Skip to main content

Remembering the Bystander Effect this Thanksgiving Day

The Bystander Effect " is a situation where "people refuse to intervene when a crime is being committed - also referred to as the as "Genovese syndrome. The Wikipedia page for the Bystander effect gives examples of incidents that have been affected by this effect. On the website of the Charter of human rights and freedoms says :
Every person must come to the aid of anyone whose life is in peril, either personally or calling for aid, by giving him the necessary and immediate physical assistance, unless it involves danger to himself or a third person, or he has another valid reason
My story stems from a recent trip to New York on the 2167 Acela Express. Across the aisle were a elderly couple. Since they were already on the train I think they got on the train in Boston. Before the train arrived at the Newark, NJ - Penn Station (NWK) the Amtrak conductor told them that thier station was approaching. As soon as the train stopped the husband went to get his bags and their age showed as he shuffled slowly towards the door. I was on my computer using Acela's wifi  and noticed the lady was getting up very slowly towards the door. My brain was telling me that since the train stops for less than 2 minutes they were going to miss their stop. No one including me was getting up to help them. I sprang from my seat only when the husband cried out that the train door was closed. I gave him the emergency phone to call for help but we could not determine how to operate it. I ran towards the conductor  who was in another compartment and by this time the train had just started moving. I am not sure about the Amtrak rules here but the conductor made a motion towards her walkie-talkie but changed her mind and said she will some by shortly.

This couple were over 80 years old and were pretty calm despite missing the stop. I asked them if they wanted to make a call and they did not have a phone. My phone did not have a signal but soon the conductor came along and kindly offered her phone to them to make a call. The train stopped at the next scheduled stop which is Philadelphia and the couple were now helped by me and a few other passengers and I hope they got the next train back. It was the lady's 80the birthday and they were traveling to New Jersey to attend a funeral.

My 2 takeaways here are :

  • When you see someone in trouble especially in a situation like this don't hesitate to help immediately. I could have done that as soon as I saw they were unable to get down by themselves and save them time and distress.
  • I have missed trains/ stops in my life and I don't think I took the situation in as calmly as these couple. I must remember to do that when faced with a unusual situation.
This situation is not for personal situations alone . In the Harvard Business Review   article "What every leader needs to know about followers "- Barbara Kellerman (2007) says that bystanders who follow leaders trend to drag down the organization. Her definition of bystanders is people who observe but do not participate. I am definitely planning not be a bystander. how about you?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Warren Buffett’s Quiet Masterclass in Leadership: What He Really Values in People

SB Shashi Bellamkonda Nov 27, 2025 Warren Buffett's Quiet Masterclass in Leadership: What He Really Values in People Warren Buffett's November 10, 2025 letter is not a typical shareholder update. It is a 95-year-old legend passing the baton while quietly teaching the rest of us what actually matters in people and leadership. 1. Temperament first — everything else second "Greg is a great manager, a tireless worker, and an honest communicator… Many of our best managers coincidentally lived for some time in Omaha and developed a balanced outlook on both personal and business matters." No mention of Harvard MBAs or Goldman Sachs pedigrees. Buffett hires for emotional equilibrium and long-term thinking — Omaha just happens to be a reliable filter. 2. "We had differences but never had an argument...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Planned Solo Economy

  We often view single parenthood through a lens of economic hardship. However, recent data suggests a significant shift that the market has largely ignored: the rise of the intentional single mother. 40% of all births in America are to unmarried women. And two, that America has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Births to unmarried women aged 30 and up have increased by 140% in the last two decades, a period when teen births have fallen off a cliff. NPR's story on single motherhood spurred these thoughts.  The Shift from Circumstance to Choice Women over 30 are increasingly choosing single motherhood, supported by financial planning and reproductive technology. This isn't a distress category. It is a high-intent consumer segment making precise, high-stakes financial decisions. The Market Gap Despite this shift, our economic infrastructure remains optimized for dual-income households.  Real Estate: Mortgage underwriting and housing st...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Childhood Tradition, Global Humor, and Why Laughter Might Be the Most Underrated Tool in Your Professional Kit but

  Do you still read the newspaper comics first, the way you did when you were eight? I do. Every morning, with my coffee, I flip (or scroll) straight to Dennis the Menace, Beetle Bailey, Popeye, and Blondie. In my home outside Washington D.C., these same four-panel worlds still make me chuckle out loud—exactly the way they did when I was a kid growing up in India in the 1980s and early 90s. Back then, the Sunday edition of The Times of India or The Hindu carried a full color comics page dominated by American syndicated strips.  Dennis was forever in the doghouse, Sarge was forever screaming at Beetle, Popeye was forever reaching for that can of spinach, and Dagwood was forever building those impossible sandwiches. Beside them sat the brilliant single-panel Amul ads—the mop-top girl with her utterly Indian topical wit—but almost everything else felt deliciously foreign and, somehow, universal at the same time. I don’t remember a single Indian-produced daily comic strip in those...
Post a Comment
Read more