People worry about how they will act under p[ressure. Who doesnt want to be the hero? Pretend, for a second, a woman is stabbed walking from her car to her domicile one night. She cries out for help. The criminal leaves and then returns at sporadic internvals to finsih the job. This woman could have reacted many different ways. During the fight, her fear might have made movements rash and sloppy leaving her more exposed to further attacks. Her fear might have made her mind sharp, meticulous, and she might have come up with a plan to save her life.
Now, let's say this was a real-life situation. But this sad story isn't about have twenty-eight-year-old Catherince Genovese reacted under presssure. This is a story about how 38 different people's moment of herioism elasped when they chose not to make a phone call to the police. These people witnessed a lurid murder; Miss Genovese was stalked and stabbed in three different attacks. A simple phone call could have been made in the 35 minute period of the murder. When she was confired dead, a call was finally made and the police arrived in two minutes. After the witnesses were interviewd the police had a conjecture on what happened.
How could 38 people let a fellow neighbor die? Murder is not a lax crime. These people are responsible for this woman's death. Their reasoning for not calling the police was disappointing, sad, and half-hearted.
A woman was crying out for help and begging for anyone to save her. Wasn't her life important? Not to her neighbors. The opportunity for their heroic act came but they flinched.