This happens all the time... wanna see something fun, walk around your city saying "hi" to everyone and see how often you get a "hi" back.

It is too bad people aren't cordial anymore.

Everyone just starts to assume that person is drunk, on drugs, whatever.

https://missionlocal.org/2023/04/bob-lee-crazy-bob-mobilecoi...

>Bob Lee deserved better than to be killed — and then co-opted in death

>[...] The decent thing to do is acknowledge a tragedy, express sorrow for those who have lost a treasured individual, and let the police do their work with all due haste — and then we can begin politicizing this poor man’s death to buttress our preexisting worldview.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/san-francisco-da-brooke-jenkin...

>San Francisco DA Slams Elon Musk’s ‘Reckless’ Statements on Bob Lee’s Death

>San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, who ousted her progressive predecessor in a recall vote last year, slammed Elon Musk on Thursday for spreading “misinformation” about the slaying of Cash App founder Bob Lee. Musk was among several people who suggested Lee’s murder was the result of random, violent crime spiraling out of control in the city under Jenkins. But police announced Thursday that they had arrested and charged a 38-year-old man who knew Lee. “I must point out that reckless and irresponsible statements like those contained in Mr. Musk’s tweet that assumed incorrect circumstances about Mr. Lee’s death serve to mislead the world and their perceptions of San Francisco and also negatively impact the pursuit of justice for victims of crime as it spreads misinformation at a time when police are trying to solve a very difficult case,” Jenkins said. “We all should and must do better about not contributing to the spread of such misinformation without having actual facts to underlie the statements that we make.” The suspect, Nima Momeni, was reportedly in a car with Lee and stabbed him after a fight in the early hours of April 4.

The larger point is that even after he knows the actual cause, he still doesn't stop trying to spread misinformation and exploit and co-opt the death of Bob Lee for his own political agenda and pre-existing narratives.

We don't know what was happening in those cases. For example, we don't know those passers-by did or didn't actually see. Let's not make the same mistake all over again of projecting our pre-existing narrative onto a paucity of facts. (I don't mean to pick on you personally. We all do this, of course.)

Edit: There's a long history of belief about bystander apathy which hasn't held up under scrutiny. Related:

Surveillance cameras debunk the bystander effect - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=20417986 - July 2019 (161 comments)

Killer of Kitty Genovese Dies in Prison (Origin of “Bystander Effect”) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11430051 - April 2016 (3 comments)

https://sfstandard.com/criminal-justice/video-appears-to-sho...