Just help people
It is undeniable that the actions of both Jeremy Strohmeyer and David Cash were despicable on the night of Sherrice Iverson’s murder. Broski expressed that David Cash took 22 minutes to leave Jeremy Strohmeyer alone with Sherrice Iverson, to reflect on the situation and think about if what was happening was even real. I disagree with this point of view, because I believe that David Cash’s actions that night were not to reflect, but to disassociate himself completely with the situation. Where I do agree with Broski is that Cash completely disregarded the life of Sherrice Iverson, and failed to view the impact of his actions, and if he did know the impact, he just did not care.
In that situation, David cash had the moral obligation to intervene as soon as he saw that the seven year old girl was defenseless against the much older Jeremy Strohmeyer. If he did not want to intervene, at the very least he should have reported jeremy when he found out about the murder. In this situation, intervening would not have been that difficult, and reporting Strohmeyer to the police was perfectly easy as well. I believe that Cash assisted in the murder by leaving the bathroom in the first place and not doing anything to stop this. Because of that he should be convicted. In other situations, intervening is more difficult, such as when someone is held at gunpoint, and in those situations not intervening is more understandable, and contacting the authorities would be more reasonable. I think that people should do what is in their power when they see injustice happening.
The article “The Trick to acting Heroically” talks about how people tend to be heroic, do not think about it, they just act. It explains that a reason for this could be that they feel rewarded by helping others, like when people deem them kind and trustworthy. It is possible that in this situation, Cash did not care about seeming heroic because of the fact that he did not care about Sherrice Iverson’s life, whether it is because of her race or otherwise. I believe that race is clearly a factor here, because both Strohmeyer and Cash were white. I don't think Cash even thought he would get in trouble, because this country always values white lives over black lives, and always gives white people the benefit of the doubt. Also, bystanders often overanalyze the impact that helping will have on themself, or what they will lose by helping, rather than what the other person will gain.
Also, as SlothsPoopOnceAWeek explained, “The Bystander Effect in the CellPhone Age” demonstrates the fact that today, people rely on everyone else to act, rather than actually taking initiative themselves. This is shown through a fire, when people do not act, but take videos. In Cash’s case, he did not want to be the one to report his friend, meaning he thought that someone else would eventually, but he did not want to. His nonchalant attitude showed such incredible selfishness and disregard for human life. It is easy to be a bystander and wait for someone else to act, but if that person will greatly benefit from your help, then you should do what you can.