McDonald's customers ignore dying disabled man

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I think this is a trickier situation than is being given credit. Obviously the stepping over the guy to get food is disturbing, but ....There are several factors in this case that make it difficult. The man is wheelchair bound and obviously physically disabled. When someone is chocking the object has to be dislodged. Hitting this guy on the back to force the object out could be dangerous for someone with his condition and wouldn't be an option. This leaves attempting to dislodge the object by pulling it out. But what if he was actually having a seizure or something else. His physically disabled condition might indicate these things as possible alternatives to choking. Now of course someone could have called an ambulance, as the guy was obviously in distress.
It's too easy when you're in a crowd to disappear and assume someone else is taking care of things. It's the same phenomena as when crowds turn against someone and become violent. No individual responsibility.

What if they didn't know what to do? If you don't know what you're doing, you're probably going to make things worse.

Therefore, people need to learn what to do.

Dial 911, first.

As usual this shows that some people are better than others.

There is also a fair chance that 'The Sun' made up the 'fact' that people stepped over the guy.

Someone choking is quite an easy thing to miss, especially with most people having their complete focus attached to their device of choice. If you are choking it's hard to attract attention as you can't speak, if the blockage is obstructive enough and low enough in the oesophagus there will not be any obvious coughing occurring. There is also a chance that he was well known as someone with an alcohol problem, which would also reduce the chance of people wanting to deal with him and I'm not sure if you should perform a Heimlich maneuver on someone with Spina Bifida either, and I have first aid training.

People tend to narrow their focus and ignore others in some conditions more than in others.

Generally (and this is regrettable) people are more likely to "not see" a marginalized person (disabled, homeless, sick, unattractive, older, minority race, etc) and they are often not conscious of the exclusion. Recent research, for example, indicates that drivers are 30% less likely to see Hispanic and Black males who are in or entering a crosswalk, in broad daylight. Sadly but unsurprisingly, people in this category have a higher rate of death and injury from being hit while in a crosswalk.

In a crowded, busy scene such as a fast food restaurant, where the focus is on getting *through* the line and getting your food, it is likely that people may not have even actually looked at the guy. Partly this may be because they didn't experience an 'element of surprise' when seeing his distress, having unconsciously attributed him to a category of being for which behaviour that might be seen as unusual in someone else, would be normal for him. If a person dressed in a business suit had started turning purple and choking, a lot more people would immediately recognize that something was wrong.

The thing is, most of people's actions and attention are driven by heuristics, and are largely unconscious. The people who did help may have had experiences that assisted them in catching on that there was a problem, such as working with disabled people or the homeless, or having a disabled friend or relative.

On a personal note: very recently I was walking and as I passed a bus stop, a man with a very *red* face and snot coming out of both nostrils said "send help, I'm dying". I said "I am sorry" and kept walking. He said "don't be sorry, send help". I had no idea how to help him and didn't want to be anywhere near a person who looked angry and threatening. Also, I was trying not to gag or throw up because of the snot. I walked away. When I reported this incident to my boyfriend, he said "the guy probably overdosed on something, it happens a lot around here". I still don't know what I should have done to help, given that asking what was wrong was out of the question (I was too busy trying not to gag or vomit, and too afraid of him) and the guy hadn't specified what kind of help I should send.

I would not step over or ignore a person who needed help, but clearly I am able to walk away from a distressed person when it isn't clear how I can help them, especially when I feel threatened. If this means I am a lesser person, then I will need training or coaching to overcome it, since my own thought process has proved insufficient to the task.

I agree Varelse, there may have been some avoidance of this guy, whether conscious or not.

As for your personal situation, I think you reaction is understandable. You could have tried to find someone else to help with this guy, but sometimes people just don't want to get involved.

I was overwhelmed by my own reaction and wasn't thinking clearly. I was gagging while writing the post describing it, because this is such a powerful trigger for nausea and anxiety for me. No one was nearby, but if I had had a grasp of the situation I might have tried going into one of the businesses and asking for advice or help. However, the guy didn't look sick to me, he looked angry. I know that sometimes when people are scared to death it can look like anger, but I know that intellectually, not viscerally. And, my intellect didn't kick in until much later, when I related the incident to my boyfriend.

In order to override unconscious, automatic judgments and reactions, training and practice are required. There is such a thing as first aid lessons, but these are more useful in knowing *how* to provide first aid than in knowing what to do and when to do it in real world situations. A drug overdose is frightening and potentially lethal, but it may not always look like you're sick. A panic attack can make you feel like you're dying, but not actually be threatening your life. A stranger may not be able to read the situation well enough to know if you, or they, are more under threat in some situations.

Bottom line, we don't really have public education services that truly train the general public in how to recognize a health emergency and step in appropriately to help, especially where someone who is obviously disabled is concerned. By training I mean drills in real life settings, kind of like Krav Maga only with the focus on helping others rather than defending oneself. I think things would be safer and kinder if we did.

So sad! Some people would never do anything like that, but unfortunately too many people would.

You know, forcing people to learn any subject is, most of the time, an excellent way to make them hate it.

Most first aid is just basic techniques to keep the person alive and stable until the emergency services arrive. Nothing more. For more complex situations, the key in knowing what to do, and when to do it, comes through experience and there is no training for this.

I really don't think that level of training is feasible or even suitable for a lot of people. I was trained to a relatively high standard for the work I was doing at the time. I'm comfortable dealing with injuries, however when I was caught off guard, a old guy collapsed at a bus station, it threw me. I was very, very, very relived when a paramedic arrived just as I realised I would have to start performing CPR.

Sorry, I should have clarified that I don't mean it should be mandatory, only that it would be nice to have it universally available.

Saying everybody in that queue are selfish or lack empathy may well be a false dilemma.

This happening in Britain gives one more element not previously mentioned so far - stiff upper lip. Societal rules designed to prevent unrest.

Keep calm and carry on would literally apply here. Anyone who does not possess the skills to save the man's life are, quite literally, ordered to ignore him - as not to obstruct those who can.

Doesn't make it morally right, no. It doesn't, however,make them selfish.

It does, however, make them a bit quick to reach the conclusion that their help wouldn't be better than nothing.

I'm fairly certain a McDonald's would have a trained first aider available.

If you don't know what you're doing, then your help probably *would* be worse than doing nothing. It's much easier to get things wrong than it is to get things right.

But it seems some people were helping the man. In which case you have a choice of ignoring the situation, or standing around gawking. Which would you prefer people do?

I'd think stepping over him and ordering your food would be a bit over the top. Keeping calm and staying clear of the people who are capable of assisting is a sensible reaction, but stepping over a person to keep your place in line is... something else.

That's assuming the report was accurate and not exaggerated for maximum emotional impact. It may not have happened as reported.