Are You a Bystander?

I heard distressed screaming coming from above. Someone was in danger — people scream when they need help.

I look up. I see a scaffold hanging from the side of an apartment building. Construction workers were on the scaffold, yelling to their manager on the ground.

The scaffold was on fire.

This was on a crowded street. People walked by. People clenched their noses at the scent of the smoke. People didn’t care.

‘Someone else is handling it’

I called emergency services. The fire department was there in less than two minutes. The fire was put out. The workers were safe and saved.

Would you just walk by this situation? Would you assume that someone else is handling it? Would you submit to what people call the “Bystander Effect”?

I have some news for you. If you see and recognize a bad situation, it IS your responsibility, even if that responsibility is as simple as making a phone call. The bystander effect is not a passive excuse. You are a conscious, aware human being. Indifference is a choice.

Again: If you are capable of recognizing that a situation is bad, it is your duty to do something about it. Assuming others will do something is choosing indifference.

Think about the man who got trapped between the train and platform in Australia. Someone recognized something was wrong. Someone else recognized that he could try pushing the train. Imagine if only one person tried pushing the train and everyone else just stood by? Again, if you recognize a bad situation, you have a responsibility to take action,

I write this out of frustration. This isn’t the first time in the past year that such an event has occurred.

Maintain awareness of what’s going on around you. Be present in all situations. Ask yourself what you can do to turn things around. And stop standing around filming events unfold with your phone when you’re someone who can do something.

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