We all must have seen something wrong happening around us sometime in our life, either directly or indirectly we all witness such things. Sometimes we choose to protest or object to these things and many times we decide to ignore them and move on for various reasons. Many times we are scared to protest or think that it's none of our business to interfere in these matters as they are not directly related to us. We all might have our own valid reasons for opposing or not opposing these things. But it is true that sometimes we do ignore social evils like bullying, discrimination, and harassment happening around us. One of the most common excuses people offer is that one person can not bring change, so what's the use of protesting? They think if these incidents don't directly affect us then why should we interfere? Many people also think that keeping quiet and not interfering in others' business is a good habit (yes, it is a good habit but not when some injustice is being done right in front of your eyes). I agree that losing patience is not a way of addressing any problem but that doesn't mean keeping quiet or ignoring them are any good options, rather I think they are worse. We must register our protest in some form whenever we witness injustice, we need to voice our opposition to such incidents in a very strong and clear voice. Many times silence is considered as an indirect approval for such acts, it encourages perpetrators to commit these crimes again and again.
Ignoring such incidents purposely or choosing to keep silent is as bad as committing those crimes. This bystander approach is very dangerous. When we choose to remain silent we give a message to perpetrators that people are okay with such behavior. We tell them that they can do such nasty things and get away with it. They get the impression that they can bully others, harass others, or trouble them and no one will dare to protest or confront them. The bystander approach provides encouragement to them. In private many people express their displeasure and concern about such things but this doesn't really matter if they ignore these things when they personally witness the real incident. As I said different people have different reasons for not reacting or ignoring these things, but I believe there is a strong reason and duty not to ignore them. Many times, perpetrators of such crimes try to physically intimidate the victims and because of this other people also get scared of them, they do this to spread fear with the hope that no one will protest, and many times they succeed. But if even some of us show little courage to speak up they might not get away so easily and will think twice in the future before committing the same crime. No one likes confrontation or enjoys any unpleasant scenario but many times that's the only option we have to stop social evils like bullying, discrimination, or harassment. If anyone remains silent even after facing some unjust due to lack of support from their surroundings they offer themselves as easy targets for similar incidents in the future. Such silence is an enemy of social justice.
We should raise our voices against any injustice or harassment. Nationality, race, religion, caste, political affiliation, gender, or anything else should not be the criteria behind criticizing any such crime. Mahatma Gandhi said once, "Hate the sin, not the sinner," we need to oppose injustice, not individuals, that individual is just a representative of that sick mindset we need to fight that mindset. So let's fight social evils together, silence is not an option, silence is an enemy of social justice.
Ignoring such incidents purposely or choosing to keep silent is as bad as committing those crimes. This bystander approach is very dangerous. When we choose to remain silent we give a message to perpetrators that people are okay with such behavior. We tell them that they can do such nasty things and get away with it. They get the impression that they can bully others, harass others, or trouble them and no one will dare to protest or confront them. The bystander approach provides encouragement to them. In private many people express their displeasure and concern about such things but this doesn't really matter if they ignore these things when they personally witness the real incident. As I said different people have different reasons for not reacting or ignoring these things, but I believe there is a strong reason and duty not to ignore them. Many times, perpetrators of such crimes try to physically intimidate the victims and because of this other people also get scared of them, they do this to spread fear with the hope that no one will protest, and many times they succeed. But if even some of us show little courage to speak up they might not get away so easily and will think twice in the future before committing the same crime. No one likes confrontation or enjoys any unpleasant scenario but many times that's the only option we have to stop social evils like bullying, discrimination, or harassment. If anyone remains silent even after facing some unjust due to lack of support from their surroundings they offer themselves as easy targets for similar incidents in the future. Such silence is an enemy of social justice.
We should raise our voices against any injustice or harassment. Nationality, race, religion, caste, political affiliation, gender, or anything else should not be the criteria behind criticizing any such crime. Mahatma Gandhi said once, "Hate the sin, not the sinner," we need to oppose injustice, not individuals, that individual is just a representative of that sick mindset we need to fight that mindset. So let's fight social evils together, silence is not an option, silence is an enemy of social justice.
Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.
[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]
Vinoba Bhave and Maun Vrat. Do try and read about it.
ReplyDeletehe used silence as a weapon to fight injustice (in form of mute protest) or remedy to get rid of his ego...but some people use it as a way to escape a situation where some action is required, the post is about that silence...where people ignore things which they shouldn't...
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