Essay on Bystanders Are Influencers

📌Category: Social Issues, Social Movements
📌Words: 464
📌Pages: 2
📌Published: 15 January 2022

Bishop Desmond Tutu once declared, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.” When I was first posed the question of whether people are influencers even when they take no action and choose to remain a bystander, I was immediately reminded of this quote. I reflected back on the Archbishop’s words multiple times during the protests of 2020 and while learning about the Civil Rights movement. Staying neutral and remaining a bystander in times of oppression is still being an influence because it encourages others to stay silent as well, it enforces the idea in the oppressors minds that they are correct, and it does not provide any comfort to the oppressed.

Staying neutral while others are suffering can encourage others to stay neutral. Fear of being the only upstander causes many to remain silent. Seeing politicians remain impartial to issues angers me more than seeing politicians blatantly opposed to fixing them. These politicians then convey the idea of neutrality back to the people they serve. It is especially important for role models and people with large followings to speak up in these situations of injustice. For while many may choose to remain neutral, some may just be unaware of the issue. They will most likely remain in the dark unless that role model decides to speak out.

If people in the spotlight decide to remain uninvolved during affairs of injustice, it will just affirm the aggressors actions. Lack of passion on these issues does make a difference. It enforces the belief in the oppressors minds that they are making the right choices. Therefore, impartiality can be dangerous. It is possible that it can even make the situation worse. Being neutral does directly make an influence, and never for the better.

Remaining impartial while others are suffering surely does not provide any comfort to the oppressed. I felt this directly during the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020. Although there was an unexpected flood of support at the time, there were still many who decided to stay quiet. Their silence was almost as powerful as the support because it created a feeling of loneliness, and it almost made it feel as if we were fighting by ourselves. You cannot solve an issue without allies and when one’s potential allies choose to be uninvolved, the cause can begin to feel hopeless. As the Bishop said, “the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality.”

Although it might feel hopeless at times, many people still choose to speak out about issues even when it might not directly affect them. Choosing to remain uninvolved is still being an influence on the world and on others because it actually encourages silence, it affirms the aggressors actions, and it does not provide comfort to the oppressed. As Bishop Tutu reminds us, there truly is no such thing as neutrality.

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