Discussing racial attacks with students and help finding information on the 'piataia grafa'

[Michael Denner]

Benjamin is right -- sociologists (Latane and Darley) have argued that
the lesson to be learned in Genovese's case was not that no one called
the police DESPITE the fact that forty people watched her being
murdered, but that no one called BECAUSE so many people witnessed it.
It's called the "bystander problem" -- responsibility is diffused and,
furthermore, no one does anything because no one does anything. Like
"group think," there is such a thing as "group action" that trumps
personal responsibility and even personal freedom. We are most alone and
on our own when we are in the middle of a crowd.

Renee's emphasis on the cultural aspect is not amiss, though. Without
descending into cultural stereotypes or all-encompassing historical
explanations (ok, I probably will), every American I know who has lived
in Russia has noted and complained about the tendency Russians have to
expect someone else, usually the government, to deal with a given
problem. This phenomenon is notable, for instance, in the lack of native
NGOs in Russia or the near absence of charitable societies that abound
elsewhere, but most prevalently in the Anglo-American world. 

I remember going to a church in Moscow a few summers ago to volunteer my
time & energies -- I was invited to sing in the choir. 

Best,
mad
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
   Dr. Michael A. Denner
   Editor, Tolstoy Studies Journal
   Director, University Honors Program
   
   Contact Information:
      Russian Studies Program
      Stetson University
      Campus Box 8361
      DeLand, FL 32720-3756
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-----Original Message-----
From: Slavic & East European Languages and Literature list
[mailto:SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU] On Behalf Of Benjamin Rifkin
Sent: Wednesday, July 26, 2006 2:33 PM
To: SEELANGS at LISTSERV.CUNY.EDU
Subject: Re: [SEELANGS] Discussing racial attacks with students and help
finding information on the 'piataia grafa'

I believe that sociologists who have studied this phenomenon have come
to
the conclusion that it is not culturally specific (Americans or
Russians) so
much as it is a product of anonymous big-city living.

BR

On 7/26/06 2:30 PM, "Kim Braithwaite" <kbtrans at COX.NET> wrote:

> For a notorious example of bystanders doing nothing to stop an
atrocity, go
> google the Kitty Genovese case in Queens, NY, in October 1964. She was
> brutally murdered, a crime that took a whole hell of a long time,
while at
> least 38 witnesses watched and listened to her screams. Among other
things,
> it goes to show that any "culture" is not necessarily homogeneous in
terms
> of "individual responsibility" or any other trait.
> 
> "Good is better than evil, because it's nicer" - Mammy Yokum (Al Capp)
> 
> Mr Kim Braithwaite, Translator - kbtrans at cox.net
> 
-- 
Benjamin Rifkin
Professor of Russian and Vice Dean for Undergraduate Affairs
College of Liberal Arts, Temple University
1206 Anderson Hall, 1114 W. Berks St.
Philadelphia, PA 19122 USA
Voice 215-204-1816
Fax 215-204-3731
www.temple.edu/cla
www.temple.edu/fgis/rifkin

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