Sheepdog Mentality

In 2012, 58-year-old Ki Suk Han was pushed onto the subway tracks in New York City. Even though more than 60 seconds passed before an oncoming train hit the man, a group of up to eighteen bystanders simply stood on the platform and looked on as the train approached and ran him over. One man even had time to snap a photo of Han’s last moments.Six months earlier, 49-year-old Patricia Villa was grabbed and thrown onto the same NYC tracks as Mr. Han. One of her classmates, Luis Polanco, chased down the attacker, punched him, and then, hearing others yell for someone to save her and that a train was coming, turned and joined a group who pulled her off the tracks.Two nearly identical situations. In the first, bystanders look on and do nothing as a man is killed. In the second, they step in to save a life.Why do some men freeze up and react passively in a crisis, while others take action? Why do some run away from danger and others run toward it?Why are some men sheep and other men sheepdogs?And which one are YOU?