We’ve all experienced the bystander effect at one point or another in our lives. Whether you kept walking as a mother punished her child at the local park, or looked the other way when someone stashed a shirt from a store in their bag. Bystander effect knows no bounds and you will be affected by it at some point in your life.

Americans are nosy when it comes to Hollywood celebrities and their lives.

But when it comes to normal citizens, we don’t seem to want to get involved in their personal lives because of the “risks” involved.

Last Tuesday afternoon, a 27-year-old McDonalds worker named Catherine Ferreira was brutally beaten after work by her co-worker Latia Harris, 25. What Harris did is unequivocally brutal. In my eyes what is even worse is the bystanders who not only stood by and watched Ferreira get thrown around like a rag doll, but pulled out their phones and videotaped the event. You can watch it below if you’re so inclined but be aware that the video is graphic.

There are some cases when you just shouldn’t get involved, but when someone is getting beaten to a bloody pulp in front of her child, I believe that it is the bystander’s duty to step in and intervene. Whether it is verbally or physically, you cannot just sit by and watch a person get battered, and if you do, you might as well throw in a couple of punches yourself because you’re honestly just as bad.

Shaking My Head.

To the people in the video standing by watching and recording as the woman’s son pleads for Harris to stop pummeling his mother: shame on you. To the kids who record videos of fights and yell “worldstar!” as punches are being thrown: shame on you. To all the men and women who record drunk people as they make fools of themselves: shame on you. And to make matters worse, these videos are recorded for the sole reason of getting attention. Newsflash people, if your video goes viral on the web, that makes you about as famous as…

Honey Boo Boo…..

I’m no saint. I know that I am guilty of looking the other way from time to time. But what I do possess are morals and a conscience. Let me define those terms, because it seems like we have forgotten what they mean as a society. Now we could delve into the discussion of what morals really mean, and I could bring up Kant, Hume, and Nietzsche and we can discuss it for hours upon hours. But to save us time I’m just going to give you the Trevor Smith definitions.

Morals: A set of just standards that we conform to because we are civilized beings.

Conscience: That little voice inside your head that tells you when something is really wrong.

I know that we have evolved into a society that condones fighting, which is why people may not see the problem with Harris beating the shit out of her co-worker. But have our consciences disappeared? Did the little boy pleading for the fight to end not just break your heart? Did Ferreira’s limp body not make you want to jump in and say, “Hey Latia, I think she’s had enough?” No? I guess not.

Ah Choooooo

As a society our moral compass is starting to point in the wrong direction. We don’t need more videographers recording our worst moments, we need more heroes to step in and stand up to the Latia Harrises of the world. So I’m going to challenge you: the next time you see an argument heat up, or a kid getting bullied, or a fast food worker getting mistreated, say something. I promise you’ll feel great about yourself, and it will make a world of difference for the person you’re helping.

That felt good

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Trevor Smith

Featured image courtesy of [Taylor Sloan via Flickr]

Trevor Smith

Trevor Smith is a homegrown DMVer studying Journalism and Graphic Design at American University. Upon graduating he has hopes to work for the US State Department so that he can travel, learn, and make money at the same time. Contact Trevor at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Bystanders? More like Bye Standards. appeared first on Law Street.

Have you ever been in a crowd of people that’s moving with a mind of its own? I’ve come close — various rallies in front of the White House, concerts, and the 2012 Inauguration all caused me to find myself in situations where I had basically no control over where I moved. I’m barely five feet and I’m petite — if someone wanted to move me or shove me they could do it with little effort.

Now luckily, none of those crowds that I’ve been swept up in turned into anything violent. I’ve always been able to push my way out, eventually. But I know that if a crowd I’m in ever does get violent and I’m forced to run, I have to be careful. I need to protect myself. And I would bet that most young women feel the same way–it’s a scary thought, but a realistic one.

I bet Cecily McMillan felt the same way.

Cecily McMillan was an Occupy protester in New York’s Zuccotti Park on November 15, 2011. Police were brought in to break up the crowd, and it turned to chaos. Those who were there that night described it as an “attack.” Many protesters had their clothing ripped and were pushed to the ground. At one point Cecily McMillan threw an elbow into a policeman’s face, and last week she was found guilty of second-degree assault. She has yet to be sentenced, but could face up to seven years in prison. She is currently being held without bail on Rikers Island.

At first glance the case seems cut and dry. A protester tangled with a cop and is now paying the price. But in reality it is so much more complicated than that.

Cecily McMillan has her own side of the story. She claims that she threw the elbow as a gut reaction to having her right breast grabbed by the police officer who later accused her of assault — his name is Officer Bovell. Here’s a picture of McMillan after the incident in Zuccotti Park:

Maybe we should ask #CecilyMcMillan about her #myNYPD moment. http://t.co/zle2kOHvDf pic.twitter.com/lDVFsWhOZN — Ⓐ ‏#GrumpyCuntSec Ⓐ (@brazenqueer) April 22, 2014

That’s a bruise from where Officer Bovell allegedly grabbed her. Despite the prosecution’s contention that McMillan caused the injury herself, there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Officer Bovell, at the very least, grabbed her from behind, regardless of how she reacted or why he did so.

#CecilyMcMillan, activista de @OccupyWallSt declarada culpable de atacar a policía de #NY http://t.co/V8hyrp64UM pic.twitter.com/ncj3fLyoMa — Democracy Now! Es (@DemocracyNowEs) May 6, 2014

That’s Officer Bovell right behind her with his hand raised. It certainly looks like he’s going to grab her, and it really looks like she’s not expecting it.

There’s some other conflicting evidence, including a video of McMillan elbowing Officer Bovell in the face, but it’s really hard to see why, or what he’s doing. It could be on purpose, or it could be because he had grabbed her.

So the case went to trial, where it seemed even more convincing that something fishy was up — Officer Bovell had a hard time identifying which eye McMillan had actually so viciously elbowed. He got it wrong, multiple times. Clearly her crazy attack left him traumatized.

And there’s also evidence that McMillan was in pretty bad shape when the police grabbed her. There’s a sixteen minute video of McMillan having a seizure:

If you watch closely, for the first few minutes no one really does anything. Finally, at the eight-minute mark she gets some medical attention. The photos of her that night can be found here, and they’re equally disturbing. She’s being thrown around like a rag doll. In some of them her feet are barely touching the ground. In some ways that’s what upsets me the most. This woman did not deserve the kind of brutality that she received that night. Two wrongs don’t make a right. Especially when one of those wrongs is dealt out by the people who are supposed to keep us safe — the police.

I understand that the police needed to clear the area. I understand that things got messy. But now she might be facing seven years in prison. And that’s plain ridiculous. Even the jury that convicted her thinks so — nine out of the twelve sent a letter to the judge stating,

We the jury petition the court for leniency in the sentencing of Cecily McMillan. We would ask the court to consider probation with community service. We feel that the felony mark on Cecily’s record is punishment enough for this case and that it serves no purpose to Cecily or to society to incarcerate her for any amount of time. We also ask that you factor in your deliberation process that this request is coming from 9 of the 12 member jury.

Trials are bifurcated for a reason — the jury has no say in McMillan’s sentencing. But that they felt so compelled as to ask for a lighter punishment for her shows this case was never cut and dry.

So I want you to put yourself in McMillan’s shoes again. Imagine that you’re swept up in a crowd and have no control. You panic, and someone grabs you, and you flail to get away. It’s not a new story, and it’s not that hard to imagine. I know because I imagine it every damn time I’m in a crowd that size.

I could be Cecily McMillan. So could you. And the way this case was handled should scare you.

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Timothy Krause via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Any One of Us Could Be Cecily McMillan appeared first on Law Street.

The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, compiles a list of intangible cultural heritages. These can include a variety of things like music, dance, social practices, or art. The entire list of intangible cultural heritages can be found here, and I would highly recommend you check it out. A lot of them are really cool and some even have video demonstrations. There’s Tsiattista poetic duelling from Cyprus, the Tango from Argentina and Uruguay, and the Dragon Boat Festival of China, among hundreds of others.

But Germany is trying to get something a little different — and really fun — on the list. Beer!

Historically in Germany, specifically Bavaria, there was a law called Reinheitsgebot. Translated into English, it roughly means “German Beer Purity Law.” It required that brewers only use water, hops, and barley malt in creating beer. No flavorings or preservatives are allowed in the creation of Reinheitsgebot beer.

Put your reading glasses on, and let’s check out some beer history:

Ready? Ok, so Reinheitsgebot beer certainly fits the idea of “heritage’ — the law was created in 1516 in the Bavarian city of Ingolstadt by the Dukes Wilhelm IV and Ludwig X. The law was written both to set basic standards for making and selling beer, and also to stem conflict between bakers and beer makers, who competed over wheat, yeast, and other grains. If a brewer was found breaking the law, they could have their beer confiscated without any sort of compensation. In 1871, the law was incorporated into the unification of Germany.

While German beer laws have changed slightly since then, there are still regulations that brewers must follow. The current beer law is called Biergesetz, and allows only a few more ingredients than the original Reinheitsgebot. Most brewers claim to follow Reinheitsgebot, even if they actually really just follow Biergesetz.

And believe me, Germany takes its beer very, very seriously. For 10 years in the 1990s, after the reunification of East and West Germany, there was the infamous “Brandenburg Beer War.”

Unfortunately, not this kind of beer war.

The Fritsche family in Brandenburg brewed a beer called the “Black Abbott.” They added just a little big of sugar to give it a distinctive taste. Germany informed them that they could not market their brew as real beer, so the Fritsches said the government couldn’t tax it as real beer. After about 10 years of back and forth, they eventually received a special permit to label Black Abbott as beer.

According to some historians, Reinheitsgebot is the oldest remaining food or drink regulation in the world, and therefore deserves to be on the UNESCO intangible heritage list. Germany has around 1,300 separate breweries, and 5,000 brands of beer.

Those in favor of including Reinheitsgebot on the next UNESCO list, such as craft beer expert Matt Simpson, emphasize the important role that beer has played in cultural human history. Simpson stated, “Considering beer’s place in human history, I would say that it certainly deserves a place among other cultural phenomena.”

Want to try some Reinheitsgebot-approved beer without traveling all the way to Germany? Here are some American breweries that create beers that, for the most part, strictly follow Reinheitsgebot:

• Olde Mecklenburg Brewery, Charlotte, NC
• Sierra Nevada, North Carolina and California
  
• Redhook Brewery, Woodinville, WA
• Deschutes Brewery, Portland, OR

There are obviously many more, but those should put you all off to a good start (assuming you’re 21+, if not, save these suggestions for after your birthday). So, next time you’re in the mood for a drink, get some future-potential-intangible cultural heritage at the same time!

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Anneliese Mahoney (@AMahoney8672) is Lead Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

Featured image courtesy of [Kasia Wallis via Flickr]

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post Let’s Get Some Beer & Cultural Heritage appeared first on Law Street.

New York City is home to 8.3 million people, with more visiting from out of town every day. This concrete jungle may be where dreams are made of, but it is one chaotic place to live. Don’t get me wrong, I love living in the greatest city in the world, but sometimes I really don’t understand what goes through people’s minds on a daily basis. The simplest tasks, such as walking down the street, become stressful, and I really have no clue why I feel like the odd one out. It seems like I learned an entirely different set of life rules growing up in a New England town, and I greatly wish New Yorkers would adhere to them as well. There are some common rules to live by that I thought were universal, or at least widespread in the United States.

You’re on the subway, and it’s packed, and an elderly person gets on. Do you get up? Well, that would be the polite thing to do, perhaps even the moral thing. But in New York I am constantly infuriated that elderly, disabled, or pregnant people are forced to stand on a crowded subway car because others refuse to give up their seats. While I’m stuck standing to begin with, there’s really nothing I can do. I can’t force any of the other young people to stand up, so I shake my head and grumble to myself. Maybe you had a long day at work, or maybe you’re tired, but really, let someone who is less fortunate than you take a seat.

My mom always told me never to stare at people while they’re eating. I never really understood why she insisted, but now that I’ve experienced what it feels like to be stared down while I’m chowing down, I completely understand. NYC is home to many restaurants with window seating, and instead of casually glancing in while walking past, passerby literally stop, stand, and stare. I’m not a zoo animal, here. I’m just simply trying to enjoy my lunch before heading back to the office. For some reason, New Yorkers (or, tourists, who knows?) are really interested in the food I’m eating. Yelp was created for a reason. Please use it.

Now the last thing that really irks me in New York, is walking. That may sound silly, but sometimes walking to school can be one the most stressful moments of my day. Why, you ask? Several reasons. First, whatever happened to the common sense rule that you walk on the right side of the sidewalk? Not down the middle, not on the left, on the right! Maybe you’re a tourist from England. If that’s the case you are a bit excused. But the rest of you? Come on, people! And the same thing goes for stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. With the dozens of people sure to be shopping in SoHo at any moment, you really can’t just stop in the middle. Move over. It’s that simple. And before you get mad at me for complaining about people who may have a genuine health problem and need to stop, or walk slowly, the answer is simple. Just most over. Walk all the way to the right. Let those of us who actually have somewhere to be go by. And then we’ll all walk together in an organized manner.

So whether you live in New York, or you’re just visiting, please remember to be respectful to those around you. Our lives will all be a little bit better if we can remember what we learned as a child and apply them to the world we live in now.

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Featured image courtesy of [Jack Siah via Flickr]

Christina Teoli

Christina Teoli is a founding member of Law Street Media and a graduate of New York Law School. Contact Christina at staff@LawStreetMedia.com.

The post How to Walk in New York and Other Commonsense Rules appeared first on Law Street.