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Man Dressed as Batman Made Subway Commuters Kinder, Study Finds (www.vice.com)

submitted 3 days ago by resipsaloquitur@lemmy.world to c/nottheonion@lemmy.world

23 comments fedilink hide all child comments

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/50513851

Without Batman, only about 38 percent of passengers stood up for the pregnant woman. With Batman, that number leapt to roughly 67 percent. More than two-thirds of riders suddenly remembered they were human beings capable of empathizing with others.

And all it took was the presence of a semi-fascist but admittedly still quite cool lunatic dressed like a bat whose concept of justice begins and ends at beating the s—t out of people with severe mental health issues.

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[–] dual_sport_dork@lemmy.world 13 points 3 days ago (4 children)

"Lots of people are selfish shitheads unless they think there may be immediate consequences for them acting like shitheads" is a well-worn observation on human nature, and is not especially new. Just watch how people drive for the next few miles after they spot a cop on the interstate as an example.

The fact that apparently these people can't quite separate the fictional concept of Batman with reality, i.e. the threat of real-world consequences, is somewhat novel. Not especially encouraging, but novel.

[–] shalafi@lemmy.world 10 points 3 days ago

You can scribble eyeballs on a wall with a sharpie and people will behave more honestly.

[–] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 8 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (1 children)

Nobody thought that some guy dressed as Batman was the actual character, or that he had any authority over them. But the idea of Batman, or any other well-known inspirational character, is very real.

[–] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago

Which makes me think superman would be a good idea, as he's very aspirational

[–] Damage@feddit.it 6 points 3 days ago

You misinterpreted the study, from what I gather. It's not a threat that influences their actions, it's more an awakening from the torpor of commuting, and an inspirational figure.

[–] diaphanous@feddit.org 4 points 2 days ago

That is not the interpretation of the study that I got. I think its not the fact that it was batman, I think it would have worked with a dinosaur costume just as well. It's more the disruption of the daily drudge that gets people more mindful and aware of their surroundings, which can make them nicer to other human beings.