What Would You Do?
Disgust and disappointment were my first reactions and obviously my strongest. I understand Cash’s loyalty to Jeremy Strohmeyer but his refusal to take action and remain a bystander is inexcusable. His loyalty and affection for his friend should not be his reasoning for letting his friend continue. Instead he should have stepped in. I believe that was the only option because someone’s health and safety is at risk and he had the power to do something, anything. A person has their right to remain out of someone’s business but I believe that when someone’s safety either emotional and especially physical safety is at risk. Of course, this is my opinion and everyone has their own right to decide on what they would do.
When it comes to witnessing something like this I would think that it would bother someone to see someone be hurt right in front of their eyes, physically and emotionally. Whether you decide to physically step in yourself or call the police, when an incident like Sherice Iverson’s happens, doing something about it will not only help the victim in the situation but your conscious after. Take, for example, the “Nightmare on the 36 bus” situation. The bus driver and other passengers witnessed a young boy be punched in the face and verbally abused by a man, who clearly made him uncomfortable and yet did nothing about it. Later, both the bus driver and a fellow passenger named David Auclair, are quoted saying that they wish they had done something and still regret their decision. Obviously, helping the boy would save a lot of gore and regret but there is still the choice to be a bystander that needs to be taken into account.
I understand that people do value their safety over the needs of others. Self-Preservation is a very important concept that gets taken into account in these situations. When people spend time milling over whether or not they should help and risk their well-being, it sometimes is too late. In an article titled, “ The Trick to Acting Heroically”, Erez Yoeli and David Rand explain that most people who perform heroic acts do so instinctively. They don’t think of the costs and instead just react. People who do these acts must perceive the benefits to outweigh the potential costs. @Cabbage’s point where they said,” Not everyone is going to be a hero and put their life on the line to help someone else which is fine, but being a bystander to a terrible crime shouldn’t be normalized.” is completely correct. Self-Preservation is important and not every problem should be your problem but at the end of the day when someone’s health and safety is at risk, something should be done about it.
In the case of Jeremy Strohmeyer, I believe that the self-preservation won over in Cash’s mind and his loyalty to his friend stopped him from doing what many perceived as the right thing to do. Though I may not agree with his lack of “heroics'' because they costed a girl’s life, his actions define him. He has every right to let his friend be, he was under no obligation to step in or report it. I think @SwedishFish sums it all up when they said, "A little girl was taken advantage of, stripped away of their innocence, and eventually killed. Out of pure human decency, Cash should’ve done something. It is appalling to me that someone would just simply stare at the perpetrator, see the monstrous look in their eyes, and walk away, allowing the death of a 7 year old girl." Morality should have played a bigger role here and it is extremely unfortunate to see that someone could have stopped it but didn't.