I'll wager it's related to the urban gesellschaft taking over from the rural gemeinschaft. As we all live closer together and watch the same media, something happens to our collective mind that tells us not to get involved. Don't bother getting to know the neighbours. Don't bother saying hello to people you pass in the street. And don't get involved in strangers' problems.
It's a sad state of affairs, I agree absolutely, but I think it's a natural consequence of rapid urbanisation and mass media. Everybody feels empowered, but at the same time much more helpless. We live in close quarters, so we become more insular to protect what we consider our territory. There's a biological/geographic interpretation, anyway.
I can relate to the situation in a couple of ways. A couple of months ago I was walking to school. I crossed a road just in front of a cyclist and I heard him fall to the floor behind me. I turned around, but daren't rush to his aid. As I say, it wasn't to do with selfishness but fear. I daren't get involved or interfere. On the flip side of the coin, when my dad once got a powertool to slice into his head, he staggered into the front garden, blood everywhere, and several people walked by, but no one so much as asked him if he was alright. Blood everywhere!
More relevant to the unseen scream situation, I think Godlesswanderer is right in saying the Police wouldn't care too much. One gentleman my dad knew had children messing about on his property, and they fell into a shed through the roof (I think, precision isn't important). He called for the police to get them out of the locked shed, but they said they were too busy. He phoned back later and said they needn't bother coming, as he'd killed both the children (he hadn't, of course). His house was soon surrounded by police vans and helicopters. “Oh, I thought you said you were busy,” he said.
|