en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apathy
1 correction found
was stabbed to death as bystanders reportedly stood by and did nothing to stop the situation or even call the police.
This repeats the debunked version of the Kitty Genovese story. Later archival research found no evidence that 38 witnesses simply watched without acting, and some neighbors did intervene or contact police.
Full reasoning
The sentence repeats the long-disputed claim that Genovese's neighbors merely watched and failed even to call police.
That is not supported by the historical record. A 2007 review in American Psychologist re-examined the case using archival material and concluded that the famous story of inactive witnesses "is not supported by the available evidence," finding no evidence for 38 witnesses, no evidence that witnesses observed the entire murder, and no evidence that witnesses remained inactive.
Later historical reconstructions also show that some neighbors did react. HISTORY's summary of the case reports that neighbor Robert Mozer yelled out his window, causing the attacker to flee temporarily; that Sophia Farrar found Genovese after the second attack and called for someone to summon police; and that Karl Ross eventually called the police. Those details directly contradict the claim that bystanders simply "did nothing" or failed to call police.
So while the Genovese case is historically associated with research on bystander behavior, this specific description of passive onlookers doing nothing is a misleading retelling of a story that has since been substantially corrected.
2 sources
- The Kitty Genovese murder and the social psychology of helping: the parable of the 38 witnesses - PubMed
"This article argues that ... the story of the 38 witnesses who remained inactive during the murder of Kitty Genovese -- is not supported by the available evidence" and found "no evidence for the presence of 38 witnesses, or that witnesses observed the murder, or that witnesses remained inactive."
- Kitty Genovese - Case, Murder & Bystander | HISTORY
HISTORY says the famous press account "has been disproved over time" and reports that neighbor Robert Mozer yelled out his window, causing the attacker to flee; Sophia Farrar found Genovese and screamed for someone to call police; and Karl Ross later called the police.