Helping others

Two images: First, as a six year old boy growing up in New York City, I am walking with
my father on a crowded midtown street. The rush of pedestrians suddenly backs up before
me as people narrow into a single lane to avoid a large object on the sidewalk. To my
astonishment, the object turns out to be a human being lying unconscious against a
building. My father quickly points to a bottle in a paper bag next to him. Not one of the
passing herd seems to actually notice the man--certainly, none make eye contact – as
they robotically follow the makeshift detour. My father, who I look up to as a model loving,
caring man, explains that the poor soul on the sidewalk "just needs to sleep it off." When
the prone man suddenly begins to ramble senselessly, my father warns not to go near.
"You never know how he'll react." I later came to see these two teachings – "There's
nothing you can do" and "Try not to get involved" – as my anthems of urban survival.

Next, fast forward several years to a market in Rangoon, Burma (now Myanmar). I
had spent the previous twelve months travelling in poor Asian cities, but even by those
standards this was a scene of misery.  Besides the inconceivable poverty, it is sweltering
hot, ridiculously crowded and the wind is blowing dust  everywhere. Suddenly, a man
carrying a huge bag of peanuts calls out in pain and falls to the ground. I then witness an
astonishing piece of choreography. Appearing to have rehearsed the scene many times, a
half dozen sellers run from their stalls to help, leaving unattended what may be the totality
of their possessions. One puts a blanket under the man's head, another opens his shirt, a
third questions him carefully about the pain, a fourth gets water, a fifth keeps onlookers
from crowding too close, a sixth runs for a doctor. Within minutes, the doctor arrives, and
two other locals join in to assist. The performance could have passed for a final exam at
paramedic school.

Rousseau once wrote that "cities are the sink of the human race." But as these
experiences in New York and Rangoon made clear, no two cities are the same. Places,
like individuals, have their own personalities.

In what cities is a needy stranger more likely to receive help? What sort of
community teaches a citizen to withhold altruism toward  strangers?


...From:

Levine, R. V. (2003). Measuring Helping Behavior Across Cultures. Online Readings in Psychology
and Culture, Unit 5. Retrieved from http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/orpc/vol5/iss3/2