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Do you think people are getting more callous?
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Posted by: Chako
I found this little news snippet during my daily internet news plowing. It kind of startled me at how callous some people are. Taken from Excite News:
Egged on by Crowd, Woman Leaps From Bridge
Updated: Wed, Aug 29 7:38 AM EDT
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A woman leaped from a Seattle highway bridge into a ship canal on Tuesday after frustrated drivers stuck in the rush-hour traffic jam she created yelled for her to jump, police said. "Commuters were coming by and urging her to jump and that was on the mild side of what they said. I'm not going to repeat the other things they said," Seattle Police spokesman Clem Benton told Reuters. Police fished the 28-year-old woman out of the canal and drove her to Harborview Medical Center, where she was listed in critical condition with chest and abdominal injuries. The bridge spans a busy canal connecting Puget Sound to Lake Union and Lake Washington. The woman sat perched on a railing as police tried for three hours to talk her down, to no avail. "You hope to say something that will touch that person and pull them through it," Benton said, adding that a male acquaintance was also rushed to the scene to try to coax her from the ledge. The crowd reaction flies in the face of Seattle's reputation as a laid-back city with sensitive citizens. Increasing roadway congestion has raised the ire of many residents. "In my experience on the job, you can never be surprised by what people will do," Benton said. "Obviously when you have an individual in some type of crisis, yelling for her to jump is very insensitive to a person's life."
Posted by: redwench
no. i dont think were becoming more callous. its just non socially acceptable to be openly so now. as im sure most of us know, hangings or draw-and-quarterings in the town square were once family outings. they would bring a picnic lunch for the festivities.
and need i mention the guillotining (no, i cant spell it) during the french revolution? where the women would bring their knitting?
or the gladiator contests in rome? the crucifixions about 2k years ago?
the character of human beings hasnt changed in millennia. we just dont like to see the realities of our characters, so we condemn what is natural and normal, albeit undesirable at times. humans in mobs are ugly. that shouldnt be a surprise.
Posted by: AK47
You cant blame the people for egging her on. She sounds quite crazy in her own right.
Posted by: Kdr Kane
I simply call it selfishness.
Those poor people wanted to get home. Why should they care about this woman's problems? *sarcastic*
To change the subject a little:
I've been pondering a question in my head for a little while now. Are there less people who are shy and reserved than 20 years ago? I can't seem to get a grip on it.
Posted by: TotalRecall
There was no reason for her to hold up everyone else, and why would traffic even be slowed? It only takes one person to keep someone from jumping, not the entire police squad.
Posted by: redwench
yes and no. it used to be that shy, quiet people were considered acceptable, even normal. but now, its "whats wrong with you, just go out there and ...." so quiet people learn to project fake extroversion.
everything from school to job interviews, you have to be outgoing to get ahead. and thats a shame. theres no reason why an accountant should have to have any personality at all.
basically, people are still just as shy as ever, they just learned to cover it up more in todays society.
Posted by: Kdr Kane
Red,
That's what I've been thinking too. Society doesn't accept it, so appearances have had to change.
Posted by: Digitalphatman
Red your right, ppl are just as shy now as they were 20 years ago. But if you are shy nowadays people think that there is something wrong with you or that you are antisocial. People seem to only like the extroverted, outgoing people. Which at times can be very hurtful to shy people.
Posted by: Ion Silverbolt
I think people today are more callous than they used to be. Mainly because of competitveness. Our whole society is non-stop compitition. At one time, people used to be more cooperative because they could depend on each other for survival. But in todays world, you have to fit in or get stomped. Something as simple as not wearing a pair of Nikes at school can get you ridiculed.
Then you have to compete for jobs with other people. Jobs used to be a lot simpler. But today, a lot of jobs require somekind of skilled trade or degree. At least the ones that can support a family. A lot of people have to live in the right place for such jobs. There's just no simplicity in life anymore. And people are getting stressed out.
When people are unhappy, they lash out. That woman just happened to be in the wrong place. And that distraction along with unhappy people is all it took. The bad thing about people being more callous is it tends to make other people that way. It's just too common these days.
For example, I tend to wave at new people at work so they don't feel alienated. Some people will just look at you when you do that like your a retard. That makes me want to knock their ****ing head off but that wouldn't solve anything would it? 
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