Doing Nothing

As I finish up my Associates degree, one of the last classes I have to take is Communication Across Differences. The class primarily focus on how if people understand their differences better they will be able to “get along better.” The main points of the class are on privilege, power, domination, racism, sexism, and the other “isums”. One point that was made by the text book (Privilege, Power & Difference by Allan G. Johnson) was that one of the most dominate forms of supporting the “isums” is standing by and doing nothing.

This really took me by surprise maybe because it’s something I never really thought about. Yet the more I thought about it the more it seemed to make sense. Often times I’ll hear people say things like “It’s not like I did anything to hurt the situation” or “Not like this is my fault.” In many of these instances however we have done nothing to stop it. I know I’m guilty of this. Standing by and watching people get made fun of, mocked, tortured. I mean it’s not like I’m the one doing it so it doesn’t matter right.

Wrong, many would argue that this is just as bad as doing the deed. I don’t know if I would go that far. I do know that I have decided to try to take a stand against injustice though. It’s time to stop being apathetic and start being active.