Why is there so much apathy in society?

Question

This is the latest one: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=389417&in_page_id=1770

Fair enough if you carry on if it is an adult cause for all you know you could get knifed. Still i would stop and keep my distance whilst talking to the person. But 6 people drove on after seeing a child on the road? And swerved because she was in their path? I can't get my head around this.
What is there so much apathy in society?

Answer 1

I do not think, this has much to do with apathy. I think, that it is neglectful behaviour. Neglecting to do something good for yourself, that would make you feel good. Alot of people, do just that, and the way I feel about it, is that they are depriving themselves of sanity, thinking they can save it for later. Self abuse, is the retardant in this hopeless world. Although, I could not overlook my own behaviour, and if I had done what those people did, I would be on the doorstep with the sign that read's, Phychiatrist.

Answer 2

Consumer culture is messing everything up. We are taught to be selfish and greedy and that the government will take care of everything. I remember when i was a kid a fire hydrant somehow got loose and water shot everywhere, a guy got his wrench and took care of it and he ended up getting yelled at for doing it. Same if you chase a criminal or stop a criminal. You are told to not get involved, the authorities will take care of it.

So why those people did not stop but drove around her? Some probably did not care, others scared of getting involved, panic, did not understand that someone was hurt, maybe though someone was just laying on the street being a moron. Personally I found it disgusting that people would do that, but you never know whats in those drivers heads.

The more communities break the more common this will be. One time I got a flat tire and while changing the tire I had people throw stuff at me from the highway, laugh and yell things. This was during july 4th(american independence) and everyone was driving into the city to celebrate so I was thinking that these people are here enjoying a fellow Americans bad situation and then going to the celebrations feeling they are being patriotic. What is funny is 2 guys pulled over that were not even Americans to ask if I needed help. Strange world.

Answer 3

I can tell you for free that the police do NOT help.
Some years back, I witnessed an accident, where a van pulled out of a side road and hit a motorcycle. The biker was quite badly hurt.
I dictated a statement to a policeman, making it clear that I had been in a very good position to see what had happened, that the van had failed to stop at the junction and that it had pulled out and hit the motor cycle.
When the policeman read it back, that last statement had changed to "the motor cycle hit the car". I was not comfortable with that, since there was a subtle change in the blame, so I made him strike that out and correct it.
A while later, I had a bad feeling about it, so I went to the police station and demanded to see the statement, which the policeman had now typed up. I had to fight for it I can tell you; I was assured that it was now "no concern of mine".
When I finally got MY statement, the typing and spelling verged on total illiteracy. Anyone seeing it would reasonably assume that I was a complete moron.
But what shocked me most was that suddenly, it was MY CAR that had pulled out of the side road and hit the motor cycle!
And that statement, which had MY name and address on the top of it, would have been read out in a court.
Would I report another accident?
Under the circumstances, would you?

Answer 4

I moved from London to Sydney two years ago. I think people in Australia are far less apathetic than in the UK, which is a welcome relief to me. I think there's something about a sense of community having been lost as cities have got bigger and people have lost touch with each other. London is just too big. Sydney is more manageable. You still meet people you know in the street.

Funnily enough, virtual communities are now happening through the likes of Yahoo Answers - but that doesn't mean you can physically touch people in the same way

Answer 5

I would stop for the child.

Apathy may not be with everyone and everywhere. I've met and I know a lot of people with big hearts.

In fact, there are a lot of considerate human beings here in Ask Yahoo, giving advices and making friends to the troubled ones EVERY SECOND!

Answer 6

How about plain old SENSORY OVERLOAD ???

Too much work, not enough sleep, too fast lving, stress in the family and workplace, throw Momma from the train becomes a viable option, much more ignoring our Good Samaritan duty.

Try shorting yourself on sleep for a month then call me back.

This is from someone who used to work graveyard shift (PROPERLY CALLED) for eight long years.

Answer 7

Apathy may not be with everyone and everywhere. I've met and I know a lot of people with big hearts

Answer 8

Because a lot of people have feelings of helplessness

Answer 9

Because people are too afraid to care anymore, they think no good deed goes unpunished.

Answer 10

All they care about is their own selfish negative self.