that you're female I'm not saying you did anything wrong. In my situation, I would have come outside with a weapon (especially if it was near a friend's vehicle).
I've called cops on upstairs couples when I thought the girl was being beaten or assaulted, and I've called when I hear gunshots; but without specifically seeing what's going on I think it's a judgement call. I think one of the reasons we're not legally required to report most crimes is consideration of our own rights with respect to safety, privacy or even personal convenience. I don't see how any individual in New York, Chicago or any other densely populated, high-crime area could be expected to report every (or by extension any) crime they see.
Hypothetically OP could have poked their head out of the window and asked the lady if she was okay, but as I mentioned before that then puts them at risk of personal harm.
So people would actually defend NOT calling the police when they hear a woman screaming "help me" at 2:30 AM?
i would never hit a woman, but goddamnit if they haven't pushed my buttons enough to make me want to beat their ass. i would have gone outside and just bee like "y'all shut the **** up, people are trying to sleep!"
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese If you hide in your room and let someone get murdered or raped because you are afraid or "don't want to be a snitch", then you and the crime ridden s**t hole you live in deserve each other, and you've abdicated all right to b**** about how much crime there is in your neighborhood. If you choose to wallow in the mud, don't be surprised when you end up living like a pig.
I would have gotten out there just because it's the right thing to do... it's only 1 guy after all this reminds me of a time, my neighbors upstairs started fighting and shouting, i can hear obvious sounds of running and fighting and furniture being moved/thrown, and a guy and gal screaming... this continued for a good 10-15 minutes, but because i was raiding in WoW, i didn't bother to grab my bat, head upstairs, and tell them to knock it off turns out, my upstairs neighbor are chinese immigrants and they just got robbed and assaulted moral of the story, be vigilant, and don't play WoW
I would have if I had had a gun. The guys across the street have one though. That's what ticked. Yall heard her and continued watching tv. Had my friend picked up the phone when I call, I would have walked across there knowing she had my back if anything would have popped off. Yeah but he doesnt goes anywhere at all. May go to a bar for like a hour if his cousins drag him out the house hangs with the same people. Keeps a very low profile. No criminal record I know because I checked :grin: He even told me he saw this lady leave her car door open to run in the gas station some guys pulled up stole her purse and did nothing. He was with his cousin and girlfriend she was the one who said to call the cops. I do agree with him being a tool. He then said to me he doesn't want any girl he's talking to or getting in a close relationship to putting their nose in someone else business and end up getting killed. Every good deed doesn't end in death but he is from Detroit so I understand why he would feel that.
You call the cops every time I suppose a answer of " I don't know what I would have done" is somewhat acceptable. But not really.. The answer that your a snitch for doing the decent thing is pretty idiotic. I'd guess your friend has some issues with women.........
