I was going to write a post today about if I actually read reviews before I buy things. I actually tracked my purchases for the past ten days…. the short answer is “NO” but you aren’t going to hear about that till February…

But today…

Today I am mad…

Today I am irate…

First off- I will start with the fact that I have not done really any due diligence (read a few blog posts about it and one or two news articles) about this specific issue, but I know that this has happened before, in other cities, recently, and that a pattern has already emerged.

A woman was sexually assaulted on a Philadelphia train last week. People taped it, but did nothing.

They taped it.

They %^%$&* recorded it and stood by and watched someone get assaulted.

Maybe they thought that if they helped the woman, they would get COVID…I guess that’s a legit concern, right? They might get sick…because we know how disgusting people who don’t get vaccinated are…

You know what disgusts me?

The person who sexually assaulted someone.

You know what disgusts me?

The fact that no one helped this woman.

You know what disgusts me?

That people taped it.

A few months ago I witnessed a man on a scooter get hit by a car. My fingers dialed 911 before I even realized what I was doing. Me and another guy called. Everyone else took out their phones…you know…to tape it. To make sure they had the gory details for posterity. To make sure they taped the plain clothes officer who announced himself on the scene. Because you know that was going to help the victim.

People who watch criminal acts and do not do anything are disgusting.

People who see something and do not report it are disgusting.

People who are righteous in their condemnation of others are disgusting.

I don’t care if you disagree with me. What I do care about is those around me. If you really care about those around you, do something when you see a wrong is being committed in person in front of you.

Don’t let anyone drive drunk.

Watch for those who are drunk or high all the time.

Talk to people you know having unprotected sex.

Watch for signs of physical or emotional abuse.

Watch for people contemplating suicide.

Drugs, alcohol, abuse all kill people. They kill people every year. They ruin families. They have probably ruined someone in YOUR family, your neighbors family, your best friends family. If you think that everyone you know hasn’t been touched in some way by any of these things I’d say you are either a liar or a loner or an ostrich.

It is easy to pick on a group of people and say that they’re bad.

It is far harder to think about the problems that have affected us for years and will continue to affect us.

You want to be a good neighbor? Watch for ALL the things that kill people. Unless you just want to be “on trend”. Or you think you shouldn’t get involved if someone drinks too much. Or is assaulting someone on a train. Because those things are hard…it is hard to tell someone else what to do, isn’t it?

It is easy to stand on the soapbox and shout out about people that you can “categorize”

It’s just as easy to live in a glass house.

72 thoughts on “Now I’m Mad”

    1. When I first heard the story, I was disgusted, but I didn’t call it out. Then someone else blogged about it the other day, when I was a different state of mind. I am infuriated that this has become the new status quo

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  2. Well I did report a good portion of it. Have the detectives card. I was told we’ll get to it but with COVID we have other pressing matters. So I reported it again and again. And now I’m just done.

    There was a day when I would have let it go but I’m not her anymore. I’m well aware of the fact my days are numbered because I reported it. Oh well. I gave a bigger surprise.

    I did my best to be a better person and help and all the good stuff. My cat got abused, I damn near got raped and now I’m in deaths door from believe it or not, hunger. Go figure.

    You guys patrol it now. I can’t take it anymore. I tried and I suppose I failed. I am someone. I might matter to somebody. But I can’t take it anymore.

    This is probably my way of checking out of life. Consider it done. Keep helping them and the kids. Do better than I did.

    To the moon and back.

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  3. How terrible. Aren’t we put on this planet to help one another? All those people filming and no one helped? Screw covid. I wouldnt have even thought about covid. And she was probably screaming and no one helped. Now I am mad. This is why I hate people some days.

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  4. OK intrepid and righteous reporter….you just might want to fact check this story. It’s all over the Philly media …I found this in 30 sec…

    “But the narrative that passengers watched and “filmed it for their own gratification instead of calling the police” is false, said Delaware County District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer during a news conference Thursday.

    “There is a narrative out there that people sat on the El train and watched this transpire and took videos for their own gratification. That is simply not true. It did not happen,” said Stollsteimer.

    “I saw the video where they talked about these people acting like there was a group of people just callously recording this incident,” Stollsteimer said. “That’s simply just not true, and it’s contradicted by the videotape, the security tape that SEPTA has already provided us.”

    Stollsteimer said authorities do have video from one person on the train. He wouldn’t confirm if that was the same person who called police.

    In addition, surveillance video shows the train was mostly empty, with a handful of people getting on and off. Stollsteimer said it’s likely those riders didn’t realize what was happening.”

    Come on LA

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    1. I don’t know. The other fifteen police reports look different. My understanding is there are multiple videos of this. Plus, this happened in new York city as well. The DA version is one version, isn’t it?

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      1. OK LA, I’m not going to belabor this…but you have an audience and you influence them , and you should value your readers’ trust and take time to give them the facts of a specific matter to the best of your ability. I wonder if a preamble of I did no due diligence but here’s the scoop anyway, truly serves anyone. It would have taken you ten minutes. tops, to research this incident note that the facts where in dispute, and still make your larger and worthy point. Just please…

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      2. If one person reads this and knows it’s not a game to video tape something and post it, if they know watching these things is not sport or entertainment…if they realize this woman was a victim, and revictimized every single time this was posted or viewed, then I’m ok with it. Nothing that happened was good or right. Don’t post a video of someone being assaulted. Wasn’t that woman humiliated enough?

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  5. I agree with you: “People who see something and do not report it are disgusting.” It goes beyond lazy, it goes to the way in which as a society our lives are turning into spectator sports rather than something to be lived.

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  6. This is why I wouldn’t last long in the big city! I would have waded right into the middle of it, swinging, biting, or whatever it took. My friends say I have a “save the world” complex, and I’m not afraid to brawl. It’ll probably get me killed one of these days, but I’m just not built to stand and do nothing. Also, I hope the people who did nothing and filmed it rot in hell! You’re not alone in being mad about this!

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  7. I think I find it horrifying rather than disgusting. Disgusting might be stepping in dog poop. But, a lack of humanity goes way beyond disgusting. It’s difficult to comprehend that kind of sociopathic behavior. You have every right to feel mad.

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  9. I can’t imagine being witness to something like that, and my response would be to grab my phone and record it. As a female, if I were on this train and this happened, I would dial 911, fearing I would be next. But videotaping a rape is beyond my comprehension.

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    1. The videotaping! I was just out with friends who read my blog. Turns out one of them was recently assaulted in broad daylight and people walked by as she was screaming. Finally, a woman saw and came and pulled the guy off of her

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      2. I know! People are watching things like this happen. I’ve heard so many of these stories it makes my head spin. I wasn’t going to write about this because I hadn’t researched it, but two things happened over the weekend that made me angry, so this was the perfect outlet. However you look at it, people are walking by. It’s ridiculous

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  11. Remember, everything you see in the news is there for a reason, either to make you afraid so you’ll demand more protection, or to keep people fighting over the news, and always to get views. And the truth is scarce. Women, protect yourselves! I’m glad I live in a state where we can carry weapons. If they are going to defund the police, you’d better be ready to protect yourself.

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  13. The attack is appalling. I’ve done no research – to R. Douglas’s credit so I will limit my comments. This story blew up all the news agencies and social media, none of them did their research and none (that I know of) have corrected or retracted their stories. Just another example of how news agencies have become the cult of personality and sensationalism sells. There are plenty of appalling stories about crazy behavior on mass transit. People make excuses for poor behavior, and as a society we let them get away with it. Social media is out of control, people do crazy things for social media viewership and the news agencies are following along. Kudos to you for dialing 911 to get help for the victim hit by the car.

    The sad thing is, society has degraded to such a point we all had no problem believing bystanders were more interested in social media creds than helping.

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    1. Once this video was taken and put online you have made the victim a victim all over again. Every time someone looks at it or shares it is taking the humanity out of the situation. The DA making a statement doesn’t make any of this right. A woman was brutally assaulted. People posted it. People watched it. Not one part of this was right or good

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      2. Absolutely, where I was going was such a heinous and appalling act has become so common place & bystanders are more interested in getting the video than helping others. Where is society going. News agencies and social medium are eating this up, promoting and not correcting their false information. Nothing can be done to make this right and anyone posting such a video should be charged.

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      3. I know!! It’s beyond my comprehension! But you know, I had a conversation with someone over the weekend, and they said something so completely outrageous that I just feel like humanity is…I don’t even know what…my head is spinning from all the hatred

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  15. Ok now I’m mad!! I truly hate people sometimes. How can you record something like that and not help. I wouldn’t have even though about COVID in that situation. The woman being sexually assaulted is what should matter. People are disgusting!!

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  16. There are studies about how crowds react to a crisis and usually the catalyst to spur action is one person pointing out the egregious act is wrong. I have vowed to be that person to always speak up. Twice I have saved people from violence. One was a child. I will never stay silent and I may video it so there is evidence. Think about George Floyd. If not for the video, would we have had justice?

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    1. But to post a video of a woman being attacked? And what if video is deemed inadmissible. How does an assault video going viral really help? Look at the DA response that Douglas posted…it’s all about this didn’t quite happen this way. We should be outraged of every point of this

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      2. There’s always more to the story. Always. The video starts exactly where someone wants it to start. A woman was raped. At the end of the day that’s what we do know. That woman will never forget what happened to her. She will never really feel justice for the crime committed against her. We need to stop worrying about going viral and start worrying about being kinder to others and respectful

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  18. I also had the same perception of what happened — that a group of people stood by and filmed and nobody helped. It is a little bit of hope to read in your comments that perhaps some people reported it or weren’t standing around filming. But how many times have you seen people on TV in times of crisis filming rather than intervening and helping?

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      1. Neither do I, even if they didn’t as the previous commenter stated, at the very least intervene in some capacity or offer assistance after the fact. Just pathetic to turn a blind eye yet in turn record with your electronic eye.

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  23. I agree, LA. I followed that story all last week (was it last week). I was very surprised, especially with the length of time…40 minutes. He harassed her for 40 minutes, and the people on the train recorded for 40 minutes. I try to be as hopeful about the world as I can, but things like this make me a little less hopeful.

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  24. OKay so this quote from the D. A. is heinous “People get off and on at every single stop,” Stollsteimer added. “That doesn’t mean when they get on and they see people interacting that they know a rape is occurring.” Rape/Assault is sex, it isn’t romantic or JUST two people interacting.

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  26. I used to wonder that about journalists before the age of cameras on phones and social media. How could they just photograph something and not intervene? I could almost excuse them because theoretically they are documenting something to make us all aware of it and to record it for history. The people you are talking about don’t even have that as an excuse. Your anger is justified.

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  29. Read this story on one of the news pages, I hold my hands up and admit my language was not at all PC towards all those people who tuned their backs and let it happen.

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  30. I don’t really know what to say here, other than that, to me anyway and unfortunately, this is just another indication of how self-centered and divided most of us in this country have become for various sundry and assorted reasons. Some of the reasons are perhaps valid (fear of covid) those most are not. I myself really don’t know what I would have done in the Philly case or in the one you were involved in. Very sad state of affairs, both personally and globally.

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