Well kids :), we end our last blog with a topic we discussed in the beginning of the semester, that of free will vs. determinism. If you don’t remember what that is, check your notes. :)
Remember when we watched a video entitled IT’S NOT MY FAULT about those people who committed crimes but felt that they were controlled by forces beyond their control. (At least that’s what their attorneys said.) Remember the one story about the LA riots, Reginald Denny the truck driver and the kids who threw the brick on his head? Well, following is a another story about that incident that you will find very inspiring.
STORY BEGINS HERE:
In one of the most disturbing images from the Los Angeles riots, six black assailants dragged Reginald Denny, a 33-year-old truck driver, out of his truck in South Los Angeles and bashed his head in with a brick. A television chopper broadcast the violence live. The attack happened shortly after not-guilty verdicts were handed down in the racially charged trial of the police beating of Rodney King, which kicked off six days of rioting that left dozens dead and thousands injured.
About a mile and a half away, Titus Murphy and his then-girlfriend Terri Barnett were watching the Denny attack on live television. Murphy, who was an unemployed engineer at the time, couldn't believe what he saw.
"When this gentleman was getting beat something was just telling me this isn't right, this isn't what it's all about," he told Yahoo News 20 years later. "When he got hit in the head with the brick something told me to go down there. I just reacted."
Murphy and Barnett drove about a block away from the now infamous corner of Normandie and Florence to see if the rioters would let them get any closer. Murphy saw that Denny had managed to drag himself back into the cab of the truck, which was moving very slowly. Murphy ran to the passenger side and jumped on the running board; he saw a woman named Lei Yuille comforting Denny inside the cab. Just then, a hulking guy named Bobby Green leaped on the running board of the other side. The two stared at each other through the windows, each fearing the other was a rioter.
"I asked him, 'Who are you? What are you going to do?'" Murphy says. "He said, 'What are you going to do?' I didn't know he was thinking the same thing I was thinking. I figured I had to take him on, he figured he had to take me on. We were both over 6 feet tall. I told him I was going to drive the truck and he said, 'I'm a truck driver.' That was the end of that."
Green jumped in and drove the massive truck a terrifying three miles to the hospital, with Murphy's girlfriend Barnett guiding the way by driving in the car in front. Murphy clung to the outside of the truck for the entire journey, feigning to be a rioter by pounding on the outside of the vehicle as if he had taken it for loot.
"There were cars approaching us and swinging bats and sticks and guns and stuff," he said. "I had to pretend that I was part of the riot so that the people in the cars wouldn't try to take us on or try to take advantage of the truck again. I started beating on the truck like it was mine. The trick really worked."
From his position on the running board, Murphy was also able to guide Green, who couldn't see through the truck's cracked windows. "Each one of us could not carry on the task without the other," says Murphy. "Bobby couldn't drive the truck without me on the outside. Mr. Denny was attended to from the inside [by Yuille], and we couldn't drive the truck without Terry in the front of us."
The result was a perfect collaboration. "We all came together as a team," he says. "It was like it was meant to be."
After extensive surgery, Denny survived the beating, but his speech and ability to walk were damaged permanently. His four rescuers, who were all black, became a symbol of hope in the devastating violence that engulfed the city for three days.
"I was just helping a person who was in need," says Murphy. "I didn't look at his race at all. Never thought about it once."
Murphy and the three other rescuers haven't kept in touch, he says, but he remembers them fondly. Denny has moved to Arizona and shunned media attention for most of the past 20 years, although he did reportedly accept an apology from one of his attackers.
Murphy now lives in Escondido with his wife and children. He worries that the anger of 20 years ago could bubble up again today. America still has a class of "have-nots" who need better opportunities to get ahead, he says. "In every major city in America and in cities all over the world the same thing could happen," says Murphy,"until we decide as a people that we work together and stop looking at things as race but realize we're all one."
STORY ENDS HERE:
Here’s a link to the same story as well with some video footage:
So, pretty cool story huh? Very different from the story of the attacker, or is it? Can these Good Samaritans’ behavior be attributed to forces beyond their control like Reginald’s attacker? Or did they have free-will, just like Reginald’s attacker?
Why is it that people have a tendency to attribute bad behavior to determinism but good behavior to free will? Should we have a double standard for good and bad behaviors?
Anyway, tell me what you think and have fun blogging.
Mr. Fong
I think that the 'good Samaritans' acted according to their free-will or agency, as I think that the attacker did. Grant it, the attacker did have a lot more peer pressure or buzz about him causing him to feel like he might of 'had to' go with the flow/crowd, and the Samaritans were acting more against it. Either way, everyone has free agency to choose how to act and react, whether 'everyone else is doing it' or not.
ReplyDeleteThis is my rundown and super condensed response.
-yuki
The Good Samaritans had the free will to stick up for what they believed in. And what they believed was in helping someone, they may not have known, just because it was the right thing to do. In my opinion the attacker also had free will, nobody forced him to go and attack Reginald's it was his choice. We do need double standards for people who do good and bad. The good ones should get the praise they deserve, while the bad ones should have to deal with their consequences. Everyone gets a chance and some take advantage of it, while others let it go. Other people could have helped but they chose to follow the crowd just like everyone else did.
ReplyDeleteI think that the good Samaritans acted according to their own free will. Nothing made them act, they just simply did because they knew it was the right thing to do. I also think that the attackers were acting of their own free will. I don't believe that anything makes us do the things we do. We are in complete control of your selves and whatever we do are fully conscious of that decision weather it be good or bad.
ReplyDeleteI have always been taught to think the best of others. “you don't know the whole situation”- Mom. However in this particular case I personally believe that the attackers are looking for a loop hole or a way out. I'm sure that they were/are sorry for their actions, but that does not excuse the punishment. We are in control of ourselves. I also believe that there is a point when you can lose control and your subconscious kicks in. The trick is to step back and think of the current decision on your hands. Should I go with my friends to a riot or watch re-runs of A-Team? Personally I think Murdock is hilarious :) . Choose the kind of person you want to be and stick to those morals if you get into trouble because of haste decisions, you need to accept the consequence.
ReplyDeleteAmanda Butler
I believe that we have all free will, outside influences may affect how we make decisions and what we do but the only reason those things would affect them is because they made a conscious choice to let the people around them affect their decisions. I think that people who blame their choices on outside forces are just looking for a way out of the decisions that have made and regretted. I think that people should own up to their own choices. In my opinion both the rescuers and the attackers used their free agency and choice, the difference was that the rescuers chose to do what was right even when it was against what everyone else was doing. On the other hand while the attackers might have been good people, they chose to commit the horrible act that they did and will have to live with the consequences of all the things that they did no matter how many other people chose to do it with them. We all react in different ways and may have different influences that can affect our choices but in the end they are still our choices.
ReplyDelete-Jaydn Asay
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ReplyDeleteI do believe that we all have our free will and are able to determine our own decisions. But yes others may influence us whether it be bad or good is based on who you are around. Peer pressure especially in junior high and high school ages is a big deal. But we cannot blame others for the choices we make. We all know from a very young age that our decisions determine the consequence. The attacker may have been a good person but they did not make a good choice, where as the rescuers made a good choice. In ending people should man up and take what they did and what they deserve.
ReplyDelete-McKenzie Bushnell
I would like to say that I think everyone has the free will to choose. Although sadly I can say that I have said or done something that was totally rude and uncalled for because of anger and I am completely shocked and ashamed after because I would never do or say anything like that if I really thought about it first. So no I do not think another "force" is involved. I think its all us even if we might not consciously choose to do something like this I think its in the natural human nature and we do it subconsciously. -Alesha Grotegut
ReplyDeleteThe attackers knew exactly what they were doing. They have no excuses for what they did. They try justifying the actions based on the situation they were in and they people they were with. I know everyone has said something that they regret and "it just came out" but when in all reality we knew what we said. The attackers just need to take responsibility of their own actions, admit that they did wrong and just try to make the right decisions and not let other factors influence them. As with the rescuers, they just did what they knew was right. They saw a person in need and acted upon that and rescued Reginald. Everyone is conscious of the decisions they make, good or bad.
ReplyDelete-Denise Martinez
I believe that people tend to blame bad actions on determinism because then they don't have to take the blame themselves. Where as when a person commits a good act they have no blame to run from. They did what was right, so they have no reason to try to get others to accept that the fault wasn't theirs. So either, no one has control over themselves and those who do good are just taking credit for natures kind turn on their life, or everyone has control and people who do wrong are coping out on their responsibility.
ReplyDeleteNow, in my short life I've never heard of a person doing something good and saying that they had no choice. "I couldn't control my own brain and body and the good just happened! It's not my fault!" Sounds really strange doesn't it? Perhaps everyone just is willing to take the credit for that "choice" even though it might not be a choice. However, I have heard plenty of people who've done something wrong, including myself, say they did have the power to stop themselves. They would tell you that they had that agency at that moment and they choose what they think is wrong. Seems to me if people who've done horrible things, such as murder, will fess up and say they did know what they were doing there isn't much support for those who have done the same thing but won't take any credit.
-Amanda Flinders
i know we have free will and we can control are self but i also think people can all so can help my are own act.but it all depend on what kinda of person you are if you are a follower then you will just do want people want you to do. i feel that Samaritans did the right thing.
ReplyDelete-David
Everyone has free will. No matter how they choose to act with their free will either good or bad it is their choice. People say they were made to do bad things so they don't have to be accountable for what they do and then when they do something right they want to be acknowledged for doing the right thing.
ReplyDelete-Ben Hilton
I think we split them up because we like to be given praise and not be reprimanded. The Samaritans reacted to the situation because they knew that something wrong was going on and that it should be fixed. They acted through free will, and the attackers acted through free will too. I'm sure being in a huge angry crowd of rioters has some affect on behavior but there was nobody threatening the attacker before he hit the man with the brick. He acted through a limited free will, but it wasn't limited enough that he couldn't have done it.
ReplyDeleteWell what I think we all have free will but we are always influence by the people around us, such as friends, family, school buddies. But I mean the attackers should pay for their actions no one was putting a gun to their head saying they had to go along with the riot.
ReplyDeleteYou are free to chose what you do. Other may influence it, but you are the one making the choice. The attackers chose to do what they did, no one forced them to. The people who helped acted upon their free will. They felt like they needed to. Whether we like it or not, everything we do, Is our choice. -Elizabeth Velasco
ReplyDeleteI believe that the good samaritans acted/did what they believed was right because of their own will and because of what they believed was right. The attackers also knew what they were doing, I strongly believe that we cannot blame anybody else for the decisions we make no body forces you to do anything, you are responsible and conscientious about you make. The people around you can influence you a lot but we are all aware of what is right and what is wrong. We all have our good and bad standards set in our conscious. -Mariely Jimenez
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think that we have a choice in everything we do. Therefore I believe that the attackers did what they did because they chose to, not because someone forced them to. People around them may have influenced them through peer pressure, but they were the ones who acted upon it. You are responsible for your own actions. -Emily Douma
ReplyDeleteI think that the Good Samaritans had their free will because they decided, on their own, to help a man that was in need. Also, I think that determinism relates to something that you have decided to do inadvanced. The attackers should have their consequence because they used their free will to do something that would affect the environment negatively. -Andrea Davila
ReplyDeleteI feel that it is obvious that both the attackers and the good samaritans acted with free will. If an attacker is justifying his/her actions saying,"It was beyond my control!" or,"The crowd made me do it!" then he/she is merely afraid to step up to the consequences of their own actions because each individual has a choice even when they are pressured. Here is a scenario that might have happened to an attacker...
ReplyDeleteEveryone around you is jeering and intimidating calling upon justice with violence gleaming in their eyes insomuch that you begin to fear for your life especially when people begin to notice your reluctance to act, so you choose either do nothing in which can be interpreted as going against the crowd and risking your own well being or you can join the revolt.
People are afraid to own up to negative consequences but just jump at every chance to make themselves look better. Which is why people tend to blame their actions on someone or something else when things go wrong and then take all the credit for themselves when they do something socially righteous. It's only human.
-Makayla Memmott
I think both sides had free will. Peer pressure is always there, but you can control it depending on who you choose to surround yourselves with. That is where your choices begin to affect your future. The rioters chose to be inside the riot and surround themselves with that kind of negative peer pressure. People have pressure depending on their past decisions. No one is put completely in a situation with enough peer pressure to make them act out without first choosing to put themselves in that situation, or making a choice to lead into that. The good samaritans also had free will, they just chose to use theirs differently, beginning with the decision to stay out of the riot. -Kyla Redd
ReplyDeleteI think you are free to choose what you want to do. Those people that saved the truck driver were totally in control of what they were doing. They thought that what was happening was wrong and they wanted to try and make things right as soon as possible. The "good samaritans" were good because they chose to stay out of the riot in the first place and then they went to they rescue of the injured truck driver. -Alec Woolley
ReplyDeleteI feel like if you are going to help someone else than it is fine. Its better to be the better person than not. You can control the peer pressure you take in. I also think that you cant either be a good person or a bad person, either way in the middle someone is going to find out eventually. I think that the Samaritans did the right thing.
ReplyDeleteI think we are all responsible for our own actions and have free will, not determinism. the attackers did something wrong and they know it. for some reason we only try to find an excuse for our behavior when we know there is a negative consequence for it. they could have easily decided not to go along with the riot...peer pressure or not...you cant jump off a cliff and hope that someone will pull out at the last minute before you hit the ground. it doesn't work that way. YOU chose to follow them and make the same mistakes they were, making you just as responsible. the Samaritans had this kind of a choice too. seeing what was happening, they could have easily just left it and stayed at home (or wherever they were) because it would be dangerous for them to go especially alone. they had no clue that there was going to be others helping also. --Ashley call
ReplyDeleteI think that everybody has their agency. Everyone can make choices for themselves. There can be pressure coming from other sources but I think that ultimately it is up to you to decide what you do. I don't think that anyone can be forced to do something. Every choice you make has a consequence weather it be good or bad, but there's always consequences. Everyone has the ability to choose for themselves. What they end up choosing is up to them.
ReplyDelete-Edgar Cordova
I think everybody is in the right mind to make decisions. I don't believe that anything is beyond your control unless you are diagnosed with some disease. For the most part the attackers i believe knew exactly what they were doing. The riot and the people probably influenced their choices, but in the end they chose to do what they did. I feel like people use the 'i didn't have any control over what i did' excuse because they don't want to take credit for their wrong actions. But when it's something positive they want to take all the credit for it because people accept what they did. So those guys did know what choices they were doing they just didn't want to take credit for it.
ReplyDelete-Laura Salazar
I think that everyone has agency, but I know that depending on your age depends on weither you have enough self conrol or not. I also believe that the enviorment plays a big role in agency. For example if you got invied to a party with beer you are at high risk to drink, if you are at a party without beer you have a less chance to drink then you would at the party with beer. So yes you do have your agency and sometimes you can't control your self but you can control to be in that enviroment or not.
ReplyDelete-Autymn Clemesha
Every person has free will and self accountability. Nobody can make you do anything you don't want to. It can be hard mentally sometimes to take full responsibility, but all excuses are invalid in this story. WE as high school student face the challenges of choices everyday. We cannot blame others for our unthoughtful actions. We just have to trust ourselves and hope for the best. Learn from mistakes and move on to bigger and greater things.
ReplyDeleteThe rescuers of the guy and the attacker both had free will. everyone can make their own decisions. the rescuers obviously saw that something was wrong and they wanted to help out. people attribute bad behavior to determinism so that they don't have to take responsibility for their own actions, which is stupid. They should just accept the responsibility. People attribute good actions to free will so they can take credit for their actions, which we should do with any actions, good or bad. I don't think there should be a double standard for good and bad decisions.
ReplyDelete-Nichol Murdock
With the Good Samaritans, I feel like it was more towards of a free-will sense. Just like the story says when the race of his didn't matter, he had to help, it was his own decision to assist Denny. With the attacker, I feel he had a strong sense of feeling from his peers to do the action and because of the pressure he was having, some of that free-will and agency was lost. We all tend to think that we have a strong sense of free-will in us, however, when a moment comes where we want to impress someone or to be accepted in some sort of social group, that's where some of our free-will is lost and we now listen to others that affect our own dicision making.
ReplyDelete--Luiggi Puertas
I think that we are in contract of our actions just like the people that decided they needed to save the truck driver. People like to attribute bad choices to not being in control because they don't want to seem like they decided by themselves something that was a bad choice. So if they blame it on the natural and not being in control they don't seem like they are a bad person. I think that we are always in control of ourselves.
ReplyDeleteSamantha Alder