Although

it has been a holiday, my hits for this blog have shot way up. That's because I am one of the few bloggers who highlighted the scandalous case in Kansas of LaShanda Calloway, which is little more than a rehash of the old Kitty Genovese case back in the 1960s.

The public can be such stupid assholes. I can't believe anybody allowed her to suffer without rendering aid of some sort, much less continue shopping while she was dying. Unreal.

Speaking of Genovese, you can read about her case right here.

It was one of the great scandals of the 1960s, for 38 people could have helped save her life, but they did nothing.

Some dismissed it as a natural extension of urban environment. To people who lived in middle America or small towns, the reaction of the witnesses to the Genovese murder was symbolic of the hectic life in cities like New York. To them, citizens in a large metropolis are not likely or willing to help a stranger in need, although many New Yorkers would disagree with that premise. Stanley Milgram, one of America’s foremost researchers in social psychology, wrote in The Nation: “The Kew Gardens incident has become the occasion for a general attack on the city. It is portrayed as callous, cruel, indifferent to the needs of the people and wholly inferior to the small town in quality of its personal relationships.”

Others, like Lt. Bernard Jacobs of the N.Y.C.P.D., who led the police investigation, could not understand the reactions of the 38. He told the press, “Where they are, in their homes, near phones, why should they be afraid to call the police?” It was a good question. And there were disturbing answers as well. The police received a great deal of criticism from an angry public who had a deep resentment against what they perceived to be, an indifferent, rude and abusive police department. “Have you ever reported anything to the police?” One letter to the editor asked. “If you did, you would know that you are subjected to insults and abuse from annoyed undutiful police…” Another frequent complaint was the difficulty of calling the local police precinct. In 1964, there was no universal “911” system. A caller had to dial the number to their precinct, and sometimes, the call went somewhere else (the Genovese murder became the pivotal factor in changing the phone reporting procedure for the New York City Police Department).

By the way, her killer, Winston Moseley, is still incarcerated. He applied for parole several times over the years, but his attempts have been rejected. He is up for parole again in 2008.

Moseley is in his seventies.

As the World Turns.

Beverly Sills gets the New York Times treatment.
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Good for the Goldman family.
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This is absolutely unreal:

As stabbing victim LaShanda Calloway lay bleeding on the floor of a convenience store at 25th North and Hillside, no fewer than five store patrons stepped over her to complete purchases -- and at least one took cell phone pictures of her -- before bothering to call 911, police said.

Police have been told that some of those photos landed on the Internet.

There are some sick fucks out there.

Yet Calloway lost approximately two precious minutes while patrons strangely ignored her, according to Wichita police spokesman Gordon Bassham.

"This is one of the most disgusting examples of disregard for life I've ever seen," Bassham said of the video. "It is a very, very tragic video to watch. It was revolting to see this lack of humanity."

The video showed the 27-year-old Calloway struggling to her feet and collapsing three times without anyone helping her.

Worse, one woman who stepped over Calloway four times while shopping eventually paused to snap a photo of her with a cell phone.

And now, police are trying to track down photos of a dying Calloway that someone told them had been posted on the Internet.

"This is just appalling," Williams said. "I could continue shopping and not render aid and then take time out to take a picture? That's crazy. What happened to our respect for life?"