Bystanders

As Britney Spears would say, "There's only two types of people in the world, the ones that entertain, and the ones that observe."

I would say that I'm normally categorized as the part of the "ones that entertain", what with being a dancer and all. But obviously, the words "entertainers" and "observers" don't just apply to a show, but to our attitudes towards life. That is, the "active" and the "passive" sects of our society.

Anyway, the op-ed article in the Metro today was:

Pg 16, "Something's wrong here", Marc Lamont Hill

And it reminded me of a poem that used to be on the wall of my 7th grade classroom.

First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.

The article is specifically about the recently gang rape of a 15-year-old girl in California outside of a high school dance. Not only was the act in itself atrocious, but the non-action of passerbys, even ridicule of the girl, is what is truly heinous. At least 10 people walked by and did nothing, nothing to stop them, nothing to call authorities, nothing to save the dignity of a child being taken advantage of.

Professor Hill acknowledges that there are dangers to being one who "speaks out" instead of just one who "stands by". And of course, shows like Law & Order or CSI or any other crime-solving show perpetuates these fears. Oh no, what if I report someone and they come back to get revenge on me later? This is usually for the extremely paranoid of course, and I have to admit, I am one of those paranoid people. But even so, not doing anything in the face of a child being abused raises questions about the dwindling existence of humanity in our society.

And it's not just this particular isolated incident. There was a psychology study done many years ago in the wake World War II about our current society's ability to stand up against abused power. Basically, it looked like our will to challenge authority, even an artificial base-less one, is weak. However, this weakness has slowly morphed into a nonchalant attitude about the safety, well-being of innocent strangers.

We need to stop being people who just stand by. Don't just watch. Act.