Am I just jaded, or a bad person, or what?

So I was sleeping in this morning (shhh don't tell my profs) and I was awoken at 10.30 by a girl screaming. Like, horror movie screaming. Then I heard someone running down the sidewalk down by the street. Then a guy yelling about how he wasn't trying to hurt her and he didn't want nothing... I heard a friend of mine who lives a building over go outside, so I rolled over and went back to sleep. I never even bothered to look out the window.

Is this what happens to you when you live in the city?

My friend told me a similar thing happened to her, her and her boyfriend were hanging out when they heard a similar scream, door slamming, a girl sounding like she was yelling for help, etc. Neither one of them went outside either, because they were scared to get involved.

What would you have done? Had I not heard someone else doing something about it this morning, I would have called the cops.

Yikes thats pretty scary! I'm not sure I'd want to get directly involved either. You hear stories about people pretending to be in trouble to get you to open the door, and then they have companions waiting to burst in your house and rob you. I'd have called the police maybe.

well there are only a few houses in my area and well usually we are generally nebby and we sit out on the deck and watch when the neighbors fight they do the same when somethings going on here, but we usually never had to call the cops because they always did themselves and my one neighbor well she is crazy and generally calls the cops on her own son for the stupidist reasons, but in ur situation i wuld of called the cops or me being crazy and everything i would of went outside or yelled out the window the things i get myself into but i would have probably called the cops

I called the cops once in a situation like that. I don't get involved..I just let the police handle it.

One of my profs brought in a story about a girl who got raped and all the people in the appartment buildings heard her scream for help, but later when interviewed, many said they thought someone else would call 911, so they didn't bother. The rapist wasn't captured.

Since then, I would not hesitate to phone. I mean it can't hurt.

Become mobile phone girl - with the powers to call the police.

Around here we have awful things happen all the time. Sadly people dont do much about it. If you hear gun fire no one calls unless they see someone hurt. Its awful but we dont want to get into trouble either. So I probably would have done the same thing. If I heard someone helping if not I would have called the cops too.

If you are afraid you can request to be annonymous, but I think you should call it in if it sounds like someone is in danger.

I've called the cops for a variety of things: from random screaming outside to people partying on the porch (if you're unaware, a porch collapsed in my neighborhood...right around the corner from my old place, actually...and several students from my school were killed.) I don't want to risk my safety AND the other person's if there's an attack or robbery; the police are trained to intervene in those situations, so I leave it to them.

I like to think of it like this, how would you feel if you were in danger, screamed and no one came to help? I would definetely at the very least called the cops. I think it's wrong to know someone could be hurt, and not do something about it.

I would have called the cops. and I have before. I couldnt imagine being in that situation and no one helping.

Its part of becoming a city person.

We live on the 2nd floor and our apartment is in the back of the building facing the alleyway. We hear a lot of ruckus: delivery guys, garbage trucks, car radios, homeless people, drunk people, fighting... you name it.

Its to the point where I only consider checking it out or calling the police if they get so loud that they either disturb my sleep, TV, or TCS reading.

Its sad but true.

I would have at least called the cops and told them what I saw. I couldn't live with myself if something ever happened and I didn't do nothing to help.

I live in a small town, and most everybody knows everybody, at least in my neighborhood.

I even got the cops to come to my house one time and kill a snake.

I don't know...I probably would have called the cops too. I'm not sure if my conscience could take it if I learned something bad happened to the girl.

Originally Posted by IloveSiamese

I called the cops once in a situation like that. I don't get involved..I just let the police handle it.

One of my profs brought in a story about a girl who got raped and all the people in the appartment buildings heard her scream for help, but later when interviewed, many said they thought someone else would call 911, so they didn't bother. The rapist wasn't captured.

Since then, I would not hesitate to phone. I mean it can't hurt.

Click to expand...

this is the Kitty Genovese story and the girl was actually murdered, I learned about it in a psych class.... anywoo, there's been study after study done, people just don't want to get involved, that's why they tell you to yell fire! not rape! you're more likely to get help as sad as that sounds unfortunately you're just being human Julie

I probably would have called the cops. You never know if the other girl that is trying to help will get beat down or something.

That's the funny thing I realise when you get older.

It's safer to live in the small towns rather than the big cities. Not because there are less people, but more people are in your business than the city folk.
So you'll have someone call the police more than likely in the small town than the bigger city.

I would have liked to say I would have called the police. I guess if I knew that since it was the middle of the day and I heard screaming, more than likely. But if it was morning or night, then I think I would consider that someone else would call.

Let me clarify maybe why I didn't call... I heard the girl run away successfully, and the guy not following her, and my friend that went out is an ex-cop who is a bouncer now. Also, I didn't see anything, just heard it.

I probably should have called. Around here, calling the police is both not very effective and also can be dangerous to your health.

There seems to be such a "Don't mess with people's business" vibe in this sort of neighborhood that maybe sometimes it gets carried too far. I know any other place I've lived I would have called the cops, gotten the neighbors, watched until the cops came, etc.

I still am trying to figure out why not...

I remember the Kitty Genovese story. In situations like that, I would have called. Mostly they either thought someone else would, or already had. I'm never afraid of that, I don't care if I'm the 300th person to call the electric company, I'm calling. So I believe I would have called in that case (and because I would have thought of Kitty Genovese). I hate living in the ghetto.

I call the cops. I called them this summer when I thought some guys were beating the crap out of each other upstairs- apparently they were just "wrestling"- but it sounded like someone was being killed up there. I called the cops another time when I saw some young guy getting the crap beat out of him on a lawn by about six other guys. I don't get involved though- I just call.

I've had that happen one too many times in my neighborhood. The best thing to do is call the police.