# Florida: 5 Teens Mock, Don't Help Drowning Man **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 21, 2017, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811 "2017-07-21T17:00:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/81 "2017-07-22T21:34:11Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > Well, those comments are something. At least one person blamed the scourge of liberalism. A bunch of sociopathic teens **mocked the death of a disabled black man** because liberals. I’m still trying to work out how that could be. Projection. ---
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/82 "2017-07-22T22:02:54Z")
Yeah, I’d say [the bystander effect](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect) was definitely involved, aggravated by the fact that they were kids and they were out there getting high. The part where one kid was complaining about his friend bogarting the blunt after the victim’s head went under was particularly egregious. Didn’t even harsh their buzz. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/83 "2017-07-22T22:17:45Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Yeah, I’d say [the bystander effect](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect) was definitely involved, aggravated by the fact that they were kids and they were out there getting high. The part where one kid was complaining about his friend bogarting the blunt after the victim’s head went under was particularly egregious. Didn’t even harsh their buzz. Really all it takes is one sociopath and the rest being susceptible to peer pressure. But it’s kind of a moot point to me whether you are a sociopath or behave like one. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/84 "2017-07-22T23:00:00Z")
“For although psychopaths are a small minority, it seems significant that whenever organized and militant hate exist a psychopath is the leader, and if, for instance, one hundred disgruntled and frustrated individuals fall in line behind one psychopath then, in essence, we are concerned with the actions of one hundred and one psychopaths.” Sidney Potier-Pressure Point-1962 Did the kid in the vid actually use the term “bogarting”? Ironic that that is probably going to be Bogie’s most enduring legacy. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/85 "2017-07-22T23:12:04Z")
I have to disagree that the kids should have gone in after him. All I have to go on is the video, but it seems relevant that: 1. The man entered the water of his own accord “Fully clothed” 2. The man appeared to be high or drunk (" . . . a junkie") 3. The teens sound like they are high or drunk - in no shape to go swimming 4. This is Florida. Where there is water, there may be alligators. You would have to be a complete idiot to jump into a pond in Florida after anyone who is an adult and went in willingly. 5. If, as I suspect, they are high or drunk, the kids would be getting themselves in a poopload of trouble by calling 911. 6. I also think their altered state is affecting the teens judgment They should have called 911 anyway, and I’m certainly not saying I’d be happy if the Celtling had been part of that group. But to those arguing that they should have gone in to save him? I say a bunch of kids drowning too was not going to help the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/86 "2017-07-22T23:17:05Z")
Did ANYONE at all here say they should have gone in after him? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/87 "2017-07-22T23:18:23Z")
I just read the rest of the article. The kids were smoking marijuana. Now I’ve never tried marijuana, but I do understand that it makes you laugh a lot. They were not acting like sociopaths, they were acting like people who are high. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/88 "2017-07-22T23:36:39Z")
> [@Trancephalic](#): > > The cackling at that final cry for help was absolutely chilling. I do agree with that. The inability to respond to an emergency is one of the reasons I’ve never tried the stuff. > [@FoieGrasIsEvil](#): > > True, but once you’re in water above where you can stand all the weight is off your legs. All you need to do is make small, slow circles with your arms and legs and you can keep your head above water. Maybe he just couldn’t do that, didn’t think of it in his panic, or simply didn’t know how. > > I think swimming lessons for at least a beginner should be mandatory for everyone in school. He walked into the water of his own accord, fully clothed. We’ll never know why. He got a long way from the bank though, so he must have been able to swim a bit. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/89 "2017-07-23T00:02:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I have to disagree that the kids should have gone in after him. Who are you disagreeing with here? Who has actually asserted that they should have gone in after him? ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/90 "2017-07-23T00:36:02Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I just read the rest of the article. The kids were smoking marijuana. Now I’ve never tried marijuana, but I do understand that it makes you laugh a lot. They were not acting like sociopaths, they were acting like people who are high. And the fact that once they were no longer high, only one of them appeared to show any remorse and the other one kept grinning? How does that factor into your assessment? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/91 "2017-07-23T02:56:14Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > Who are you disagreeing with here? > > Who has actually asserted that they should have gone in after him? A few examples of what sounds like it to me: > [@Pippers](#): > > Wow, just wow. You can’t really call creatures like that “boys” because they aren’t human. > > Recently in Florida people on the beach saw several kids and a couple adults in danger of drowning. They were caught in a riptide. The people on the beach formed a chain by linking hands and were able to get far enough out in the water to bring everyone safely in. Kudos to all those folks and curses to the pond scum kiddie-creatures. Sure sounds like Pippers thinks they should have gone in. > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > That is one of the most disturbing pieces of video that I have ever seen. I worked in TV news for many years and I saw plenty of disturbing things–both in person and over satellite links. > > . . . > > I can imagine legitimate\*\* (if not disconcerting) \*\*reasons why they might not have personally gone in the water to try to save the man. That can be dangerous. > > . . . emphasis mine. > [@octopus](#): > > **If one needs to be compelled by law to provide reasonable aid** to someone in grave danger society has deeper flaws than the lack of such a law. emphasis mine. Granted, Oct. says “reasonable aid” but we all agree that 911 couldn’t have responded in time, so what are we really blaming these kids for? Laughing while high. > [@elbows](#): > > Stupid? Mean? That’s how you characterize taunting, **failing to assist,** filming, not calling for 911 > > . . . emphasis mine elbows clearly differentiates between failing to assist and calling 911. > [@octopus](#): > > It’s not that. The point is society should be instilling values in people to the point that\*\* one shouldn’t fear the consequences of breaking a law to do the right thing.\*\* I’ve helped people in danger because I was raised right. These teens obviously weren’t. > > And folks excusing this as just another example of stupid teen behavior are dumb. The consequences of simply walking down the street can be getting shot by the police. In their place would you really call 911? Are you maybe failing to take responsibility for the reality that we as taxpayers have allowed to develop in these kid’s lives? They were raised to avoid the police at all costs, because they might get shot. They were raised to assume that the system would suck them in at the first opportunity, so why would they make that call? Look at how anxious everybody is to make criminals of them. I hear them laughing at a drunk or high man getting into a pond with his clothes on, and then yelling at him to go back. I hear them being teenagers who are high, dealing with a traumatic event when they realize he is in trouble. I hear them refusing to help (Florida, gators, dumbass move to get into that pond.) And I hear them get real quiet when they realize he really isn’t coming back up. I hear them trying to show teenage bravado with the “Are you afraid to see a dead body” discussion. > [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > And the fact that once they were no longer high, only one of them appeared to show any remorse and the other one kept grinning? How does that factor into your assessment? People keep using that word “remorse.” They did nothing that in any way hastened this man’s death. There is no way that 911 was going to get there in time to do anything but cause trouble for those kids. As for the grinning, I can’t be sure. But I’m a nervous laugher. I laugh at the worst of times. It doesn’t mean I’m not heartbroken, it’s a sign that I am. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/92 "2017-07-23T04:10:35Z")
Why the fuck are you making excuses for these guys? Why are you denying facts? These weren’t nervous people laughing. These were people who saw him struggling, and mocked him for being in the situation in the first place. They weren’t nervous. They were making fun. They were horribly and unethically indifferent. It doesn’t goddamned fucking matter whether they could have succeeded. The point is, they didn’t fucking try to do anything. They could have tried themselves. They could have called for help. They could have just screamed in hopes that someone heard him. But they didn’t. They laughed at him like it was some crazy video. They mocked him like those assholes on the prank channels. What’s more, you’re not even one of the shitty Dopers. So why the fuck are you defending these deplorable assholes? The only reason I am not gunning for their heads is that they are kids and maybe, with proper rehabilitation, they can be cured of their psychopathic indifference to this man’s tragedy. This is not something like a high school prank. It’s not something to merely be disappointed in your kid over. _ **Quit making up lies and bullshit so you can defend what is clearly wrong.** _ And, believe me. I’m being nice. I’m trying my best to hold this in, in an effort to get you to listen. Because you have kids, and I do not want them learning from their father that this sort of thing is remotely acceptable. So I have to try to get you listen, rather than attack you. But it’s really, really fucking hard. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/93 "2017-07-23T05:18:35Z")
Oh shut up you sanctimonious little tit–maybe try getting out of the house once in a while so you can perhaps get a tiny grasp of what real life is all about. Nobody has to listen to you, nobody wants to listen to you and nobody’s going to listen to you because you basically know fuck all about, well, anything. So once more, with five part harmony and feeling– **SHUT UP, BIG TARD.** ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/94 "2017-07-23T05:28:09Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Why the fuck are you making excuses for these guys? Why are you denying facts? > > These weren’t nervous people laughing. These were people who saw him struggling, and mocked him for being in the situation in the first place. They weren’t nervous. They were making fun. They were horribly and unethically indifferent. > > It doesn’t goddamned fucking matter whether they could have succeeded. The point is, they didn’t fucking try to do anything. They could have tried themselves. They could have called for help. They could have just screamed in hopes that someone heard him. > > But they didn’t. They laughed at him like it was some crazy video. They mocked him like those assholes on the prank channels. > > What’s more, you’re not even one of the shitty Dopers. So why the fuck are you defending these deplorable assholes? The only reason I am not gunning for their heads is that they are kids and maybe, with proper rehabilitation, they can be cured of their psychopathic indifference to this man’s tragedy. > > This is not something like a high school prank. It’s not something to merely be disappointed in your kid over. _ **Quit making up lies and bullshit so you can defend what is clearly wrong.** _ > > And, believe me. I’m being nice. I’m trying my best to hold this in, in an effort to get you to listen. Because you have kids, and I do not want them learning from their father that this sort of thing is remotely acceptable. So I have to try to get you listen, rather than attack you. > > But it’s really, really fucking hard. You could air condition hell as fast as you’ve been wagging your finger today, \*\*BigTard \*\* ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/95 "2017-07-23T05:41:06Z")
> [@SmartAleq](#): > > Oh shut up you sanctimonious little tit–maybe try getting out of the house once in a while so you can perhaps get a tiny grasp of what real life is all about. Nobody has to listen to you, nobody wants to listen to you and nobody’s going to listen to you because you basically know fuck all about, well, anything. > > So once more, with five part harmony and feeling– **SHUT UP, BIG TARD.** And this is when I realized this thread is in the Pit. **BigT** , you’ve got rage issues. I read **TruCelt** ’s post, thought to myself, ''Are you fucking kidding me?" and then decided to ignore it. Clearly this is not a person who can be persuaded out of his position, and it doesn’t matter if he can’t, because he has zero impact on how the case is handled and his opinion will probably never affect anything other than this message board. Sometimes people are just wrong and it’s okay. Save your ire for shit that really matters. I save it mostly for the rape apologists and bigots, but YMMV. I say this as someone who used to blow a gasket at every little thing on these boards until I realized it’s not my problem or responsibility to change every wrong person’s mind, and it actually made me a kind of a control-freak to believe people should all think like me anyway. Who says I’m always right, or righteous, anyhow? It’s a long and multi-faceted story. My point is, chill out. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/96 "2017-07-23T05:56:16Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I just read the rest of the article. The kids were smoking marijuana. Now I’ve never tried marijuana, but I do understand that it makes you laugh a lot. They were not acting like sociopaths, they were acting like people who are high. sorry, but this is horseshit. They were mocking him. I have tried marijuana. I smoked it every day for many years. I still had empathy. Even high I would have found their behavior appalling. You can blame the munchies and giggles on being high. You can blame mocking someone as they die in your presence on being a sociopath. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Crap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.crap/32/3131_2.png) [@Dr.Crap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Crap)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/97 "2017-07-23T12:29:47Z")
After watching the video I think the most callous one is an Uruk-hai and the lesser Orcs just go with it. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/98 "2017-07-23T13:09:47Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Inability to feel empathy, especially for folks who don’t “look like you” is rapidly becoming a defining characteristic of our society. If what those people did isn’t a display of psychopathy I don’t know what is, at the very least they should be put under very close scrutiny to either find out what they’ve been up to until now or have them go through psychiatric evaluation. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/99 "2017-07-23T13:46:26Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I just read the rest of the article. The kids were smoking marijuana. Now I’ve never tried marijuana, but I do understand that it makes you laugh a lot. They were not acting like sociopaths, they were acting like people who are high. I burn some green daily. Hell, I’m soaking in it now. You are wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Philliam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/philliam/32/3011_2.png) [@Philliam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Philliam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811/100 "2017-07-23T18:10:37Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#): > > Lets hope that the shame follows them throughout their lives. Apropos, I hope. As a Hydrographic Surveyor back in the day, I did a pipelay/dredge project in Southeast Asia. The Barge Superintendent had a little mutt dog named ‘Scrapiron’ that hung out mostly in the tower and was the barge mascot. On the way back to port at the end of the project the Barge Engineer (who was much younger and didn’t like the Super.) took the poor dog and tossed him overboard. Some folks knew what happened and word started to filter out through ‘The Oil Patch’. Never worked with or met the guy again but I hope his new nickname of “Dog-Killer Fields” followed him forever. 35 years later it still hurts to remember that useless bastard. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/florida-5-teens-mock-dont-help-drowning-man/791811.md?page=6)