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View Full Version : Are you a good samaritan?

Rimuladas
August 23rd, 2006, 07:57 PM
http://www.wweek.com/editorial/3242/7923

To find out whether Portlanders are good Samaritans when it comes to bike theft, we sent 22-year-old WW intern Josh Silverman out to Pioneer Courthouse Square, the Park Blocks, Portland State University's campus, Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and PGE Park last week armed with several lengths of link chain, a padlock, a pair of bright red 24-inch bolt cutters and instructions to "steal" his own bike. We filmed the whole thing.


If you saw a man on Hawthorne liberating a bike with 2-foot bolt cutters, would you intervene? Say something? Call the cops? You may think so, but we say fat chance.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4yydGUB88c

He "stole" his bike seven times in broad daylight and no one tried to stop him or call the police. One helpful bystander even showed him the correct way to cut the chain with his bolt cutters.
SoulEdge
August 23rd, 2006, 08:09 PM
they probably thought he lost his key and was removing it.
Phoenix
August 23rd, 2006, 08:52 PM
Interesting article.
spin
August 23rd, 2006, 09:18 PM
they probably thought he lost his key and was removing it.
yyeah he doesnt quite fit the description of a bike jacker
Risingson
August 23rd, 2006, 09:48 PM
to make it interesting, they shoulda done the same setup but a second time with a black dude. Wonder how many people would say/do something then.
Nomad
August 24th, 2006, 02:33 AM
rim, you've made me sad.
normally when i read one of your threads i'm expecting something i haven't already seen over six months ago.
:(

but the rest of these replies seem to be seeing it for the first time, so i'll let it slide, i guess.
bergenhell
August 24th, 2006, 03:12 AM
to make it interesting, they shoulda done the same setup but a second time with a black dude. Wonder how many people would say/do something then.

im sure the black guy would get shot every time.
Lt.Ramza
August 24th, 2006, 03:47 PM
Someone really stealing a bike wouldn't do it in broad daylight, in the middle of a busy area.
phate
August 24th, 2006, 04:52 PM
r u serios? u canot b serios

have you ever been in a city or campus? bikes get stolen at all hours of the day.
CUT.THAT.MULLET
August 24th, 2006, 04:53 PM
portland oregon fucking owns you
Lt.Ramza
August 25th, 2006, 03:13 AM
r u serios? u canot b serios

have you ever been in a city or campus? bikes get stolen at all hours of the day.

I've lived in a city, on campus, and currently right off campus. I've had 2 of my friends bikes stolen in the past year, both times it was done overnight.
Vanquish
August 25th, 2006, 10:46 AM
Yeah, I doubt anyone would think anything was untoward about someone cutting the lock off a bike in broad day light. They'd just assume the owner forgot his combination or lost his key. If it was done very conspicuously, at dark, I bet someone would of noticed. But really, why would anyone want to intervene with a theif? The chances of a person who's willing to steal something like a bike having a weapon on them are pretty good. If nothing else I'd be afraid of getting smashed with a set of lock cutters.
Zogo
August 25th, 2006, 08:45 PM
no one seems to care about stolen bikes..the only time anyone notices is when someone steals like 30 of them.

a few years ago someone got this giant truck and drove it around and stole EVERY bike in this entire neighborhood.
colin
August 26th, 2006, 12:35 AM
the cardinal rule of stealing is don't look suspicious. as long as you don't look suspicious you can get away with a lot of shit
[GoW]HK
August 26th, 2006, 02:59 PM
yea thats a retarded experiment for the above reasons.

there was a better one a few years ago where an old guy started having a heart attack in a very public square and it was amazing how long it took for anybody to help him, every time he did it. the cool thing was once one person started to help him EVERYBODY else gathered around like they were helping too.
Zogo
August 26th, 2006, 10:13 PM
yea thats a retarded experiment for the above reasons.

there was a better one a few years ago where an old guy started having a heart attack in a very public square and it was amazing how long it took for anybody to help him, every time he did it. the cool thing was once one person started to help him EVERYBODY else gathered around like they were helping too.

tom green did this. he laid face down on the ground a few hundred people walked by him..finally after 10 minutes someone did something.