Recently I have been reading the book Becoming Chloe by
Catherine Ryan Hyde. In the first scene the main character Jordy is in a
basement that leads to the street and he hears a girl getting sexually harassed
above him. He doesn’t know what to do. He decides to say that he’s calling 911
but the main harassing her won’t know it’s him because he isn’t visible. It was
definitely the right decision because the guys ran away and then girl jumped
down into the basement to thank him. Situations like that can be really tough.
It makes me think about being a bystander and what you’re supposed to do when
you’re in a situation like that.
It was definitely the right move that Jordy said he was
going to call the police because he couldn’t just stand there are listen while
this poor girl was being sexually harassed. In the real world when things go on
like bullying, or harassment people tend to sort of stay back and out of the
way. I can understand why maybe they wouldn’t want to involve themselves, but on the other hand it makes
me feel like that person would be kind of heartless if they didn’t. How could
Jordy not do something when a poor young girl was being harmed. People are
supposed to look out for each other in this world right? They don’t always do
it but they should. Even if those guys hadn’t run away when he said that he was
going to call the police it would be worth the risk of Jordy getting hurt
wouldn’t it?
People are so self involved in this world that they don’t
always want to help even if they know they should. Some might say “it’s none of
my business so why should I get involved” but at a certain point it becomes the
person’s business. In my mind if something terrible is happening right it front
of your eyes but you do nothing to stop it then the person who did nothing to
stop it is just as guilty as the person who actually committed the crime.
If Jordy hadn’t done something to stop this man from pretty
much raping this girl then what would have happened to her. It makes me wonder
about her, is she used to stuff like this? Is this man much bigger then her so
she feels like she can’t fight back? Why isn’t she trying to fight back? It’s
obvious what was happening in that scene wasn’t her choice. People do terrible
things to other people every day, whether it’s a little thing or a big thing it’s
something. Next time I see someone doing something to someone then I’m going to
step in.
Now I do think there is a line though. It really depends on
what’s happening. If there is a small argument going on and it has nothing to
do with you then don’t get involved because it’s none of your business and no
body can fix everything. What I’m saying is think about the situation before
stepping in. It’s very important to speak up when something dangerous is
happening or someone is being harassed and bullied, but otherwise maybe you
should stay out of it.
I don't know what I would do if i were a bystander. I think everyone says they would step in but when it really is time for someone to step in, we usually get cold feet. I wonder what the situation has to be for us to actually step in and be effective.
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