Is there more crime in staying quiet than doing the act? Is it most offensive when you do not say or do anything at all? I couldn’t agree more; in fact, what makes it truer is its growing epidemic. As humans, we go by influence; we act upon the majority’s conduct. While one person does wrong, the others become accomplices and do ten times worse. Therefore, everyone is guilty of the same crime but in different degrees. First off, let me explain how powerful influence is in the human society. Personally, I think it may be due to the reason that people in general lack confidence. We tend to let others think for us; we rather listen and follow than think on our own. Secondly, influence can also overwhelm individuals; majority of the population are too intimidated to oppose the government, tradition, etc. Although we may not immediately admit to our weakness towards pressure, we know by history that it is true. Silence is a dangerous epidemic because we do not like being questioned. If a hundred people can speak for you, why would you resist? An example can be as simple as bullying in school. When one kid is the center of negative attention, the rest are just happy not to be the target. Maybe it’ll start in grammar school but it will carry on to high school.
In Martin Luther King Jr’s essay, he clearly states that there must be an immediate action against the long overdue hate crime against the non-Whites. The segregation between the colored and the Whites has been too long tolerated that change is hard to see; that is what omission does. When you let one thing happen, another comes at a worse condition and it becomes harder to counter. “We will have to repent… not merely for the hateful words and actions of bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people” (King, Jr 534). Not saying anything is as good as supporting it; when you do not testify against a crime, you might as well have done it. Elie Weisel in The Perils of Indifference talks of the similar dilemma:
It is so much easier to look away from victims. It is so much easier to avoid such rude interruptions to our work, our dreams, our hopes. It is, after all, awkward, troublesome, to be involved in another person's pain and despair. Yet, for the person who is indifferent, his or her neighbor are of no consequence. And, therefore, their lives are meaningless. Their hidden or even visible anguish is of no interest. Indifference reduces the other to an abstraction.
Tolerating evil blind or confuse people’s morality. Individual actions change things but working together work miracles. One oppressor isn’t as strong as ten followers who then will have another set of ten. We work in pyramids through influence. People outside the crime have a better overview, in that they see outside of anger or impulse, which is why they are more liable.
Silence and indifference work hand in hand. You stay quiet because you fail to see the difference of what you can do/say. You also fail to acknowledge that there are other people who share the same belief and understand that together you can amend the injustice.
Wow; such powerful words. I really appreciate them! You spoke so truly when you said that others will stay silent because it’s easier for others to speak for them. How often do we see this? We see this all of the time. Your example is just perfect for it. “As long as I’m not being bullied, then I’m not going to say anything.” Of course, when you’re in elementary school or junior high, you don’t want to be a target so young. It seems like a justified response, but can you imagine the world we’d live in if students stood up for those who were being bullied? So many suicides wouldn’t happen. But, our silence is deafening and it’s killing the resiliency in others. That’s such a big thing in our society right now.
ReplyDeleteOur silence is a crime because it’s letting others think that a lack of resiliency is okay. When was it that killing yourself was even an option? I’m not too old and I come from a generation where, if you weren’t adequate enough, you didn’t make the team. And, if you didn’t make the team, suicide wasn’t even an option of handling the disappointment. Nowadays, everyone’s let on the team and then the ridicule of not measuring up to others leads you into disappointment and the resiliency is so low that suicide doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Your words were striking and I look forward to more. Thank you so much for sharing with me.
Thank you for discussing these issues. I agree with your statement that people lack confidence and that is why they stay quiet. You know the saying that knowledge is power right? Well I believe that sometimes knowledge can be the opposite, something that overwhelms one to the point of having no power. I am sure you agree with this. I believe that when we know too much about an issue, we are reluctant to speak up out of fear, fear at a different level than what we would feel if we didn't know anything and wanted someone else to speak for us. Take your example on bullying. It is very true that kids, as long as they aren't the target, refuse to speak up out of fear that they will become the target. But what if one day, somehow, a kid learns the reason why anther kid is bullying. Maybe he finds out that this kid's parents abuse him physically, maybe even sexually, that they drink and forget that he even exists. This knowledge is so shocking and heart breaking to that kid, that it stuns him into silence because he does not know how to handle this information, or how to approach the bully about it. I don't know if you understand what I am trying to say, but if you do, imagine applying this to something much bigger. As M. Arnold mentioned, a middle school kid might not speak up for good reason, but an adult is different. Someone who is older has more influence and ability to do things.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, this discussion is so interesting and thank you for tying in Martin Luther King Jr's ideas. He was all about speaking up for what he believed and is a great example of the power of words and the persuasion and change that can come from it.If we today, could apply what he believed and the actions he took, to some controversial issues, our lives would be different.
First off, well said! I like your title, it caught my attention! I too wrote from this question and I enjoyed reading someone else’s thoughts on the topic of silence, there were some points that you mentioned that I did not, so thank you for further expanding my thoughts regarding silence. It is true that by not speaking out against a wrong action you are as guilty as the person doing it. By not speaking out, a person is condoning the wrong action. If everyone were to speak out for what they believe to be right, I’m sure we would be surprised by how many people would agree with us. The longer people stay silent the harder it will get for them to speak for themselves. I am not a supper talkative person and after coming home from spending four months in Kauai with a group of wonderful friends, I moved to a place where I did not know anyone and I became comfortable with staying silent and the longer I stayed silent, the more comfortable and natural silence became for me. A point about silence that you talked about is that people stay silent because others may have already said what was on their mind. This may be true but fifty people can all have the same thought yet say it in fifty different ways. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
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