Kill Silence, Create Change
Sharing someone’s wrongdoings could get us ostracized or, even worse, put us in a dangerous situation. We live in a world where “snitches get stitches” (or whatever the saying is supposed to be). As a result we’re programmed to stay quiet and accept any crime where we personally aren’t victimized - “as long as it doesn’t happen to me” mentality.
The problem with this mentality is that crime may eventually make it’s way to us because so many of us are conditioned to accept it. Thus, the same way we stay quiet when we witness wrong doing is the same way that others will be quiet when we get victimized. This cycle is dangerous and doesn’t keep any of safe, in the long-run.
We need to be safe. We deserve to be safe. But, safety isn’t possible if we remain quiet and continue to do nothing. Every single one of us has to use our voice against acts of bullying, oppression and crime.
Changing our society seems hard. It also feels like real change can’t be realized for years in the future. Change takes time, and more time is required for it to become automatic. But, here are some steps where we can use our voice to improve our local community:
call out any wrongdoing that we see - helping out the victimized person the best you can - to community members, local officials or leaders within an organization
help address any wrongdoing, where possible, and requiring the perpetrator to own the offense
require changed behavior from the perpetrator and removing them when they don’t show needed progress
change personal and organizational rules of engagement, per lessons learned from each realized wrongdoing, and share them with your community
The above steps are applicable and effective for any situation or environment: the office, home, schools, etxtra curricular groups, organizations, etc. And, they’re effective if you’re the person being victimized or witnessing the victimization of someone else. Regardless of the situation, you are empowered to make the world a safer place, one act at a time.