Just Say No!

Saying no to social norms is extraordinarily difficult, especially if people expect a certain behavior from you. In hindsight, we may look upon a situation as incredibly silly and obvious, perhaps even getting overconfident as to declare that you would never be a passive player. “If I were in that situation, I would…” we may say, but in reality it is a lot easier said than done. What does it take for us to step out of our bounds and actually go against something?

In the case of Kitty Genovese, over 38 people witnessed her slaying, yet no one bothered to offer deliverance by reporting the crime or getting involved. These people were not bad; they were decent citizens much like you and me. Later, they felt overwhelmed with guilt, much like Reverend Hale from The Crucible, for not helping out or even reporting the situation. To an extent, even Judge Hathorne and Danforth realized that their proceedings were ignoble, yet they went on with the show. From all of the good people in Salem, only a few decided to call out the Church and denounce the “witchcraft”. It must be understood that the mob mentality controls the lives of these people, and once caught in the tide, shifting to the other side is difficult. 

I witnessed a case of bad fellowship myself, and unfortunately, was one of the passive spectators. During summer, I visited the Upper Peninsula. I was walking up a hot hilly dune that led down a bluff to the water. As I took pictures, I noticed a boy next to me lying in the sand, unresponsive and breathing shallowly. At first, I wanted to bend over and shake him to check if he was okay, but I thought that with the over fifty people present, it would be best not to interfere. No one else really cared, so maybe he was just resting. So, instead of doing what I thought was right, I walked on. Later, when I walked back, there was a large group of people surrounding him and giving him water. He was carried out on a stretcher for heat exhaustion. I felt glad that someone cared, but miserable about being so passive. I also realized how hard it is to step out of the crowd and actually do something, because of our unconscious fear of being wrong or placing our own lives in jeopardy. It certainly takes the strong-willed to be good Samaritans.