Girl on the Net
Apparently today is International Bystander Awareness Day so here's an old guest blog from a bystander who intervened. I always aspire to be braver than I am in these situations:
https://www.girlonthenet.com/blog/intervening-in-harassment/
Mar 13 at 12:37pmPubler
Show threadNot The LBC GuyMar 13
@girlonthenet this blog post did inspire me to intervene in a situation where I might not have before. Thank you for showing me a model I could use.
Show threadGirl on the NetMar 13
@NotTheLBCGuy this makes me so happy <3
Show threadConsensus TullyalityMar 13
@girlonthenet casual reminder that the circumstances of Kitty Genovese's murder don't actually line up with what the New York Times reported, and that the entire "bystander effect" was predicated on queerphobic lies
Inside The Brutal Murder Of Kitty Genovese, The 28-Year-Old Woman Who Was Killed In Plain Sight

Her death led psychologists to establish what is now known as the "bystander effect" theory.

All That's Interesting
Show threadGirl on the NetMar 13
@tully alright, I'll remove that link
Show threadTattieMar 13

@girlonthenet this mirrors an incident of harassment on public transport I intervened in. Xenophobia in that case, but similarly I said something kinda confrontational to the perpetrator and then dialed it back, and later regretted the dialing back, but when all's said and done... I said something. I halted the harassment.

Intervening in a situation will always feel awkward as fuck, and you will probably act awkwardly, but that discomfort should rightly belong to the perpetrator.

Show threadGirl on the NetMar 13
@Tattie really good point, yeah. And well done for intervening!
Show threadJonasMar 13
@Tattie @girlonthenet Well done!
Show threadHumphrey ArcherMar 13

@girlonthenet
I once intervened by walking up to the guy with a big scowl on my face
"Bruce ... you arsehole. You thought you could hide, but here you are. Where is our money, Bruce? Do we need to take your toes with a boltcutter to get you to pay your gambling debts?"

While My Dude was trying to explain that he was not Bruce, the girl vanished.

Show threadBytebro 🇬🇧 🇺🇦 🇬🇱Mar 13

@screwturn

Very cool, if true. In fact, very cool anyway - I'd probably watch that movie clip if it posted! And kudos, of course.

@girlonthenet

Show threadHumphrey ArcherMar 13

@bytebro
I mean, I am 6ft2, and I was wearing dirty jeans and a biker jacket and boots, obviously packing a gun, and had wild hair a big beard. So it was believable.

@girlonthenet

Show threadGirl on the NetMar 13
@screwturn jesus that’s bold
Show threadHumphrey ArcherMar 13

@girlonthenet
eh .. I was young, a biker, just out of the military, and would rather have liked it if My Dude had got stroppy

But the rationale was that he was going to spend ALL his mental resources on trying to clarify that he was NOT this Bruce I was hunting and clearly wanted to hurt, and that it completely sidelined the woman. She could have turned turned into a bright green mermaid and he wouldn't have noticed

If I had challenged him about her, it would have focused his attention on her

Show threadHumphrey ArcherMar 13

@girlonthenet
Now at nearly seventy, I would maybe be less aggressive, but might still play the crime and money angle.

Maybe more like talk on the phone, get between him and the woman and say into the phone "Hey Vito, I just found Bruce. He changed his hair and shaved of the stupid beard, but I found him. So, Bruce, we gave you 25-k, where's our product, man? Where's the STUFF?"