A New York woman just jumped in to help another girl when she noticed a group of men approaching her at night. “ I’m like still shaking,” she said when recounting the events.
In a video with over 461,00 viewers, Megan Chacalos (@meganchacalos), an actress and current host of Broadway Interludes presented by Art Lab, said she noticed the girl getting on the train with her at midnight after a long work day.
“I just got done at a Broadway event in Times Square,” she said. “ …She was on the same car as me, and it was very empty. I noticed her right away ’cause she’s wearing hot pink.”
She noticed that the girl had a large pair of Beats headphones, along with her style and aesthetic. Chacalos clarified that all New York metro passengers should be aware of their surroundings when traveling.
“ I say [this] with so much love…I do not say that to victim-blame in any way, but all I’m saying is please,” she said. “You need to be aware of your surroundings. Do not have giant headphones [on the train].”
Getting off the train at the same spot
They got off the train at the same spot. They ended up walking in the same direction for about two blocks, with the girl walking diagonally across the street. It led Chacalos to question why the girl has headphones on for a midnight walk, especially considering the fact that drunk, delirious, and often drug-induced people wander the streets of New York.
Then, a group of guys approached the girl from an alcove, and Chacalos quickly realized that she needed to help. Her moral compass was pulling at her, as the girl didn’t notice them while listening to her music.
She said she kept going back and forth in her head, as another part of her warned against getting involved. As a five-foot-three woman, she said she knew she couldn’t put herself in danger, especially late at night. As one of the men continued following the girl down the street and toyed with her, she decided she couldn’t just walk away.
“You know what, F it… because she needs help,” she recalled thinking. She added that she hoped someone would do the same for her if she were ever in that position.
She jumps in
Chacalos followed behind, and after a few blocks, the girl noticed the man trailing her. That’s when Chacalos jumped into action. She ran across the street, nearly getting hit by a cab in the process, while making loud tongue clicks to get the man’s attention. “I go, ‘Uhuh, uhuh, uhuh,’ and I start doing that ’cause I have a really loud tongue click,” she said, laughing nervously as she recalled the moment.
She remembered the advice of a former professor, Irene Alby, who told her students that performing monologues or speaking in character voices would make her seem unpredictable if she were ever in a dangerous situation. She began muttering to appear “crazier” than the men harassing and following the girl.
The tactic worked
This tactic ended up working–the man walked off after muttering that he didn’t want to deal with the situation.
After he left the area, Chacalos finally approached the girl, who started crying. When they finally got a chance to speak, Chacalos let her know that the man had been following her since Penn Station.
Chacalos offered to walk her home, which Sarah refused. Instead, Chacalos walked with her for a few blocks.
She tapered toward the end of her video with a message for Sarah and her audience: “ Sarah, if you’re out there, I hope you’re OK… Please don’t stress about it. We’re safe now.”
The bystander effect
The bystander effect refers to the idea that “the more people who are observing someone in trouble, the less likely each person is to help.” That’s because helping assumes risk that people oftentimes would prefer someone else to take.
More and more people are becoming aware of the “bystander effect” because of the Charlotte, North Carolina, fatal train stabbing of Iryna Zarutska. Zarutska received little to no help from other passengers, going limp within 21 seconds after the stabbing. It took half a minute for someone to approach and help. Before that, her murderer had harassed and frightened her multiple times, with Zarutska visibly terrified in surveillance video released by the Charlotte Area Transit System.
Commenters weighed in on the situation. One viewer wrote, “[Yeah]… the bystander effect needs to be removed from [New York City], I’m just so tired of people (in CROWDED settings, mind you) not helping out others in obvious distress.”
The Mary Sue has reached out to Chacalos via email for more information and comment.
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