A Bystander’s Role

“There are two kinds of evil people in this world. Those who do evil stuff and those who see evil stuff being done and don’t try to stop it.”Janis Ian, Mean Girls.

Often, people witness violent actions that range from bullying to crime. Lots of people tend to simply take a glance, then look the other way without hesitation. However, people should intervene in certain situations to help someone and prevent further danger.

Bullying, for example, often takes place in a public setting. In this case, I believe people should intervene to try and help the person. Bullies pick on the most vulnerable; they choose someone with fear in their eyes. Watching someone get hurt won’t do anything at all; it won’t stop anything or prevent anything. The action makes you a part of something violent and hateful. It’s just as bad as witnessing someone get hurt and doing nothing, as it is doing it.

Other examples include abuse and crime. A real account of a boy being abused is in  A Child Called ¨It” by Dave Pelzer. In a nutshell, this book is about the author’s past abuse and the hope he bled for someone to see and help him rid his pain. His brothers knew about the abuse; however, they did not do anything. People do not want to recognize someone who is in pain, especially if it does not affect them. They would rather just witness suffering even if it will cost someone their life. They don’t want to get involved, because they simply do not want to be a part of it. If someone chose to see the signs of abuse, they would have helped Pelzer out of his violent abuse.

No one wants trouble; getting involved will create trouble. However, potentially saving someone’s life is worth the trouble. You may not think you are “affiliated” in any way, but you are. Witnessing and having knowledge of a certain event is still a sort of involvement. You knew about it and never helped or did anything to prevent it from happening. Watching the evil doesn’t stop it and simply “wanting” to help but keeping your feet glued to the ground makes no difference.

If you see violence, you tell someone immediately, but don’t go blazing in to be the hero, because that could possibly place you in danger. However, if someone is being verbally bullied, it doesn’t take much to simply come up and tell them they’re awesome and to take them away from the situation. Gauge each situation and decide how you can best help: intervening, preventing, helping, all of which could save someone’s sanity and life.