content-documents/house-oversight-nov/1d/HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021270.md

---
title: "House Oversight: Estate Documents (Nov 12) (HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021270)"
source: "House Oversight: Estate Documents (Nov 12)"
sourceUrl: "https://www.justice.gov/epstein"
date: "2026-01-01"
category: "House Oversight"
eftaNumber: "HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021270"
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externalUrl: "https://ep-nov-12.greg.technology"
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1549, and various volunteers and
agencies offered medical assistance.
These rescue efforts were not motivated
by personal or commercial self-interests,
and none of the commercial vessel
captains was lauded as a hero. Their
efforts received less attention because
their actions were precisely what we
expect of one another.
It is the unusual, not the
commonplace, that is noticed. On
March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese parked
near her home in Kew Gardens, New
York, and proceeded to her residence in
a small apartment complex. Winston
Moseley, a business machine operator
who later confessed that his motive was
simply to kill a woman, overtook
Genovese and stabbed her twice in the
back. Genovese screamed, "Oh my
God, he stabbed me! Help me!", a call
that was heard by neighbors. When one
neighbor shouted at the attacker, "Leave
that girl alone," Moseley ran away.
Genovese, who was wounded and
bleeding, moved toward the apartment
building slowly and alone. Moseley
returned approximately 10 minutes later
and searched for Genovese. Finding her
nearly unconscious in a hallway of the
building, he continued his knife attack
on her and sexually assaulted her. The
entire attack unfolded over about half an
hour, and yet no one responded. The
first clear call for help to the police did
not occur until minutes following the
tinal attack, and Genovese died in an
ambulance en route to the hospital. The
number of people who were aware of
some aspect of the attack was estimated
to be from a dozen to more than three
dozen. One unidentified neighbor who
saw part of the attack was quoted in a
New York Times article as saying "I
didn't want to get involved." (19). The
notion that people might not go to the
Page 24
aid of another, even a stranger, in dire
need led to public outrage. Decades of
research led to the conclusion that the
ambiguity of the situation and the
diffusion of responsibility were
contributing factors.
These two news stories illustrate,
in very different ways, how invisible
forces sculpted by evolution and
cultivated by the environment act on our
species. When commercial boat captains
act against their own financial interests
to rescue others on a sinking aircraft, we
think nothing of it because we believe it
is what any individual in the same
situation would naturally do. When
observers of a brutal attack do nothing to
aid the victim, we are horrified because
we believe it goes against who we are as
a species. Humans are not motivated
solely by self interests but rather we
work together and help one another
when in need. We survive and prosper
in the long term through collective
concerns and actions, not by solely
selfish pursuits (20).
Danger Signals
The stories of the sardine ball
and the penguin huddle suggest that it is
dangerous to be on the social perimeter.
Living on the perimeter threatens the
lives and genetic legacy of humans, as
well. Epidemiological studies have
found that social isolation is not only
associated with lower levels of
happiness and well being but with broad
based morbidity and mortality (21).
Moreover, humans are such meaning-
making creatures that perceived social
isolation is at least as important a
predictor of adverse outcomes on human
health and well being as is objective
social isolation (22). Writers may spend
long periods by themselves, but the
envisioned readers make this time feel
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_021270