woman attacked on subway platform, workers basically do nothing

Maybe, maybe not, but I don't even think they would have pressed the button if they hadn't been legally required to. Again, not doing anything is how the Holocaust happened. So yea, I'm going to judge people who don't do anything.

 

Assuming you'd be more courageous than your fellow human beings is one of the great delusions of the intertubes.
You have no idea how you'd react. None.

 

I realize that, but I don't think it takes courage to get on a loudspeaker and say "The police have been called." Maybe that's just me though.

 

you're right, in a sense. maybe you don't run after the guy and try to physically stop him. maybe I don't, though I would like to believe that I would -- but how hard is it to talk into a microphone? it's something at the very least, and may somehow help. again, maybe it does nothing - but better to try, right? these guys pushed their button and went on with their lives.

 

This line jumped out at me.

So, she forgave the person who brutally attacked and raped her (twice), but not the people who may have saved her life?

I'm sorry, and my heart does go out to the victim here, but it's not like the MTA just completely ignored the situation. They apparently followed protocol and contacted the police. Whether they did enough in the situation is debatable, but they did something.

 

You don't know that they just pushed the button and went on with their lives. You make it sound like they glanced up from their copy of "People" saw a rape, pressed a button and got back to the profile on Miley Cyrus.
Fact is: You don't know.

And let's say - just for argument's sake - they did holler on the loud speaker. You wouldn't wonder why all they did was holler?
You earlier alluded to seeing a fire and yelling, only you painted that in poor terms. Would this guy yelling over a speaker -which you can't understand anyway - really have made that much of a difference in your mind? Really?
Which leads to the overall question - how much effort is enough for you to justify these guys' actions? I suspect there is not going to be enough, even if they hollered over the loudspeaker.

Again, I'm not saying they should be applauded, just not scorned.

 

but her logic, really, is fairly sound, s. lee

and, evil, what I think my point is is that these guys should have done something else. anything else. no, we don't know that they went back to their crossword puzzle, but we do know they pushed their button .... and nothing else.

 

All I know is that whenever I hear of some tragedy, I just thank God no subway workers were hurt.

 

Jared thanks you for your concern.

 

The whole PA system argument to me is ridiculous. Who cares if they did get on the loudspeaker? The victim says the rapist was mentally ill, maybe he wouldn't have even heard the PA system. Everybody is acting like if either of the two people would have gotten on the PA system, the attack would have stopped. Nobody knows that for sure, maybe it triggers something in the rapist and he ends up taking it a step further. Maybe he throws her off the platform instead of just threatening her. There's a whole lot of maybes involved to think that a simple "The cops have been called" announcement on the PA system would have made everything better.

It's obviously not the same thing, but I witnessed a group of guys jump a person at a gas station in my old hometown. I was sitting in my car at the red light and immediately called the cops on my cell. I also made a quick U-Turn and hollered out the window that the cops had been called. You know what happened? They continued beating the shit out of that person until they heard the sirens, then hopped in their cars and left. Luckily, I knew everyone involved (small town) and stuck around to give the police a thorough rundown and the guys were caught a few minutes later. But it didn't stop the attack and the guy suffered some pretty serious injuries. Saw him a month later and asked how he was doing and not once did he acknowledge me helping him. I wasn't looking for acknowledgement, but thought it weird that he didn't even say "Thanks for calling the cops."

 

That's because you didn't jump in to help him you jerk!

 

OK, you're leaving the realm of rational argument when you decide what they would have done. But that's fine, your choice.