One of the hallmarks of the last decade has been the absolute denial of some events about things that I had considered irrefutable. Trump’s bogus claim that he won the 2020 presidential election, the big lie, has been adopted by millions of MAGA Republicans. They also deny that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election. People deny other, more esoteric issues, like climate change and the need for vaccinations to decrease the risk of [long] Covid. But MAGA Republicans and conservatives are not the only ones who deny facts some of us consider incontrovertible. Some people with whom I agree on many issues deny some unarguable issues. One such issue is the affinity of Republicans to authoritarianism or fascism. Many Democrats deny that the current Republican Party has become a white nationalist party that supports fascism.
One of the explanations for the willingness of people to deny issues that others can support with evidence is derived from the Kitty Genovese murder. In 1964, Kitty Genovese returned home from work late in the evening. Winston Mosely, a stranger, followed Genovese to her home and killed her. The attack occurred outside an apartment complex where, according to news stories, 38 people watched the killer stalk and stab Genovese. The 38 witnesses represented a range of reactions. Some witnesses could see the attack, but not very well and only fleetingly. Other witnesses could only hear the sounds of the attack and were not certain what was happening. And at least one witness did intervene.
Applying what we learned from the Genovese murder, at least three things are necessary for witnesses to help. They must notice the events that might signal help is needed, know how to render assistance, and feel individual responsibility for helping. That is, if a large group of witnesses is present, then the responsibility of any one person to give aid is reduced. “If they don’t help, why should I?” When we fail to render help or correct a situation that calls for change, we may deny the need for help or deny that we are responsible for fixing the problem. If we apply what we learned from this murder, we may be willing to ignore evidence because we do not know how to acknowledge it.
One of the explanations for the willingness of people to deny issues that others can support with evidence is derived from the Kitty Genovese murder. In 1964, Kitty Genovese returned home from work late in the evening. Winston Mosely, a stranger, followed Genovese to her home and killed her. The attack occurred outside an apartment complex where, according to news stories, 38 people watched the killer stalk and stab Genovese. The 38 witnesses represented a range of reactions. Some witnesses could see the attack, but not very well and only fleetingly. Other witnesses could only hear the sounds of the attack and were not certain what was happening. And at least one witness did intervene.
Applying what we learned from the Genovese murder, at least three things are necessary for witnesses to help. They must notice the events that might signal help is needed, know how to render assistance, and feel individual responsibility for helping. That is, if a large group of witnesses is present, then the responsibility of any one person to give aid is reduced. “If they don’t help, why should I?” When we fail to render help or correct a situation that calls for change, we may deny the need for help or deny that we are responsible for fixing the problem. If we apply what we learned from this murder, we may be willing to ignore evidence because we do not know how to acknowledge it.