EDITORIAL - Desensitized? Indifferent? Scared?

In case you haven’t seen it yet there’s a viral video of a man being wrestled by several masked men who eventually drag him into a car and drive away with him last Wednesday afternoon in Barangay Dao, Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

It’s looks like a kidnapping but no one has been reported abducted, police said. Nevertheless, Bohol Governor Iris Aumentado has offered a reward for information leading to the solution of this case.

While police have a video of what happened, including a clear look at the plate number of the vehicle used to take the victim away, it would seem no one at the scene lifted a finger to help the victim.

Which leads us to ask: Why didn’t bystanders help the victim? Why didn’t anyone try to stop the vehicle from driving away?

We can even ask if we have become so desensitized to crime that we can watch it happen right in front of us, not bat an eyelash, pull out our phones, and press record. Is this a sad reflection of our times? Are we no longer willing to prevent crime?

With that said, we can also say that we understand why those present during the incident chose not to interfere. For one, people generally tend to mind their own business. And minding your own business often saves you unnecessary trouble.

For another, bystanders have no idea what led to that event and who were involved. They could have even thought it was a legitimate police operation --never mind the masks. Don’t policemen in America use them? There may have been too many unknowns to cause them pause.

For yet another, the men who took the victim may well be armed. All they might get for trying to play hero might be a gunshot wound at best. A fatal gunshot wound at worst.

This comes with the admission and the disclaimer that not all of us may be able to act like heroes when faced with a sudden and shocking situation like this one. The instinct of self-preservation overrules everything else after all.

Just allow us to say that we hope that had it been a child that was being snatched right in front of their eyes, there could have been more effort exerted to prevent crime.