February 9, 2004
Kitty, 40 Years Later
"Forty years ago, on March 13, 1964, the picturesque tranquillity of Kew Gardens was shattered by the murder of 28-year-old Catherine Genovese, known as Kitty. The murder was grisly, but it wasn't the particulars of the killing that became the focus of the case. It was the response of her neighbors. As Ms. Genovese screamed - 'Please help me! Please help me!' - 38 witnesses did nothing to intervene, according to reports; nobody even bothered to call the police. One witness later explained himself with a phrase that has passed into infamy: 'I didn't want to get involved.'"
A Kew Gardens residents stand up for his community. Joseph De May Jr. says, "...this wasn't 38 people watching a woman be slaughtered for 35 minutes and saying, 'Oh, I don't want to be involved.'" Read his take at A Picture History of Kew Gardens, NY. Also...
Harold Takooshian, Professor of urban psychology at Fordham University (my alma mater) will be holding a symposium on March 9th "to revisit many of the conundrums posed by that night 40 years ago." I'll be there... no doubt. I can't find details now (Fordham's Web site has always sucked), but if I hear anything, I'll share.
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posted by at February 9, 2004 7:55 PM
