Bystander SPES:

In society today people were less likely to help in an emergency when other people are

around, this is known as the bystander effect, and the problem is only getting worse. There are

countless examples of people being witness to horrific crimes and simply doing nothing. In 1992

Shanda Sharer was kidnapped, tortured and ultimately killed by four other girls. One girl, Toni

Lawrence became sick by what they were doing, “Lawrence claimed to have been so disgusted

that she turned away”(Listverse Staff). Lawrence had ample time and opportunity to call the

police, but she didn’t for fear of being an accomplice. She simply sat but the sidelines and

watched while her friends killed someone. In the past people have been bystanders to horrible

things “from the Holocaust to the genocide in Rwanda”(Jason Marsh and Dacher Keltner). As

time has gone on though and individual murders and crimes have gotten more popular, more and

more people have fallen victim to the bystander effect and they have not helped others in times

of crisis.