Week #6 - Advocacy

            In life it is important to advocate for those who are unable to advocate for themselves. As a society, we praise those who go out of their way to come to the aid of others. The news channels are full of stories about ordinary people rescuing cats and saving drowning children. We love the warm feeling we get inside when people do good things. However fuzzy feelings aside, when push comes to shove (sometimes literally) people are more likely to do absolutely NOTHING. This is called the Bystander Effect.

            Malala and her father are some of the few people to overcome the bystander effect and take action in a time of need. For Malala it was standing up to the Taliban’s demented regime, but for common Americans what do we have to come against? One thing is neglect/abuse.

             In a scenario brought forth in class we discussed an altercation between a young man and woman in the school parking lot. The man was yelling at the woman and becoming physical with her. Although approximately eighty people walked past this disturbing scene only one person stopped. This one person did not say anything, but only gave the man a stern look, causing him to walk away angrily. The girl was left visibly shaken up. Although an older woman stopped and helped, 80 people did nothing.

            What causes our cowardly non-actions? Some would say self-preservation. If you intervene in the situation the man is likely to yell at you or even assault you. Others would say that it is not their business to intervene in someone else’s life. However are we not all connected? Are we not all human? Do we not have some sense of camaraderie with our fellow man? It is our responsibility to be an activist. It is our responsibility to be advocates. Would you not want someone to advocate for you if you could not? Of course you would!