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Man stuck in window dies after being ignored by passersby
Why no one helped is not so clear, say psychologists. "It could be a fear thing: 'Is someone going to hurt me if I try to help?'" one tells the Columbus, Ohio newspaper. Jack Kasler, 45, was asphyxiated as he tried to climb through the window of his apartment. At least one passer-by heard him scream for help; he thought Kasler was a burglar, so he did nothing. (Columbus Dispatch)
September 10, 2008 | Permalink
Comments
"He was a convicted rapist who'd spent 13 years in prison for that crime as well as for robbery, theft and kidnapping..."
With people like that living in the neighborhood, I'm not surprised people avoid contact with their neighbors regardless of screams for help...
Posted by: Azrael Brown | Sep 10, 2008 8:32:44 AM
Embarrasing way to die #37.
Posted by: Wolf | Sep 10, 2008 8:44:50 AM
Call a locksmth?!?!
Posted by: Dick C. Normas | Sep 10, 2008 8:47:57 AM
It's like the Kitty Genovese murder, only slightly less depressing. Kinda makes you loose your faith in humanity.
Posted by: Joe | Sep 10, 2008 8:50:12 AM
Apartment for rent.
Posted by: trustno1 | Sep 10, 2008 8:52:36 AM
This is one of the social experiments that really amazed me when I studied it in college. Most people definitely have a someone else will take care of it attitude.
I also liked the Stanford Prison experiment where they assigned some participants to be guards and others prisoners. The guards started abusing the prisoners and they shut down the experiment.
Posted by: G-Man | Sep 10, 2008 8:53:30 AM
It eases the sting that this guy was a convicted rapist (albeit one who already paid for his crime - whether society made him pay enough is another matter, though clearly karma has had its say). But the fact remains that this guy could have just as easily been an innocent schmo with crap-luck. I like to think in that situation I would have done something more than just turn a blind eye, but I can also understand why, given the circumstance, lots of folks did just that.
Posted by: elchampino | Sep 10, 2008 8:58:10 AM
If passersby-thought that the man might have been a criminal, why didn't they call the police? It doesn't add up...
Posted by: Harry Pothead | Sep 10, 2008 9:04:12 AM
"""At least one passer-by heard him scream for help; he thought Kasler was a burglar, so he did nothing."""
So you do not even call 911 when you think someone is breaking into a home? What a freaking loser some people are in this world. I hope that person gets stuck in a window one day and dies as well as nobody does nothing.
When did America become a society of pussies to afraid to help their fellow man in a time of need? I don't care what the guy did prior to this happening. It's pretty freaking sad that people will ignore someones call for help.
Posted by: The Asshole Guy | Sep 10, 2008 9:05:01 AM
I don't think it was cool to identify the passerby, unless she had chosen to talk with a reporter. In retrospect she should have done something, but it doesn't seem fair that she's been publicly branded as a callous, evil person because of a tragic accident. In the 4th graph, no less.
Posted by: Jim | Sep 10, 2008 9:09:24 AM
It looks like a murder to me.
Posted by: twerp | Sep 10, 2008 9:10:13 AM
Why someone didn't just call the police when they saw him break the window escapes me. Convicted (and sentence-served) rapist or not, he would probably still be alive. I might not have gone to pry him out, but I would have at least alerted the police to a possible BAE.
Posted by: troschne | Sep 10, 2008 9:10:24 AM
Why did he take his shoes off before climbing on the trash can? His plan had many flaws.
Posted by: Torgo | Sep 10, 2008 9:11:18 AM
I'm scared for the future of humanity.
Would someone have saved him if it were a cyber world, I wonder?
Noone helps anyone, don't talk to strangers, kids can't go outside to play because scary strangers might get them, they can't go trick or treating, no hazing rituals, someone might hit you with a hammer, people don't make eye contact anymore, someone wrote into Dear Abby the other day complaining about having to shake hands with other people in church!, and we get together on web sites like these (and others) and don't experience real life anymore. Most of you people seem really cool, but we'll never meet each other. We are losing our connection to other humans and replacing said contact with technology. What the hell is wrong with today's world????
Sorry for ranting. This makes me sad.
Posted by: Kelly | Sep 10, 2008 9:18:14 AM
Late last spring, I was sitting on my porch when I noticed a strange sight across the street - an older woman was trapped on the other side of a large iron fence, on the grounds of the neighborhood elementary school. Two tired looking men - who looked like thugs by the way, they were guys who wander the streets with second hand lawn care equipment of questionable origin looking for work - were debating how to get her out. It seems she was a teacher, and was working late - her reward was to be locked into the school grounds.
I joined this weird little party. One of the men volunteered to jump the fence and hoist her up on his back, the other man and I would grab her from the other side. Just as we were putting this plan together, a fourth guy came along with a weary look on his face. We tried to recruit him to our cause, explained the situation - he whined something about not being "a man of action" and said he would get help, and briskly run-walked out of sight. Eventually some more neighbors came out to help and we got this poor woman out of this ridiculous scenario.
In addition to reinforcing the "you can't judge a book by its cover" lesson (the two guys who spear headed this operation, who had been doing nothing but physical labor all day and were clearly exhausted, and who also looked kind of scary, did the heaviest lifting along with myself) I also learned that yes, at least some Americans are well on their way to creating "a society of pussies to afraid to help their fellow man in a time of need."
Posted by: elchampino | Sep 10, 2008 9:26:53 AM
SUCH IS THE NATURE OF THINGS
Posted by: | Sep 10, 2008 9:36:07 AM
I might as well note the woman in my story was "older" but she was by no means "small", "dainty", "petite", or any other related synonym, if you catch my drift.
Posted by: elchampino | Sep 10, 2008 9:40:13 AM
The article itself said that people's experience was that if they called the police, nobody would come anyway, so why bother -- A combination of several social failures (being involved gets you trouble, helping could get you hurt, it's a trick to take advantage of altruism, police don't do anything if you call, somebody better equipped to help will happen by) leads to this sort of thing. Unfortunately, all of those things actually do happen in underprivileged crime-affected areas, so the people who passed were doing what they needed to for safety; unfortunately, someone really was in need of help. You can't afford to need help in a society where helpfulness is a liability.
Posted by: Azrael Brown | Sep 10, 2008 9:58:02 AM
A psychologist was guessing that MAYBE people thought the police wouldn't come. The psychologist is from Powell, a town just north of Columbus. He lives nowhere near the neighborhood where the man lived and died. I think the neighbors just didn't care what happened to him. "Oh, there's a burglar...move on."
Posted by: Sheila | Sep 10, 2008 10:24:53 AM
It seems like the neighborhood was a bit "questionable"...however you'd still think someone would call 911 immediately upon hearing him screaming whether they thought he was a burglar or not. I just dont understand these situations. Its like the footage I saw on the news a few months back of an elderly man being hit by TWO cars in the road and people just standing looking or walking right past. It was all caught on surv. video. It took something like 5 minutes before a woman walked into the street and called 911. Cars even drove AROUND the guy. Unimaginable in my book!
Posted by: cherie | Sep 10, 2008 10:26:39 AM
El Champ, what you guys did is a REALLY nice gesture and my next comment is in no means an effort to minimize your work...but why didn't you guys just call the cops? They probably could've reached the superintendent of the schools, or the maintenance people and had the gates unlocked. Probably would've been a bit quicker and easier on the backs of all involved.
Posted by: cherie | Sep 10, 2008 10:30:46 AM
After business hours, my dear? I would have taken hours to get that poor woman home. We got her out in ten minutes.
Posted by: elchampino | Sep 10, 2008 10:40:48 AM
"it would have taken" whoops
Posted by: elchampino | Sep 10, 2008 10:41:10 AM
Nice work, elchampino.
Posted by: Sheila | Sep 10, 2008 10:49:06 AM
Oh, I apologize, when I read your story it seemed as if it was more time intensive than 10 minutes.....
Posted by: cherie | Sep 10, 2008 10:49:24 AM
