That’s the question everyone is asking about the horrific photo on Tuesday’s New York Post cover showing a man clinging to the wall of a subway track as a train approached.
The Post, tasteful as ever, ran the sensational headline “DOOMED/Pushed on the subway track, this man is about to die” with the picture.
The man, Ki-Suck Han, reportedly had been pushed onto the tracks by an assailant at Manhattan’s 49th St. subway station. He tried to climb out, but was hit by the train and tossed “like a rag doll.” He died soon after.
New York Post freelance photographer R. Umar Abbas, who was on the platform at the time, didn’t try to assist Han, but he did have time to squeeze off at least
two shots. He says he tried to warn the train operator by firing his flash.
But would a few flash bursts convey the danger to the driver? Waving one’s arms would seem to be more effective.
The photo looks to be a wide-angle shot, meaning that
the man was actually closer to the photographer than it appears. The train is closer as well, but it seems likely that he could have reached the man before the train.
So why didn’t he? Here are a few possible explanations:
1) He was afraid of being pul led onto the tracks. Self-preservation is a legitimate concern, if not a very noble one in this case.
2) Bystander effect (Genovese Syndrome.) He didn’t want to get involved (beyond tripping his flash). Nobody else on the platform helped either.
3) He wasn’t strong enough to pull Han off the tracks. This is the Post’s defense of Abbas’ actions.
4) His photojournalistic instincts took over. He saw the opportunity for a dramatic shot, one he presumably was paid for, and went for it.
Take your pick.
Life is full of stories of people risking their lives to save the lives of strangers. They renew one’s faith in humanity.
There was a chance for that kind of a selfless gesture Monday on a New York subway platform. Tragically, no one stepped up.
it is pathetic
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