Re: lisi torti may contribute to the deaths of many..
^Want me to see if I can edit the title?
^Want me to see if I can edit the title?
Random acts of kindness met with resistance, suspicion.
- Thread starter Aragorn
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Having read the article, it doesn't sound like this is a case of no good deed going unpunished. The court didn't rule against the Samaritan at all, merely that the suit was allowed under the law-- the ruling had absolutely nothing to do with the case itself. Given that it was an emergency situation, that a fear of an explosion is reasonable and that the Samaritan was trying to save her friend, and in the absence of any contradictory information, it would seem likely that a jury would quickly find the Samaritan not liable and her former friend contemptible.
Re: lisi torti may contribute to the deaths of many..
^^ Click the link.
Actually, this is being discussed in another Thread, so I will do my Magical Merge Trick. Stand back!
^^ Click the link.
Actually, this is being discussed in another Thread, so I will do my Magical Merge Trick. Stand back!
You are a highly suspicious person with a vivid imagination (that can be taken as a compliment, so please don't be offended).
Sure, no one would notice one of them missing, but a lot of people would notice 8 kids carrying rakes going up and down the street. I really think it isn't the most efficient way to rob houses. That's why most thieves work alone or with one partner - any more than than would arouse suspicion.
And they generally do not carry rakes.
On the other hand, a rake is a weapon, and if I answered the door to 8 kids with rakes, I think a few Children of the Corn horror movie scenarios would probably flash through my mind.
That's genius. Because, well, duh, burglars typically gather in large groups in broad daylight, offering unusual - and therefore notable - services while introducing themselves to everyone in the neighborhood and giving them a good look at their faces before breaking into empty houses on the block. No one could possibly put two-and-two together on that diabolical scheme when the houses the large, easily noticeable groups of teens were standing in front of get robbed.
If you're going to say "duh" and play the devil's advocate on things, at least have your theory make an ounce of sense. If burglars do case a neighborhood beforehand, they try and do it in a way that makes them seem as average and non-threatening and forgettable as possible, like posing as a delivery man.
Somebody send those kids over here with snow shovels--No questions will be asked! 
Word to this.
I love the idea of random kindness (and senseless acts of beauty, to complete the mantra). But part of the appeal of RaoK movements is that they're a bit shocking. When Anne Herbert coigned the phrase, it was meant as a subversion of the idea of random violence and senseless acts of brutality.
In our culture today, many people are more likely to expect the reverse.
My thinking is that any organised campaign for random acts of kindness has to include in its philosophy an understanding that there are people who can't afford to trust. Either because of natural timidity, or because they've been victimised in the past. And it's not their fault so much as it's the fault of a climate which makes random acts of kindness such a rebellious idea in the first place.
If somebody takes issue with your kindness, you just have to avoid escalating the confrontation, back the hell down, and try another route to coax people into trusting kindness for its own sake.
The court ruled that the suit was allowed, so wouldn't it be likely that they'd subsequently rule in favor of the plaintiff *in* that suit?
No, because one has nothing to do with the other and won't be in the same court. This (state supreme) court didn't make a judgment on the validity of the case itself (it offered opinions however), it just said the lawsuit could proceed. It will be up to the jury in that case to decide if the suit has merit or not.
that is true but there is still the fear of having to go to court to defend one self and just the tremendous cost in legal fees even if in the end if the jury decides in favor of the rescuer.
in the news feature i saw they asked people in the past in helped to saved lives by stepping forward.
while many said they would still do it you could see the hesitation.
by the way the woman who came to the rescue said she saw fuel leaking from the car and thought she smelled smoke.
yeah over all leave a victim in the car if there appears to be no immediate danger ie the car isnt on fire or it is sitting at a safe place.
if the car is in a traffic lane some consideration may have to be taken about the car being struck by another car.
is the oncoming traffic stopped ect..
but yeah evidently the lady thought there was some danger of the car about to catch fire.
I recently served as a juror on a criminal trial where the burglar did exactly as these teens did -- In broad daylight, he went from door to door, talked to neighbors, and made no attempt to conceal his identity or explain his presence. His full head-to-toe countenance was even caught by the security cameras as he turned them toward the wall. None of the neighbors called the police even though they were all disturbed by his presence in their community, because they perceived his behavior as too strange and notable to be true. He got off on a mistrial because one member of the jury was convinced he couldn't have possibly done it because his actions were so conspicuous and overt, and not stereotypical of the sneaking, plotting, conniving, and *discreet* thief.
I think you give far too much credit to the stealth tactics of would-be criminals. Burglars often have incredible delusions of invincibility. Ironically, it sometimes works for them because their actions are so mind boggling obvious that their victims write them off as "that person can't possibly be preparing to rob me. He's too stupid and obvious!" The mind set cloaks these criminals in plain sight.
After serving on that case, I am more questioning of stranger's motives, and would certainly be suspicious and even a bit fearful of a group of people who randomly appeared at my door brandishing large yard work implements they could possibly use to overpower me.
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No, I'm pretty comfortable with my assessment above that burglars do not frequently gather in large high visibility groups of teens introducing themselves as good samaritans and conspicuously standing in front of the very houses they intend to rob for a long period of time while performing yardwork.
I'm perfectly aware that individual or small teams of burglars will often introduce themselves to people in the neighborhood to determine if people are home or what type of valuables they might have, in fact I mentioned that example (posing as a delivery man) in the post you quoted. However they generally do try and maintain a low profile and appear average and non-threatening, or else they frequently end up getting caught, like the guy in your example.
Go ahead and feel comfortable with that assessment then; it is at variance with the opinion and experience of the law enforcement, investigative and criminal psychology experts whose testimony I spent a week listening to and weighing when I had to decide who was going to jail and who wasn't. They all agree that low profiles are the exception rather than the rule, and they also agree that groups of people who appear randomly in neighborhoods and give innocuous but unusual explanations to the neighbors are suspicious because they fit a pattern, and may return, usually weeks later, to burglarlize or worse. Again, it's hiding in plain sight and it works. Afterall, the defendant in this particular trial was let free because of it.
And large groups do return to burglarize neighborhoods; I've been a victim of that crime. A group of 7 young men posed as gardeners offering services at a deep discount, and then returned weeks later, broke into the garages, and stole several cars in the neighborhood, including my family's.
We are the most paranoid, self centered and generaly idiotic society...
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