to wonder about bystanders ( eg during assault on school girl in Ashford)

[whatchaos]

to wonder about the ethics of being a bystander, and wonder what the bystanders were doing during the appalling assault in Ashford (Surrey) when a schoolgirl was beaten up, the awful video shows a grown woman encouraging primary aged kids to get involved...but there are any number of bystanders including a man in a car, the school principal (at the end) and any number of other school kids including much older looking boys. Wondering if anyone here would have tried to intervene to stop the fight or encouraged their children to intervene in cases like this?

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/girl-10-among-five-arrested-29158603

Problem is you don't know if they will turn on you or if one has a knife etc

I stopped to help someone in the road, he punched my car, brand new and thousands of pounds worth of damage. Because the car was new I had free insurance but they didn't tell me my no claims wasn't protected so I lost all that too. He paid me £50 at £5 a month

I wouldn’t get involved directly but I would call the police.

Personally I would be worried they had a knife. I would have been straight on the phone to the police however.

Exactly what is wrong with people's attitudes in the UK today. How could anyone decent just stand back and do nothing.

The fact adults were filming and giving instructions....no I certainly wouldn't intervene.
I would however, call the Police.

It's an automatic response. Bystander effect, social proof. You can't act any other way unless you are aware of it or if something takes over.

Look up the main case that had the term coined, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese

It’s horrible but I do know people have been stabbed intervening so no I’m not going to take that risk.

Yes I would have got out of my car and tried to stop it. There’s no way I could sit back and watch a child being subjected to that.

I intervened in an incident and got assaulted myself, so sadly I would not do it again. I was bloody lucky they didn’t have a weapon on them.

I have been known to try and break up fights, but given the numbers involved I think the standing back and trying to commit as many details as possible to memory for a witness statement is a better idea.

Filming it and adults egging on is fucking despicable and if my evidence got those people punished I'd consider that a job well done.

In a case like that especially where it’s girls fist fighting g I would be less worried about a knife, if they had one they would have got it out by that point. And again if they did have a knife I wouldn’t let them use it on a child.

I wouldn't get involved. Someone got killed for doing that near me. I would be straight on the phone to the police though.

I'm the sort who pipes up. I saw kids grabbing a boy and trying to spray him in the eyes with an aerosol while standing at a school bus stop) I released my inner authority figure and gave them a dressing down and asked whether they had considered they might blind him. Probably not my wisest moment but it worked. They looked terribly sheepish. I called their high school too (they had an emblem on their uniform) and they had a teacher presence at the nearby bus stops for a while.

I'd like to think I would be brave enough to call it out again. I'd certainly call the police.

My natural instinct would be to want to intervene/stop it, but then I'm naturally gobby. I couldn't bear to watch it or just walk away knowing it was happening but then I'd probably regret it when I ended up on the ground with a knife in me! Sad state of affairs.

I like to think I would, my instinct would be to for sure.

Given some of the tensions between different groups in that area I can understand why some might feel nervous.

I have broken up fights between both adults and school kids before and would do it again.

I could not have stood by and watched that incident

Unfortunately, I wouldn't trust the Police or any participants. No good deed goes unpunished in my experience, although I agree I would call the Police. Getting directly involved would be highly risky and I am afraid I don't trust the Police that I wouldn't end up being implicated by them if I got involved directly.

Before you all pontificate, please remember that these people know Stanwell and know the people involved.
Would I step in to break up an assault? I'd like to think so. Would I do so in Stanwell? Not a fucking chance

A young girl on the video could be heard saying “if you don’t stop I’m going to call the police”. Bless that little girl.
I am often up for a bit of a fight tbh but wouldn’t intervene with Stanwell travellers unless I truly thought she was going to be killed or really injured.

Because people don't want to get slashed, thumped etc by the fighters. When I was still teaching I once grabbed a girl from behind who was about to attack another girl, as a result my hand was cut by the blade she was carrying, the blade from a plastic pencil sharpener, and the jacket which protected me from further injury was ruined. I had severe shoulder pain for months too. In the future I will always think twice about get involved and I don't think that's a UK-wide thing, though it appeals to the UK bashers on here.

Just to add - I don't think I could walk on by, but obviously with those parents there that would be a risk. I might appeal to others to help get involved. It's so shocking to see that video of everyone just watching or filming on their phone as a grown woman goads what look like a couple of 10 year olds to kick the girl in the face.

Indeed, you need to understand the groups involved. Listen to the audio etc.

Sorry - what are Stanwell travellers?

I would call the police but I wouldn't intervene as I'd be scared of getting attacked myself.

A group of travellers who live in Stanwell. Mainly housed in specific roads and large groups/clans/families with surnames recognisable to anyone living in Stanwell/Ashford/lesser extent Staines.