<p>@flutterfly: half yes, half no.</p>
<p>I mean, its not the first time I hear a story like this. Plus knowing how people are at Berkeley, I’d say the chances of a bystander helping are slim.</p>
<p>No need to read Wikipedia to know about the bystander effect. (well that and taking a psych class helps, but I thought everyone knew about the bystander effect…haven’t you watched a show called What Would You Do? If you haven’t, you should check out an episode or two. It’s pretty entertaining the first few times haha)</p>
<p>To me, the story just doesn’t sound real. And to come from you with your erratic post record …I’m just saying. Real or not nevertheless, everyone should always be cautious in Berkeley, especially when walking around in the night.</p>
<p>Lol well it’s real whether you believe it or not. That sounds kind of stupid to me, it’s not like you were there anyways. But I think it’s quite clear that not ONLY should girls take bearwalk, but GUYS too. If guys think they’re too tough or cool to take it, then they’re wrong when 3 other guys tackle them and they’re helpless. Even if you are going a short distance, take bearwalk. It’s dumb not to.</p>
<p>It’s too inconvenient to take bearwalk. I’d much rather risk the unlikelihood of this happening to me. It probably spanned from a previous event. Nobody, especially a group of 3 people, jumps a random person without a reason unless they were really really drunk (which is a reason).</p>
<p>Um yeah I think they do…they get free money? And the satisfaction of feeling tough and making a person, who looks like a geek to them, feel bad. Bearwalk isn’t that inconvenient except sometimes on weekends around 2 AM, when everyone’s using it. Just call 10 mins before you go somewhere. Be safe : ]</p>
<p>I don’t believe the part about where there were 10 ppl. Noone took pics…?</p>
<p>Having been a victim of armed robbery myself (but in Oakland instead of Berkeley), one of the things I’ve learned is that bad guys will jump you if they think they can get away with it, and this is true even if they’re being recorded on video.</p>
<p>I once thought I’d be OK in a group of five (including a very big guy) at a bright intersection with all sorts of surveillance occurring. Well, four teenagers came up to us with a firearm even though they were being captured on at least 10 different security cameras. They were never caught. To make matters worse, the cop who took the police report afterwards actually saw that gang acting suspiciously a few minutes earlier, but he thought he was just overdoing his police paranoia and let down his guard by not following them for just a few minutes.</p>
<p>As for calling the cops / making a report: unless the victim actually takes the time to do it, chances are, nobody else calls due to the bystander effect.</p>
<p>You really got to fend up for yourself in this situation.</p>
<p>Similar story: few years ago, someone had a car accident right outside my apartment, and it took out a fire hydrant. The result was a 30ft-tall geyser that was quickly flooding up the intersection. After debating for a few minutes on whether to call 911, my sister decided to make the call. Firemen arrived 10min later (while we were checking out the scene), and it appeared that my sister had made the only 911 call.</p>