A Focus in the Kitty Genovese Syndrome No One is Talking About

BEWARE – MYTHS and NONSENSE
The Kitty Genovese Syndrome & Yelling “Fire!”
Debunking a Flawed Crime Escape Scheme

Winston Moseley attacked and stabbed 24-year-old Kitty Genovese at 3 a.m. on the street near her Kew Gardens home in Queens NY on 11 March 1964. Her screams prompted one neighbor to shout out, causing Moseley to flee, but he soon returned to rape the helpless, bleeding woman and stab her to death. Her subsequent screams throughout the 30-minute ordeal fell on the deaf ears of 38 of her neighbors. Other than the neighbor who’d shouted just once, not a single one lifted a finger to help her or even call the police.

A national news media furor erupted over the neighbors' stunning apathy but they refused to explain their baffling behavior.

Sprouting from this morass, some commentator concocted a scheme to counter such apathy in the future:alloutdoor crime victims should yell,“Fire!”instead of“Help! Police!”Supposedly, apathetic neighbors would fear a fire spreading to their homes and call the Fire Department, and then fire trucks would scare away the attacker.

UNTESTED
Though never tested for feasibility, and despite therarityof such apathy, this goofy notion somehow grew into “folk wisdom” still taught today by many so-called crime experts. This supposed emergency maneuver has escaped any serious scrutiny of its logic – or lack thereof – for 44 years. Until now.

Not surprisingly, yelling “Fire” has even been reported as being successful once in awhile. Not because it’s a clever strategy, but because whatever help it had summoned would’ve been forthcoming withanyplea – regardless of its wording. Most bystanders arenotapathetic and will at least start hollering, turning on porch lights, honking car horns, and so on – and of course, calling thepolice.Predators almost always prefer secrecy, soanyattention from bystanders usually scares them off.

On top of that, most houses arenotbuilt closely side-by-side thus arenotvulnerable to a spreading blaze. So, most of the time, yelling “Fire!” makes no sense whatsoever.

Finally, bluffs are always risky inanysituation, but trying to bluff bystanders into saving your life is beyond foolish. Trying to manipulate them with a fictitiousfirewhen you really want to be rescued from acrimeadds dangerous confusion to a crisis. Bystanders have often reported that when they can’t see a fire anywhere, they assume the woman yelling “Fire!” is fooling around or drunkenly fighting with her "boyfriend" – and they disregard her after all.

Why risk confusing your potential rescuers when you're in deep trouble? A life-threatening emergency isnotthe time to gamble on some silly trick. Instead, you should simply identify your plight accurately by yelling“Help! Police!”

LOOKING CLOSER AT THE "GENOVESE SYNDROME"
Alone, a single bystander may or may not intervene to rescue a stranger – depending upon many factors, such as the degree of risk involved, individual ability, etc. Butmostpeople will at least phone the police.

With several bystanders, additional factors come into play, such as how well they know each other as well as the shame they’d feel by not acting – by at least calling the police and/or creating a ruckus (perhaps from a safe distance) to deter the criminal.

Furthermore, in “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference,” Malcolm Gladwell wrote that psychologists Bibb Latane of Columbia and John Darley of NYU studied the Bystander Apathy in the Genovese case (a.k.a. the "Genovese Syndrome") and found that what most affected “helping behavior” was how many people witness an event.

The larger the group, the more each person’s responsibility is diffused. Each thinks others will help, or if no one is helping, there isn’t really a problem. They aren’t heartless and uncaring, they just feel less responsibility to act. Ironically, Latane and Darley say, had Kitty Genovese been attacked with just one bystander nearby, she might well have been rescued.

NOW CONNECTTHATTOTHIS
Years later, an investigation found the final reason for the neighbors' shameful apathy – Genovese had a neighborhood reputation for promiscuity. In 2004, on the 40th anniversary of Genovese’s death, Dr. Tina Trent wrote in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, “Although the ‘38 Witnesses’ were in their homes, not a courtroom, they judged the victim, not her attacker, and they sentenced her to death.”

So, while the rationale for theYell “Fire!”advice was goofy from the start, we can add the psychological group diffusion and the self-righteous moral disdain to bury that silliness forever.

LESSONS LEARNED
Don’t call the dogcatcher to douse a fire, don’t call an ambulance to tow your car, and don’t yell“Fire!”when you’re attacked. Instead, yell“Help! Police!”

[However, sounding afalse fire alarmto deter acriminalmight be effective in certain instances – such as being chased through a hotel hallway. Yell “Help! Police!” while pounding on suite doors as you pass, and pull a fire alarm lever – make as much noise as possible. Then hope people don’t treat you like Kitty Genovese.]

RESCUE YOURSELF
Ultimately, though, your first line-of-defense should not be the wildly unpredictable availability of helpful bystanders or police or firemen to rescue you.You must rescue yourself!Because whensecondscount – cops areminutesaway!

Now, if Kitty Genovese had had the chance to read the advice that you’re about to learn, she might well have escaped virtually unscathed. But, alas, Crime-Safety-Security.com didn’t exist back then. Modern “noisemakers” didn’t exist yet either (though old-fashioned whistles are quite effective – if attached by a rather weak beaded-metal chain instead of a cord that can be used to strangle), nor did pepper spray exist back then. Today, however,youhave the following strategy – and modern tools – to escape Kitty's fate.

SET YOUR BOUNDARIES
Never turn your back on anyone you don’t trust –thatinvites an attack you won’t see coming. If he begins to approach you, take an aggressive stance, put one hand in a pocket as though you have a weapon ready, raise your other hand in a “STOP!” gesture, andfiercelycommand him to"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"(Add foul cursing and as much menace as possible.)

Better yet, also hold pepper spray and a noisemaker visible and at the ready. Their visible presence alone may well deter an attack.

If he keeps moving toward you –that'syour early-warning-sign that he's probably a predator – so you can either flee and/or activate your noisemaker and use your pepper spray.

"Fight or flight”are the two most well known options. Martial arts' theory usually addssurrenderto the mix. I’ve added two more options:outsmartandposture, and aligned them all with FBI guidelines (and clarified the FBI’s clunky terminology).

A VICTIM’S FIVE OPTIONS: (see Resource Box for more details):
1.Posturing:presenting yourself as a tough target (predators prefer easy prey). If that doesn’t work:
2.Fleeing,the most obvious choice, might not be possible. If not:
3.Outsmarting:by verbally defusing a confrontation and maneuvering toward escape. If that doesn’t work:
4.Surrenderingand hoping for the best; or preferably as a prelude to an escape, perhaps aided by:
5.Fightinglike a mad dog to enable your escape. Stun & run.

It’s impossible to fully anticipate the panicky chaos of a sudden threat forcing you to make split-second life-and-death decisions. Nonetheless, understanding your optionsnowwill help your Intuition choose an optionthen.

ENHANCING YOUR OPTIONS
Pepper spray & a noisemaker visibly ready will greatly enhance your first option – Posturing as a tough target – and probably deter a predator immediately. Your fifth option – Fighting – is enhanced as well.

In the end, though, Kitty Genovese’s tragic fate ultimately helped leadyouto a greater understanding of the dynamics and options within an all too common nightmare: a lone woman facing a monster. Now you know how to rescue yourself.

Michael Edward Loftus Sr – Crime-Safety-Security.com – All Rights Reserved © Copyright 1990-2008

See more articles by Michael Edward Loftus Sr at Crime-Safety-Security.com Article Bank

Folklore and fables – from vampire and wolfman legends to tales of The Brothers’ Grimm – tell us of ogres, fiends, and monsters. Today we call them violent criminals. They’ve always plagued us and – as long as passions, madness, and evil exist – always will. Let’s blow away a predator's biggest advantage:the naïveté of the prey.Subscribe to the free Crime-Safety-Security Newsletter .