Stand Up, Step In
I have always loved living near the East Coast. The brisk cold water that was so refreshing as a child has become too harsh for me in my older years. A lot of things in life are like that. We tolerate things differently as we mature.
From childhood to my early adult years, life was filled with turmoil and various levels of stressful conflict and strife. The drama of those days is not something I tolerate any more. I shrug more. People are people, full of frailty, stupidity and wrath at times, but they can also be generous, compassionate and thoughtful.
My son showed us a video experiment last night. It was held on a college campus. The videographer was off in the distance and the subjects were acting out a bullying scene. The goal was to test the student body to see who would respond the the attack. The results were startling. Many students walked away quietly, trying not to make eye contact or get involved in any way. A few stood up for the victim.
That was sad, but as my husband pointed out it has always been that way. No one stood up for him in school when he was brutally harassed and beaten every week.
What is it about minding our business that is confusing? Where is the line? When we see someone being taken advantage of, hurt in some way or in danger, shouldn’t we speak up?
“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” I heard as a child and have told my children. How does that play out practically in our lives? We mind our own business first. We work, pay our bills, take care of our family’s needs and then expand the circle as we can to help out friends and charities, sponsor a child in Haiti or an elderly widow in Bulgaria.
That’s all fine and good, but what of injustice? There are many ways we help fight injustice. Giving to charity is one way. One can give to advocacy groups and others fighting for the rights of impoverished or oppressed people. Or being a voice on social media and in person.
I offered help to people at abortion facilities for a few years. Giving them literature and resources to get practical help, counseling for their needs to be met and so they wouldn’t kill their children. This is a readily available site for me, since I am not in school.
In school, one can be alert and step in whenever there is any bullying going on; call a teacher or another student, record the incident on your phone, step into the situation if it’s safe.
Tolerating injustice isn’t something any of us should out grow. How do you ‘step in’?