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Ralph Nader killed Kitty Genovese



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New Yorker Kitty Genovese was raped and then stabbed to death in the early morning hours of March 13, 1964. News reports at the time say that some 38 neighbors, at one point or other during the drawn out attack, heard or saw Genovese being attacked. Only one neighbor, after Genovese lay dying, called the police, too late.

What does Ralph Nader have to do with Kitty Genovese? Because by voting for Nader you become one of Kitty's neighbors. Why? Read on.

I've been thinking about the arguments the Nader voters make about how they weren't responsible for Gore losing last time around, and how they won't be responsible if Kerry loses this time either.

Their argument goes something like this:

1. I'm not responsible for Gore (or Kerry) doing so badly in the polls that they so desperately need my vote in the first place; and

2. Lots of other Dems and independents didn't vote for Gore, and had they changed their vote Gore could have won without me. So it's not my fault.

I suspect that some of Kitty's neighbors may have felt a little bit of point 1 - what was she doing coming home at 3:15AM? This was 1964 after all. And I suspect a lot of her neighbors felt point 2 - after all, 37 others could have saved her, so how am I responsible?

This is where the Nader voter kicks in.

You all watched Gore's campaign die in November of 2000. At the time, you figured his death was partly his own doing, and you very much felt (and still feel) that lots of others could have saved him, so why is everyone pointing their fingers at you.

The problem, however, is the simple fact that had any one of Kitty's neighbors intervened, Kitty would be alive today. And had 537 of you intervened in Florida in 2000, Gore would be president today.

Sure, lots of other voters dropped the ball in 2000, and lots of them will drop the ball in 2004. And you know what, lots of neighbors let Kitty die, and a simple phone call form just one of them could have saved her. But that simple fact makes none of her neighbors less guilty for what happened, nor does it exonerate any anti-Bush voters who vote for Nader. Or to put it another way, it makes you no less guilty refusing to aid a dying man right in front of you simply because 20 of your buddies have joined you to enjoy the snuff fest.


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