There is a horrific report out of Hollywood where a man accidentally lit himself on fire and, while some people struggled to help him, other party goers gathered around with cameras and filmed the man as he burned. Some reports had people dancing and laughing as people tried to push them back so the man could be assisted. Gilbert Estrada, 51, later died. People posted the scene below on YouTube which shows people cheering and laughing as Estrada lay on the ground.
The festival was held in West Hollywood as part of an annual Halloween carnival. There were good people in the crowd who prong forward to help. They offer some hope for this species but they appear outnumbered by people who seem to be enjoying the scene. We have previously seen cases where people step over unconscious or dead people, sometimes taking pictures, without calling police. We have also seen the disgusting reaction of people who laugh at the suffering of others. I have long been mystified by the latent cruelty and detachment of many in our society. As have discussed the common scene of bystanders who laugh and call for suicidal individuals to jump to their deaths so they can watch. Somehow these people were raised without a modicum of humanity and are clearly detached from the suffering of others.
In this case, Estrada reportedly was wearing a sniper costume made of burlap sacks and straw. Witnesses said that he ignited the hood when lighting a cigarette. That is not uncommon as an accident on Halloween as we have seen.
Source: LA Times
One key piece of info about Sociopaths I should add is that most all of the worst of the worst share one thing in common in that they all wear the same costume which helps identify them, a suit and tie.
That isn’t to say everyone that wears a suit and tie is a Sociopath, those others are just attempting to blend in also.
Like robes at another one of those SPLC sponsored KKK rallies.
🙂
OS, I knew you’d like that last line.
There is hope for humanity?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=scientists-probe-human-nature-and-discover-we-are-good-after-all
SCIENTISTS PROBE HUMAN NATURE–AND DISCOVER WE ARE GOOD AFTER ALL
Recent studies find our first impulses are selfless
By Adrian F. Ward
“When it really comes down to it—when the chips are down and the lights are off—are we naturally good? That is, are we predisposed to act cooperatively, to help others even when it costs us? Or are we, in our hearts, selfish creatures?”
“This fundamental question about human nature has long provided fodder for discussion. Augustine’s doctrine of original sin proclaimed that all people were born broken and selfish, saved only through the power of divine intervention. Hobbes, too, argued that humans were savagely self-centered; however, he held that salvation came not through the divine, but through the social contract of civil law. On the other hand, philosophers such as Rousseau argued that people were born good, instinctively concerned with the welfare of others. More recently, these questions about human nature—selfishness and cooperation, defection and collaboration—have been brought to the public eye by game shows such as Survivor and the UK’s Golden Balls, which test the balance between selfishness and cooperation by pitting the strength of interpersonal bonds against the desire for large sums of money.”
“But even the most compelling televised collisions between selfishness and cooperation provide nothing but anecdotal evidence. And even the most eloquent philosophical arguments mean noting without empirical data.”
“A new set of studies provides compelling data allowing us to analyze human nature not through a philosopher’s kaleidoscope or a TV producer’s camera, but through the clear lens of science. These studies were carried out by a diverse group of researchers from Harvard and Yale—a developmental psychologist with a background in evolutionary game theory, a moral philosopher-turned-psychologist, and a biologist-cum-mathematician—interested in the same essential question: whether our automatic impulse—our first instinct—is to act selfishly or cooperatively.”
Maybe OS has some insight to add to this issue I raised.
As I remember there was a FBI agent that came up with the modern techniques of profiling people. In his interview he was commenting also on Sociopaths and why most of the worst of the worst end up running Wallst or working as puppets for them in DC.
It had something to do with their hatred for themselves, that they regret having ever been born and the strong desire to commit suicide, but they don’t have the guts to do it themselves.
So they go out and cause as much trouble/harm as possible to others in society, thinking at some point the people will have had enough of their torture, murders & thefts and there by raise up and put the sociopaths out of their misery.
On the other hand can we ever really understand what’s going on inside the minds of those lunatics?
** As have discussed the common scene of bystanders who laugh and call for suicidal individuals to jump to their deaths so they can watch. Somehow these people were raised without a modicum of humanity and are clearly detached from the suffering of others.” – JT
It must have been a T-Party. **
I’m not on the Glen Beck, Saria Palin, Karl Rove, Frank Lutz, Koch Bros side of the T party, but I will stand up for most of Ron Pauls political positions.
That said Dredd I believe JT misunderstands this issue in regards to certain cases of the crowd cheering on suicidal lunitics to go ahead & jump.
It’s because some of us have empathy for others that we wish those doing harm to others go ahead and jump.
ie: Wallst/City of London Banks/Insurance Co’s & their puppet polecats.
I’ve a couple of files here I enjoy putting info in from time to time, one called Dead Bankers Club. It’s a file of Bankers/evil basstards that commit suicide.
There’s even a catchy lil tune someone made:
“I have long been mystified by the latent cruelty and detachment of many in our society. As have discussed the common scene of bystanders who laugh and call for suicidal individuals to jump to their deaths so they can watch. Somehow these people were raised without a modicum of humanity and are clearly detached from the suffering of others.” – JT
It must have been a T-Party.
Elks have more empathy. and, they’re real tasty.
How many times does it need to be said the Kitty Genovese story was a hoax!! Read Freakonomics.
“Read Freakonomics.”
Read it. Freakonomics is a hoax.
Rumor has it, wink, Obama took over a program from Bush where 1500 to 2500 armed drones are launched every day in Africa alone.
(year old info)
They head off loaded & come back empty.
Who are the blowing up & how many a day?
It isn’t racist if the Wallst Banks/Insur co’s put a 1/2 black guy in office charged with doing the killing is it?
Where else besides Africa?
How many Americans will the AMA, Big Phrama, Monsanto, etc kill in the US today?
I don’t believe as a group of posters, working together here, that it’d be possible to view/read all those stories in a day.
This ‘me-oriented’ consumer society, hypnotized by digital screens and inebriated on amusement madness, will die of its own perverse excesses.
leejcaroll,
This kind of thing–the “bystander effect”–has been going on since time immemorial. I don’t think it can be blamed on technology, other than the fact research is beginning to show the desensitizing effects of violent video games and entertainment. I don’t think we can blame video games for what happened to Kitty Genovese in 1964
leej, Technology is part of it. There are instant means to record and you have a worldwide audience. But, having toured the Coliseum in Rome, watching people suffer has long been a spectator sport for some. Imagine the Nazi’s w/ this technological capability.
I had always heard that the 38 or so people had heard the screamsnot that they had witnessed the attack. I googled and see that there is a myth surrounded to the story (it was the NYTimes that evidently helped create it. http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/catherine-susan-genovese-2011-10/
You and the others are right of course, this effect has been around since time immemorial and the willingness to hurt people as well (horrendously sad). It just seems to me, and maybe it is more of a function of the ability of all forms of media to be there, that we hear of these stories more and more. (And I see a difference today, as opposed to when I grew up, just in basic courtesy, holding a door open, hearing someone say excuse me and refusing to move, because they are on their phone, ipad etc and either haven’t heard you or just don’t care that you need to get by. Or just don’t care without being on some form of device.
‘Here it’s worth noting that the New York Times coverage instrumental in enshrining Genovese’s murder in legend was less than completely accurate: There may have been just three eyewitnesses to the attack; most neighbors only heard portions of it; it’s possible none saw the final assault and murder.”
So if only 3 rather than 38 were actual eyewitnesses that would be exculpatory regarding a screaming women heard in a dark courtyard. If I heard someone screaming outside my house, but didn’t see who, I would still call the police.
My first instinct was to not watch the video, I wish I’d have followed it. That image will stay. But worse were the cheering voices. Horrific. Disgusting.
I sound like an old fuddy duddy but I blame a lot of it on modern technology. People have become more and more insulated and war, hurting others is seen as nothing more then a subject for games. Play enough of it, ignore real people as you walk, ride in the train, sit at home with your computers, I pads, video games, etc and it becomes easier and easier to see others as nothing more then entertainment.
Oh what fun people have on Halloween!
Disgusting story. I am a non-violent man but when I see this kind of idiocy, it makes my blood boil.
This speaks volume of our need to do more research in the psychological or psycho-social analysis of humanity.
There’s still time this year, you too could be a winner! 🙂
This is a case of me… Me… Me…. But it is Hollywood …. That says it all…
As a non-smoker, subjected to office smokers for 33 years at G.E. I have felt the kind of rage that I don’t give a damn about abusive smoker bullies.
I have always had a lot of empathy for the unfortunate – empathy can be un-taught, at least in my case for victimizers.
Empathy cannot be taught, only respect can.