DEAR ABBY: Nearly every day, we read or hear about a major crime (such as murder) that was committed in the presence of many witnesses, but nobody called the police until after it was too late to save the victim.
Have we forgotten Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed in three separate attacks for more than half an hour in the courtyard of her New York apartment while 38 neighbors watched and did nothing? Only one person called the police -- and that was after Kitty was already dead!
That happened in 1964, but it inspired the social psychologists to study the apathy of our "I-don't-want-to-get-involved" society so prevalent in our nation today.
They concluded that when more than one person witnesses a crime, there is a "diffusion" of responsibility -- all the witnesses assume that "someone else" will call the police. So nobody calls.
I am not proud of the fact that I have been guilty of the above attitude. Please print this. -- NEVER AGAIN IN N.Y.C.
DEAR NEVER AGAIN: Thank you for writing to acknowledge your guilt. Perhaps your letter will cause others who witness a crime to call the police immediately.