I've been pondering the reactions to the beating incident that took place in that Baltimore-area McDonald's since the story of it broke over the weekend. It has engendered a lot of thoughtful, and even more less-than-thoughtful commentary as it has circulated through you tube, the blogs, mainstream media and now the e-mail petition circuit.
The incident itself provokes multiple issues for serious consideration and there have been several good diaries presented here. A recurring theme in many people's reactions, including that of the author of the petition linked above, has to do with the inhumanity of the bystanders, some of whom laughed or otherwise encouraged the young women who were doing the beating, but most of whom did nothing. As Adrian Leigh Cowan wrote in the preface to the petition:
How anyone could stand by and allow this to happen is unfathomable to me.
It seems to me, however, there are lots of clues as to how such a thing could and did happen, including a recognition that this kind of behavior in the face of, especially prejudice-based, violence is not uncommon. For many of us it is disappointing, discouraging, heart-wrenching and/or outrageous that it occurred. It should not, however, be unfathomable. And I don't think it is particularly honest to assume a position that juxtaposes the desired response -- to intervene on behalf of the victim --as the "decently human" or at least "humane" thing to do, while simply dismissing the other response -- that of inaction -- as a marker of vileness, or of "inhumanity".