Thanks to social media, nowadays, more often than not, we come across news that jolts our conscience. But what is more worrisome is that despite the presence of the well-minded citizenry, barely a few people take the initiative to reach the needy. In psychology, it’s called the “bystander effect.” It means the tendency to not help the needy while in the presence of other individuals. Wide-circulation of videos on social media wherein most choose to watch instead of reaching out to help attests to the theory.
However, reporters like Michelle Joy Phelps do make it a point to at least lend a voice to such incidents so that we learn from our mistakes. A leading boxing reporter and OnlyFans model, Joy Phelps successfully breached the male-dominated boxing news scene over the years. Her channel on YouTube, “Behind The Gloves,” which commenced operations in 2013, has over 300k subscribers and received over 145 million overall views. Fans and followers might recall her hobnobbing with the likes of Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder, and Canelo Alvarez.
Michelle Joy Phelps is shocked by a video
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Earlier today, she took to her Twitter handle @MichellePhelps and shared a video of blatant abuse in public view.
Joy Phelps, who also has over 100k followers on Twitter, tweeted, “And everyone stood around and recorded it. But did nothing to help the poor guy! Unbelievable!”
And everyone stood around and recorded it. But did nothing to help the poor guy! Unbelievable! https://t.co/BvXX0cSQSr
— Michelle Joy Phelps (@MichellePhelps) March 13, 2023
The video was originally posted by @Yay_Bryce, where three seemingly Hispanic individuals have caught hold of an African-American boy, who has been reported as autistic and walking through the R211 Subway in New York. When the kid, resisting the trio, pulls inside a halted metro, a barrage of slaps from the woman in a black hoodie follows while the shouts, “leave me alone, leave me alone,” probably from the boy is audible. As he comes out (still held by the collar), the rest of the gang appears and begins a free-flowing assault on the hapless child.
None dared to rescue
Many onlookers took videos of the incident, but sadly, none moved to stop the assailants.
One of the persons who saw the video mentioned under the tweet, “Sure, having this documented is good to act as evidence. But why does not one person step up to help? There was a huge crowd of people. They all could have helped. Yes, the Bystander Effect explains it. But doesn’t justify it.”
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Clearly, such incidents invoke a thought-provoking question about our humanity. In the past, such instances barely saw the light of the day. However, thankfully the internet made it possible to ensure at least that justice is served. As of now, more than half a million have viewed the original post. From the replies of several Twitteratis, the NYPD has responded to the post.
I'm happy to see that the NYPD responded to your post. Thank you for sharing.
— Dr. Deborah Jenkins (@DvineExpression) March 13, 2023
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