"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."
-Edmund Burke
Is there an idiom, phrase or preferably a single word that we can call people that could have helped but didn't? Bystanders don't necessarily have help to give. Cowards aren't particularly helpful either.
Addendum:
For example, once EMS has arrived on scene, bystanders are encouraged not to try to help, unless they're a nurse and therefore have the necessary skills to, and sometimes even then so. If in The Service, I would not want a coward (a liability) next me holding the line. Not to take anything away from these great answers, or to insist on a non-militaristic point of view, I would like to veer into the commercial or civilian realm in which I find this quote most often alluded to, E.G., "If we all gave 5 cents we could cure cancer tomorrow." Pretend most of us did give 5 cents and we did cure cancer, but you didn't give. You are now a(n) ____?… yes, I know what we call them, but what is their proper designation?
Best Answer
Per Merriam-Webster:
This assumes that involvement is obligatory (even if not assigned). If such was the case, avoidance — as in, not actually helping — is shirking.
The problem to answer is inherent in the question. It is the difference between could but didn't vs should but didn't.
As I mentioned in my comment, bystanders works as a term because anyone who isn't participating is a bystander. Coward has an implication of being afraid of doing the task.