When the New York Post published photos of a man moments before a subway train crushed him, much of the public outcry that ensued focused on the photographer who snapped the front-page picture.
Freelance photographer R. Umar Abbasi responded with a first-person account in today's Post, explaining that he simply followed his instincts and didn't have time to rescue the man:
"I just started running. I had my camera up — it wasn’t even set to the right settings — and I just kept shooting and flashing, hoping the train driver would see something and be able to stop.
"I had no idea what I was shooting. I’m not even sure it was registering with me what was happening. I was just looking at that train coming.
"It all went so quickly; from the time I heard the shouting until the time the train hit the man was about 22 seconds."
Neuroscience and psychology experts say we should probably lay off on the blame game. When it comes to good Samaritan acts, especially in a situation like this where time is limited to seconds, a variety of factors come into play.
In fact, cases where good Samaritans could save someone in a similar situation are quite rare, said Darcia Narvaez, Notre Dame Professor of Psychology and Director of the Collaborative for Ethical Education.
read more
No comments:
Post a Comment