Maame! I didn't want you to go. Where can I read more from you?

I loved Maame's column the most in the first round, ditto in the second round. She has a way of taking the ordinary and forcing us to think about it. We can never act unless we can "hear her scream" and as she notes, most of us don't even hear it.

My first experience with a potential violent crime was 20 years ago when I was walking the sidewalks of Broadway in New York City, and I saw one man chasing a woman. I don't know if this man was a stalker or mugger, why he was chasing her, or if he had a weapon on him, but she frantically ran across the busy street through multi-lane traffic, putting her life at risk. I was a young college student then, I stopped but did not know how to react, but what surprised me most is that everyone else in the crowded street just went about their own way, as if nothing really had happened. Maame's column answers why noone reacted, "Fear is a powerful deterrent to action. Fear will render a normally responsible person immobile. It will cause a person to go against his or her conscience and make excuses for why inaction is the best choice. Fear will mask itself as indifference."

Thank you Maame for your beautiful column. You are already a winner in this competition.

I have given more thought to this article.
When reading it, the reader should consider this. Although the focus of the story is the people that watched and did nothing, for fear, futility, resignation, any number of reasons.. please note, do not condemn those people. They have suffered years, more than a generation of people, have suffered that abuse from a system of police that do nothing but watch the rape...the courts that do nothing about the rape....state and federal law enforcement, U.S. Attorneys offices. Federal Courts...THAT DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ABOUT FIRST CLASS FELONY RAPE.

What are those people supposed to do? Vigilantism with get you double life.

There attitude is created, by the police that spend more time giving parking tickets, because it generates revenue, by police that will not put a rapist in prison, by police that watch the rape, and then, harass the woman that complains, forcing a woman to appear in court to watch videos of herself being raped,,,HOW MANY WOMEN HAVE BEEN RAPED IN AMERICA?? HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. HOW MANY WOMEN HAVE BEEN SENT TO COUNSELING AT THE CRIME VICTIMS CENTER, AND COUNSELED "GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE" AFTER THE RAPE? HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS..

Do not condemn those people, every single woman in America that has been raped, knows the same abuse by system of police, courts, the system that is funded with YOUR TAX DOLLARS... A system that fails to protect the woman being raped...Every woman that has been raped in America, knows the same abuse and degradation that is inflicted on ANY WOMAN THAT COMPLAINS OF RAPE....Those people watched, and heared the screaming...and did nothing, BECAUSE THEY ARE WELL AWARE THAT THE POLICE DO THE SAME.

Do not condemn those people, our government is currently spending billions to blow up Afghanistan for treating THEIR PEOPLE..like that...

Our own police can not put one rapist in prison...

That is why we hear her screaming..when she is raped in public...

What are those people supposed to do??
The police will do nothing..other than send the woman to counseling "get on with your life"....

BECAUSE THE PROGRAM IS FUNDED WITH 3 BILLION DOLLARS FROM OUR CONGRESS

IT IS CALLED...THE VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMENS ACT.

That is why we hear her screaming...when she is raped in public....in AMERICA

Do not condemn those people,

This column reads like a canned editorial that small newspapers buy from a service. I good idea, and a solid issue, but it tells us what we know with nothing that grabs me. If a person reads newspapers they have read stories of violence happening without those watching doing a thing about it. a trite phrase or two, and a good personal story, but will not get my vote. Maybe if she had told me something about human naure which is not so obvious.

This is a feel good piece that is remarkable only for its empty moralizing and logically inconsistent conclusion.

The writer vapidly argues that "Fear cannot be the ultimate victor" and that "our communities will not be intimidated" but does not explain how fear and intimidation can be defeated except by acts of individual heroism she minimizes.

And when she contends that "communities need to find ways to protect those who are moved to take a stand against violence", she fails to clarify how the artificial prop of the community organizations she valorises will eliminate the fear of personal reprisal she forcefully delineates.

Even more egregious is the logical contradiction of the writer's conclusion where she asserts "we do not need heroes, but ordinary people who are willing and prepared to act courageously when the time arises."

This fuzzy illogic prompts one to ask how an "ordinary" person who acts "courageously" is anything but a "hero"?

This is a feel good piece that is remarkable only for being replete with empty moralizing and a logically inconsistent conclusion.

The writer vapidly argues that "Fear cannot be the ultimate victor", and that "our communities will not be intimidated" but does not explain how fear and intimidation can be defeated except by acts of individual heroism.

And when she contends that "communities need to find ways to protect those who are moved to take a stand against violence", she fails to clarify how the artificial prop of these community organizations will eliminate the fear of personal reprisal.

Even more egregious is the logical contradiction of the writer's conclusion where she asserts "we do not need heroes, but ordinary people who are willing and prepared to act courageously when the time arises."

This fuzzy illogic prompts one to ask how an "ordinary" person who acts "courageously" is anything but a "hero"?

Mamme Gyamfi is my first choice. Congratulations!!!

About the rest, each of them is very good, better than most columnists of WaPo. Preferably, WaPo should fire all the existing, outdated and unexciting columinsts -- barring Robert Samuelson, Fareed Zakaria, Eugene Robinson, who still bring fresh perspective and are readable, and perhaps George Will, who is occasionally readable -- and fill the vacancies with the contenstants.

Among the contestants, the second place should go to Burton Richter, who writes very well on sciences and who will bring new perspective to the stale pages of WaPo. The next slot should have gone to Courtney Martin but she should be disqualified, as she is already a professional writer. Kevin Hoffman, Lydia Khalil, and Mara Gay, in that order, should get the other spots, if Martin is left out.

It held my interest and introduced some valid arguments for acting in the face of violence. I liked this one, but thought her 'b boy piece' wasn't as well written and had a less mature approach.

This is well written and I am in agreement with the person who reminds us that this is not a thesis, she is a pundit.It makes us think about why this happens and what needs to be done. The violence and lack of response is , in my opinion, due to the ever increasing violance we see on TV, in video games, and the movies. People, especially the young, are calloused. I say especially the young becuse they are exposed more and at an earlier age before they have had the oppportunity to gain sensitivity and proper values. adding to the problem is the failure in some households to ingrain a sense of selfworth, self esteam, and outrage against wrong doing. Women with a belief in themselves and their value, would not allow an abusive relationship to continue. Then our laws need to be strenghtened to be more forceful and punishing towards those who cross the line of decency. add to this, parents need to limit the TV, monitor TV and movies, limit the use of video games to age appropriate, and keep open dialoge with the family about what is being seen, absorbed, heard, and thought about. Communication, self respect , and respect for others will help in this on going problem.

I can't understand why M.Gyamfi begins with this important subject, the personal experience, but ignores the fact which she mentions at the beginning which is very relevant; is society not encouraged to be 'dismissive', no even 'conditioned' of crime? Don't we find that in this age, so-called regular people are not only afraid to help others when a crime is taking place in front of them, but in fact many of them now, not only watch but film the crime. Remember when YouTube viewers encouraged a boy to commit suicide, and the utterly disgusted response of the boy's father to those sub-human individuals. I think her argument needs more fine tuning, otherwise it was okay, but maybe wouldn't be my first pick. I have yet to read the others but thought, since the judges gave her a free pass she must be really good. I thought this one was so so.

I don't think the author really read all of the accounts otherwise she might have written a different piece on this. Fear of intervention in a crime is well known and written about over and over. Research and an opinion about why so many took pictures and watched would have been of more interest.

This one feels like a step down from her first column. I guess because it is an unchallenging subject, so there was no risk or intellectual battle in writing it. Who isn't in favor of overcoming fear and getting involved, if you can?

But while we're on the subject (and then, I guess Gyamfi is doing one of her jobs as a pundit by raising issues), what happens if you are a company employing men and women, and one night some of the men gang-rape one of the woman employees? And what if then, instead of reporting it to the authorities, you decide to LOCK UP THE WOMAN IN A TRAILER so that she cannot even call the police?

That would make you Halliburton, of course.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=3977702&page=1&page=1

And what if you voted to enable this company to do it again in the future (as they have in more than just the Jamie Leigh Jones case)? Well that would make you one of the following 30 Republican Senators, of course. Anything the boys at Halliburton want, they get.

http://senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=111&session=1&vote=00308

Alexander (R-TN)
Barrasso (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Brownback (R-KS)
Bunning (R-KY)
Burr (R-NC)
Chambliss (R-GA)
Coburn (R-OK)
Cochran (R-MS)
Corker (R-TN)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Crapo (R-ID)
DeMint (R-SC)
Ensign (R-NV)
Enzi (R-WY)
Graham (R-SC)
Gregg (R-NH)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Isakson (R-GA)
Johanns (R-NE)
Kyl (R-AZ)
McCain (R-AZ)
McConnell (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Roberts (R-KS)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Vitter (R-LA)
Wicker (R-MS)

Thank you, Ms. Gyamfi, for brining up the subject of people afraid to confront a gang rapist. But unlike your story, these Republicans were afraid to do it even from the safety of the Senate chamber.

Are these judges the Three Blind Mice?

This columnist chooses a topic that is completely uncontroversial and milks it for everything it isn't worth.

I found myself screaming in disgust at their choice, and believe it or not, thousands of readers came to my rescue!

This piece was everything you hope for when reading an editorial, well written, human, thoughtful and honest. Congratulations, pundit; you deserve the honor.

Congratulations, Ms. Gyamfi on being the Pundits' Choice for this round! Looking forward to see what you give us in Round Three!

Maame, you are far and away the best of the group. Excellent article about a topic that needs to be front and center. Your take on it was fresh and important with thoughtfulness and well researched. Great job. Keep it up and we'll be seeing you on a regular basis.

Well written and relevant topic. #1 so far.

I read all the essays. This is the only one that stayed with me all week. I hope you make it to the next round. I want to hear more.

This is nice, albeit unexceptional, piece that underscores a social problem without illuminating it.

Good facts , great perspective , very topical, well written and a call to arms for the rest of we bystanders to not let an opportunity to make a difference or think that someone else will surelty call or that help will mircaulously arrive. She's at the top so far in my book.

Insightful, surprising, thoughtful, relevant, concise. And she presents an action plan for any officials who sincerely want to grapple with this problem.

Good God, people; she's not writing a thesis here. Punditry is all about capturing emotion within a larger framework. Ms. Gyamfi masterfully combines her past experience with her current thinking about a terrible crime in California.

Ms. Gyamfi, your article is spot on.

Very well written. Timely and to the point. I like this pundent's writing.

I hate it when my comments don't post. Anyway, Ms.Gyamfi, you have my vote.

Although I liked Jeremy Haber's effort this morning, Ms.Gyamfi is still ahead with me.

Commentary is everywhere we look. We can hardly avoid it. What saddens me is the degree to which "pundits" can direct debate and influence outcomes all while having no responsibility or personal career stake in those outcomes. They take no hits. As long as they attract an audience or generate clicks, they will continue to pontificate from on high and be rewarded for it.

So it seems there is no outward incentive to get it right. That can only come from within. How Ms.Gyamfi slipped through the cracks in this airtight system, God only knows. Which is why I'll be casting my vote for this lady.

HUMAN PERSPECTIVE AMID THE CLUTTER.

This article reminded me of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson. A real hero doesn't think before reacting. They don't run away. I thought it was odd you didn't speak to this aspect of rescue. What if that someone screaming was your 13-year-old daughter or little sister? Does fear only apply with strangers?
However, you write honestly about your own experience. Still #1 in my book.

NO ONE HEARD ME SCREAMING

THEY JUST WATCHED AND DID NOTHING
OTHER THAN TELL ME TO QUIT MY JOB

IN MOST THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, WHEN A MAN RAPES WOMEN IN PUBLIC

THEY PUT HIM IN PRISON

BUT, IN AMERICA, THEY LET THEM RAPE WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

THEY SAID I SHOULD HAVE QUIT MY JOB, BUT, I KEPT THINKING SOMEONE SHOULD TAKE HIM AWAY FROM THERE, BECAUSE, HE RAPES WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE,

THEY SAID I AM CRAZY,,

I AM SURE THEY WOULD PUT HIM IN PRISON IF HE DID THAT AT WAL-MART.

BUT, HE RAPED ME IN THE WORKPLACE,
THEN, YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO QUIT YOUR JOB,

THEY SAID I AM CRAZY...

I AM SURE IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO RAPE WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE

SO FAR, NO ONE HAS ENFORCED THOSE LAWS

HE RAPED ME, AND THE COP JUST WATCHED AND DID NOTHING

EVERYONE DID NOTHING
ABOUT WORKPLACE RAPE

NO ONE HEARD ME SCREAMING

SO FAR, THEY ONLY CONCERN OF ANY ONE IS:

HOW MUCH SHOULD IT COST A CORPORATION TO RAPE A WOMAN

THEY TOLD ME THAT CORPORATIONS CAN RAPE THE CONTRACT LABOR

"NO CRIME ALLEGED" IS IN THE FEDERAL COURT ORDER

NO ONE HEARD ME SCREAMING

SCREAMING DOES NOT HELP ANYWAY

THEY SAY YOU ARE CRAZY, FOR SCREAMING

This is a provocative piece--ready to challenge the reader's instincts, and not afraid to take a moral stand. Like Gyamfi's first entry, this piece drew me in and kept me interested--the writing has momentum and velocity. Gyamfi writes with a powerful, compelling style. Thumbs up!

Compelling but lacking in attention to the ethnic aspects of this crime and lacking in useful fix-suggestions. The last two 'graphs talk about what should be, not how to do it.

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thanks!!!

I believe you would represent a preacher-pundit, with call to action pieces pointing out moral decay. Overall I find this somewhat interesting to read, and clearly you can write powerfully.

The problem is that you walk a tight line on such work and eventually you will drop a bomb that really rubs someone the wrong way.

On this present piece you could have looked into maybe Myer's Briggs type indicators which map out people by personality and how they respond in crisis verses normal conditions. Adrenaline seems to sharpen some people, and it seems to stupify others. There is a reason why some people make better emergency respondants than others, and some just go to pieces under pressure. Implying moral fault by failure to act assumes that all inaction is inaction that was deliberately chosen.

Furthermore, you need to look at how some states had to pass good Samaritan laws to protect those who helps others from lawsuits. The protection is not always uniform or clear.

overall, I liked Gyamfi's writing style. I could relate to it as a human being. AT the tender age of 17, I dealt with a parent's alcoholism and suicide. I was a bystander who felt fear in my home.

LIke a some other commenters, I felt that Gyamfi's conclusion was weak. The call to action was not compelling. There are plenty of community resources that help citizens learn to stand up to crime: citizen patrols, neighborhood block watch, national night out, etc. Give your readers a place to go for action.

I think that while these stories are interesting they miss the point in the Richmond High School attack. The columnist's assumption is that those witnessing the attack were either intimidated by fear, or overcome by the bystander effect. Based on what I've read about the attack, I think we need to think about it in different terms. This was an inter-ethnic crime and really no different than the rapes in Bosnia and the Balkans, where young men of one ethnicity (Hispanic) rape a girl of another ethnicity (white) and brutally treat her as sub-human because of the ethnic differences. In this context, the failure to intervene occurs not because of fear, but because the victim is viewed as "the other" and a worthy target for ethnic humiliation, vengeance, and a display of the power of one group over another. That is why even when police questioned the first suspects arrested, most showed utter indifference to the fate of the girl -- until informed of the seriousness of the charges against them. Remember, this girl was raped, beaten, sodomized, had a bottle inserted into her body, and left in critical condition. I know how hard it is to muster the courage to intervene in a crime in progress. In Los Angeles many years ago, a friend and I walking on the periphery of a park heard screams. At first we misunderstand them as people playing. Then the tone sounded more urgent. I ran into the darkened park, followed by my buddy, toward the sounds. It was group of three teenagers being attacked by a gang of Chicanos. One boy had been stabbed trying to prevent them from raping his sister. Our intervention caused the gang to flee, before the girl was raped. I knew it was dangerous to run into the dark park, not knowing what the trouble was, how many assailants there were, or how many weapons they had. But helping is what a decent person does. Standing by, encouraging, or participating is what a collaborator does. So we shouldn't condemn all young people at Richmond High, or blame society at large, or label this a result of the "bystander effect," when the fact is it was a vivious ethnic crime no different than gang rapes in Bosnia or Sierra Leone. The real question to ask if what we will do to eradicate the gangs that plague our country.

I 1st remember this theme from the 50's or 60's. A woman was attacked and murdered in NYC. Her screaming was heard out of open windows in the apartments surrounding the incident according to newspaper accounts but nobody called the cops! It was reported as terrible indifference; the quick answer on 911 didn't exist as of yet. Not fear mind you, indifference. People everywhere seem to have a feeling that victims are somehow involved. They shouldn't associate with dangerous people. They shouldn't be in the wrong place at the wrong time. And certainly you shouldn't intervene in other peoples conflicts. Not fear...indifference. Too bad, so sad.

I liked it. The stories of people ignoring the plight of others have been with us for a long time and, that is the point, if you don't stand for something, then you will stand for anything.

Strong story, no ending. A pundit is to have an answer, but there was none.

I liked this. Well written until the conclusion which was a little too cookie cutter. It's rare to hear how hard it is to make these type of decisions. My martial art sifu once stepped in to stop a man from continuing to beat his girlfriend only to have the girlfriend try and stab him in the back with a knife (he disarmed her). I once stepped in between a 250 lb night club bouncer and the semi unconsciouse guy laying on the floor he was kicking (he stopped kicking him). Neither of us was hurt in these incidents and both of us were well trained. It's hard to do what's right and sometimes you never stop paying for doing what's right. But that's not a reason not to do it. In the end you still have to live with yourself.

I wasn't convinced that fear was the only motivating factor for witness inaction in the Richmond case. I wanted Ms. Gyamfi to explore other possibilities.
I did like the mix of personal experience and recent events. A bit of paragraph arranging and tighter writing would have improved it, but the concept was strong enough to have impact as it was written.
I would have liked stronger recommendations at the end...we've heard what she wrote before.
Although I would have liked more originality, I will say Ms. Gyamfi's writing style has appeal. She manages to give the reader a chance to see him/herself in her columns, and that keeps readers coming back.

Well done. I complained about Gay's piece being poorly constructed, no such problem with this column. This was a well thought out and interesting piece. I would be interested in reading more from Maame. What more could you ask for from an op-ed writer. Brava, Madame Maame. Brava!

Very good.

Next Great Pundit Scorecard:

Selected: 5 men, 5 women – no surprise there. Met the D word requirement – Diverse group.

Seven were either bad, dumb, light weight, single issue writers(3), Obama bashing, Fox news supporting, or watered down with “fair and balanced” writing (5). Not one did a credible job covering a big, national issue. Not one supported the president.

Three were actually quite good, all by women. One was youth’s view, one single issue, one was personal and very insightful. All covered big, important national issues.

Bottom line, WP did a poor job selecting. 5 men, 5 women - seriously? Several were so bad the contestants have no chance to win. Single issue writers, gone in 60 seconds. Excluding the 3, no depth, no insight, no original thought. Oh, I guess in that way it does mimic with current crop of opinion writers in the WashPost.

A strong piece of writing. I'm concerned that by the time I was 7/8ths through, I was feeling like the situation is pretty hopeless. The options offered at the end are good, but feel a little puny compared to the problems movingly described by Gyamfi.

I really appreciate that this is a direct and personal account of where we are as a society and what we can and must do to make our own society better. I also appreciate that Gyamfi does not waste any time in wringing her hands over how uniquely low we have fallen. It's been 45 years since Kitty Genovese and we haven't really gotten any worse. The shame is that we haven't gotten any better. The only difference is that today we have cellphone cameras.

Unlike the other "pundit" contestants, you actually write well, but the conclusion you draw is hopelessly pedestrian and of little value or insight.

Another great article from Mamme. Keep them coming1

Ms. Gyamfi, you tell a good story and bring light to an important issue. I often wonder at the seemingly callous nature of many bystanders until I recall the brutal and suspicious treatment by law enforcement directed at many well meaning witnesses to crimes. The police rarely offer the necessary kind of protection and comfort for witnesses who risk coming forward...why else are there anonymous tip lines in every community?

Unless and until the law enforcement professionals weed out the crass, badge-wearing thugs in their midst, our society will continue to fill the ranks of those who did not and can not hear the blood-curdling screams next door. Sadly, there are other factors at play in your narrative...other factors that do not include only the potential treatment by the perpetrators. You can not neglect the all too often pattern of abuse, brutality, hostility and investigation foisted upon the "witnesses" in society by the jack-booted thugs roaming among us...unchecked and undeterred.

Remember, many prosecutors and police are of the mind that rape victims probably asked for it...and that witnesses to neighborhood drug trading are often viewed as mere turf rivals by the investigating police. Being a witness has its own perils...and the police should not be one of them.

I never thought I would say this - but perhaps its time for all citizens to carry guns or tasers just for such occasions.

Appreciate the honesty of this article and its author.

The attack in CA makes me wonder if we have been so anesthetized to violence that the onlookers at the rape just considered it another game for their amusement.

As for the personal example of reporting a crime, too often a domestic violence incident is not considered important to the court system and the perpetrator is given a slap on the wrist and then goes on to escalate in violent behavior. Plus, the victim does not have alternatives to allow him/her to leave the attacker.

Many thanks to this author - you have my vote!

This is the best by far! I learned things, she draws in a lot of facts and she draws in her personal experiences, something the professional columnists can't do, because it's her life experiences. And she calls for good civic action. I didn't learn a thing from Lydia or Mr. Jackson, and probably little from Ms. Gay. And certainly none of the others gave me an ideas of how I could help solve a problem as Maame Gyamfi did, and she wrote well.

Ms. Gyamfi: Yes, Yes, YES! A moving and powerful piece. This is the kind of humanizing writing that leaves me feeling it was worth more than the time it took to read it. It challenges the reader to think. It is moral without being preachy, it is "we" instead of I. It makes me feel that this writer cares about society as a whole, not just generating more reader clicks on a counter. But give this lady a perch and she WILL generate those clicks.

I can't say enough good about this piece.
As one who cares much about reading and writing, my standard of excellence might go a bit beyond what the judges want: Intelligence, freshness of approach, good writing skill and striking imagery are simply not enough to justify taking up editorial space. It's my belief that if you have the ability and get the forum, it is morally incumbent that you "Be the change" commensurate with what you have been given. Once a writer has earned my respect, as you have done here, abundantly, well then I am happy to read your occasional "fluff" piece.

I'll be very, very surprised if I vote for anyone else in this round. Great writing.

"...while some individuals reported the crime to police, others watched the rape, sent texts to their friends about it, and even took pictures of the victim while she lay on the ground."

If some witnesses reported the crime and others watched, where was the fear? Some did the right thing, and others took advantage of a female suffering in a sexual crime. It was more about the effects of pornography and tolerance of violence against women than it was about fear.

Also, the word "community" or "communities" is used 6 times in 2 paragraphs of this column. It's become the most overused and meaningless word in our language, and it's weak and inadequate in this case. "...it is incumbent upon our communities to teach their citizens how to respond in a crisis and provide support networks to reinforce the sense of community" is a bad sentence and a bad way to say "call 911, and help your fellow human beings."

Gyamfi's column was a nicely written piece based both on her personal experience and some research. I found a balance between the two so that her position is not one supported by dry statistics nor theories presented as fact. I appreciate that she didn't make me feel that if I disagreed with her, I would be considered mentally deficient, morally bankrupt or a social/political extremist of the left or the right, something professional pundits unfortunately do all too often. This is 400 (or so) well put together words with a a good balance between information, opinion and advocacy.

I do happen to agree with her position that fear is a factor in these situations. As a criminal defense attorney and a native of South Los Angeles, I find that fear is a greater factor in peoples' failure to report a crime in progress than apathy. I've seen it out in the world, in my work as well as in my family.

Good thing Gyamfi didn’t follow the media herd on this one. Good job.

I can't say that anything was offered here that is not pretty obvious. Intervening in a violent crime takes some guts, occasionally a lot, and it may not turn out well. But it is always the right thing to do.

It seems odd to me that some citizens may need to be told this these days.

This was very good, I've read many editorials in this paper that didn't do as good a job. In stating its conclusion it needed slightly more focus on its message. I find the message to be that people shouldn't have to be heroes to be responsible citizens, they should be able to expect the support of the community.

great - a controversial stance on a subject - well reasoned / argued. i appreciate hearing the other side. also, and i haven't heard this anywhere - but there is well known research that demonstrates that the increase in witnesses will lead to a smaller likelihood that the crime gets reported...

I appreciated the fact that this dealt seriously with a public safety issue and wasn't a partisan poke at the political opposition more or less thinly disguised. We hardly need more of that.

Still - I'd like more detail on the events and context of the rape before I buy the theory that the public reaction is explained by fear. The proposed solution amounts to little more than 'something must be done' - I'd like to see more development of her ideas.

Good article. Although I would not agree that the inaction of those watching the CA high school dance rape was based on "fear." They were fearing nothing.

In this column, Maame Gyamfi backs up each opinion with ample evidence. I'm not saying that she exhausted the potential evidence (you can't, short of writing a multi-volume tome).

Excellent work, in my book - and the first-rate writing/debating technique is in the service of an excellent point that's very pertinent in many of our lives.

A big "well done" here.

Nice, Maame. This held my interest throughout. I like the message. As of right now, you are my #1.

Maame Gyamfi continues to be one of my favorite writers in this series. The topic was new, well laid out and enlightening because it was so different from something I would normally seek out on my own.

This article was terrific! I thought it put a different slant on the story of the California gang rape incident. I liked how Ms. Gyamfi brought in her own personal story and admits that doing the right thing does not always "come out roses" like it does in the movies. The freshest part of the story was the call for community action to support people who do come forward. No one ever talks about how to protect the so-called "snitches". So far, she is in my top 3 for this contest. I am looking forward to reading more articles.

This piece was very well constructed. Her essay exposed the truth of the matter -- that there is a lot of gray area in how people react in atypical situations. We think that we would all do the right thing, but what are the odds that each person who saw and didn't step in was so far removed from the majority of the country?
Unfortunately, there are no easy answers to how we collectively agree to protect each other.
This columnist really made me think -- I will vote for her!

Wonderful piece, Ms. Gyamfi! This is the first piece I've seen that didn't just demonize everyone, and looked at the ever present fear factor. The personal story was very engaging, and drove the point home in a way that mere statistics could not. Between this piece and your last submission, you definitely deserve to be America's next great pundit!

Thank you, Maame. Clear. Insightful. Nuanced, yet direct. Not just an opinion, but a "thought piece."

Exellent article! Well written, great topic, and it kept my attention from start to finish.

Two thumbs up!

"The fear is real."

That is my favorite line. She's right on the money with that one. Anyone who lives in my area will tell you.

Great job! A little preachy at the end. You made me think.

I came across this meet the pundits feature while skimming the Post and I decided to check out these so-called pundits. This Maame Gyamfi is clearly a cut above the rest. Her new, refreshing out-of-the-box perspectives on the issues of the day are extremely thought-provoking and true breath of fresh air from the usual pundit dribble. She is definitely a star on the rise and I look forward to reading her perspectives on current events and pop culture for many years to come. Good job, Washington Post on finding such a refreshing new voice!