I have never been to a country where the Stop and Stare move is as ubiquitous as India. This is a close cousin, of course, to the Stop and Assist move, but...not quite the same. What do I mean by the Stop and Stare move? Well, any time there has been an accident, an injury or a bizarre and negative happening masses of passerbys will stop what they're doing, crowd the scene and bear witness.
Now, in the USA we are no strangers to the Stop and Stare move. In fact, this probably explains about 95% of all traffic jams which occur around the scene of an accident--passing motorists slow down to view the grisly scene. (And, I even fear that some poorly-mannered folk in the USA are developing a new move, called the Stop and Take and Selfie in Front of an Accident to be Later Shared on Facebook move). Indeed, to a certain extent I think it's in human nature* to Stop and Stare; we are curious beings, after all. But here in India, it has been taken to a new level.
Evidence #1: a few weeks ago I was playing in a soccer tournament where a girl on the another team has her nose broken. The entirety of her team, and most members on other teams, circled the wounded girl closely, literally hovering above her and pressing in inches away from the sobbing, blood-splattered player. There was one person next to her, trying to help. The other 30 were just . . . watching.
Evidence #2: Last Thursday, as I was going to work in an autorickshaw, two cars got into a minor fender bender in front of me. (Really minor--in fact, I'm not even sure the two cars made contact. It's possible the driver of the second car was just really upset that the first car had stopped so suddenly in front of him.) One of the drivers got out of his car to yell at the other driver. What did my autowallah do? He parked his auto in the middle of the road, about 5 feet away from the screaming action, so he could Stop and Stare. I was like "Hey Mr. Autowallah, I need to get to work so, can we not do this?" He ignored me, so involved in the Stop and Stare was he. It wasn't until I threatened to get out of the auto and not pay him that the driver turned the car back on. I mean, come on!
I have no theories as to why the Stop and Stare is so commonplace in India. So, if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
*Actually, this isn't in New Yorkers' nature. I've never seen a New Yorker pull a Stop and Stare. We, on the other hand, have perfected (possibly even invented) the I Don't Even Notice or Care about this Amazing/Crazy/Ridiculous/Unbelievable Thing Going On Right in Front of Me Because I Gots to Keep It Moving move.
Now, in the USA we are no strangers to the Stop and Stare move. In fact, this probably explains about 95% of all traffic jams which occur around the scene of an accident--passing motorists slow down to view the grisly scene. (And, I even fear that some poorly-mannered folk in the USA are developing a new move, called the Stop and Take and Selfie in Front of an Accident to be Later Shared on Facebook move). Indeed, to a certain extent I think it's in human nature* to Stop and Stare; we are curious beings, after all. But here in India, it has been taken to a new level.
Evidence #1: a few weeks ago I was playing in a soccer tournament where a girl on the another team has her nose broken. The entirety of her team, and most members on other teams, circled the wounded girl closely, literally hovering above her and pressing in inches away from the sobbing, blood-splattered player. There was one person next to her, trying to help. The other 30 were just . . . watching.
Evidence #2: Last Thursday, as I was going to work in an autorickshaw, two cars got into a minor fender bender in front of me. (Really minor--in fact, I'm not even sure the two cars made contact. It's possible the driver of the second car was just really upset that the first car had stopped so suddenly in front of him.) One of the drivers got out of his car to yell at the other driver. What did my autowallah do? He parked his auto in the middle of the road, about 5 feet away from the screaming action, so he could Stop and Stare. I was like "Hey Mr. Autowallah, I need to get to work so, can we not do this?" He ignored me, so involved in the Stop and Stare was he. It wasn't until I threatened to get out of the auto and not pay him that the driver turned the car back on. I mean, come on!
I have no theories as to why the Stop and Stare is so commonplace in India. So, if anyone has any ideas, I'd love to hear them.
*Actually, this isn't in New Yorkers' nature. I've never seen a New Yorker pull a Stop and Stare. We, on the other hand, have perfected (possibly even invented) the I Don't Even Notice or Care about this Amazing/Crazy/Ridiculous/Unbelievable Thing Going On Right in Front of Me Because I Gots to Keep It Moving move.
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