No real message -- just free associating.
I figured if there was a 'day', that might be the theme song.
I'm aware that even then it was an oversimplified reaction to
oversimplified news reports, and definitely a product of its times.
Very much a '60's statement about a lack of social responsibility and
individual isolation.
On Mar 13, 2009, at 7:31 PM, Mike Palij wrote:
On Fri, 13 Mar 2009 10:27:17 -0700, Paul Brandon wrote:
"Outside of a small circle of friends" Phil Ochs
The first lines in the above song are:
|Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
|They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
|Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
|But Monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
|And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
|Outside of a small circle of friends.
But I have to admit to being unsure about the message that Paul
is intending. He is saying that Kitty Genovese's death is no longer
relevant to most people? Our petty interests trump the suffering
and death of a person? For psychology, Kitty Genovese is of
less importance than the work of Latane and Darley that was
in response to her death? Or something else? I really don't
understand.
-Mike Palij
New York University
[email protected]
On Mar 13, 2009, at 8:13 AM, Mike Palij wrote:
Back on March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked and
killed. We now have a somewhat different view of the events
surrounding her death, particularly the issue of "bystander apathy".
For example, see:
http://kewgardenshistory.com/ss-nytimes-3.html
And others remember the event in their own way. For example, see:
http://deathaday.blogspot.com/2008/03/march-13-kitty-genovese.html
Of renewed relevance to younger folks, she plays a minor role in
the "Watchmen" graphic novel: see:
http://www.scifimoviepage.com/upcoming/previews/watchmen-2.html
Make it "help a stranger" day.
Paul Brandon
Emeritus Professor of Psychology
Minnesota State University, Mankato
[email protected]
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