Argumentative Essay: What´s A Bystander?

A bystander is a person who is present and overlooks an event but takes no part within it. If someone was to be lying on a sidewalk unconscious and another person walked by and ignores the fact that there is a human being lying passed out in front of them, it makes them a bystander. However, bystanders are present in many different varieties. A possible bystander could be someone who hears a conversation occurring about breaking into a house, if the person decides not to say anything and later the house gets broken into it makes them a bystander. A psychological study done by Bibb Latané and John Darley discovered that “…people are less likely to offer help when they are in a group than when they are alone” (Burkley). This discovery can be

referred to as the bystander theory. The witnesses wanted to intervene but were intimidated by what the other people around would think if they got involved. For the good of society if a person is to witness anything that can be harmful or threatening it should be their moral obligation to take some sort of action. A person should not put themselves into a dangerous situation, but if something can be prevented than action should be taken in order to do so. Bystander intervention is a simple way that can help prevent crime and help people in need. It should be a person’s moral obligation to be an active bystander in order to benefit the needs of others who are powerless in a situation and prevent crime.
It is realized that the opposing arguments to being an active bystander is that it is not a person’s responsibility to create any involvement in a problem that is not their own.

However, that opposing argument can be found as hypocritical. If a person was getting robbed in an ally and they saw many witnesses taking no action they would likely be upset by the fact of no one is offering any assistance to them. Bystanders should put themselves into the shoes of the person in need and ask themselves how they would expect others to respond if they were the one in need. Often time’s bystanders take no intervention because of the diffusion of responsibility. “When there are four or more people who are bystanders to an emergency situation, the likelihood that at least one of them will help is just 31%” (Gaille). Another statistic shows that 85% of people who were bystanders would intervene if they knew or at least though they were the only person present in the situation. Often the only thing keeping people from intervening in bystander situations are other people. It is important for bystanders to understand the statistics of the people around them in order to create action because often times they do not realize that if they were to intervene other people would likely support them in the situation. Bystanders need to make it a personal responsibility to intervene in situations for the good of other. If people were to always take action the amount of bullying, sexual harassment, crime, and many other significant issues within a society would drastically

decrease.
Within nearly every school across America bullying is present and being an active bystander can put a stop to it. Bullying often occurs publically at school and is never stopped. A victim is often picked on publically because of the embarrassment it can portray on an individual and the power it can present a bully. “Even though most bystanders don’t like to watch bullying, less than 20% try to stop it. This happens frequently because they don’t know what to do” (frfp.pa). If a person is to witness bullying and does not know what to do they should not ignore the situation. A person does not have to confront the bully to make themselves an active bystander. An active bystander can do many different things in order to help a victim. A simple plan of action can be to seek attention from a higher authority like a faculty of the school. Bullies portray themselves as a powerful individual at school and many bystanders may possibly not intervene because of the fear they have of becoming a new target for the bully. Bullying has become a leading factor of teenage suicide in the United States. Many cases have been reported that the bullying took place for many months prior to the suicide and it was witnessed various times by many different individuals but there was never any intervention. The stake of person’s life should not lie within the hands of people that are too afraid to stand up for what is right. Bystander intervention should become a must across schools in America because of the help it can provide teenagers who are not strong enough to stand up for themselves.
Another reason that people should make it their moral obligation to become an active bystander is because it can help prevent crime before it occurs. Sexual assault is another issue that can be stopped by people being active bystanders. Sexual assault usually occurs in public situation like parties. The perpetrator often finds a target that has been influenced by alcohol and takes advantage of their lack of awareness and judgment. In many cases of sexual assault the perpetrator claims that consent was given due to the actions of the victim. Specifically, the victim did not refrain from the removal of clothes or the victim did not tell the person to ever stop. Sexual assault occurs when verbal consent is not given. Any action or reason other than verbally acceptance to sex is not consent. Bystander intervention for sexual assault sometimes does not occur because people do not realize the severity of the problem occurring. “If someone is incapacitated due to alcohol or other drugs, even if the individual says yes, it is considered sexual assault” (stepupprogram.org). A bystander has many options on deciding on their actions in a situation in order to make them an active bystander. A bystander can ask around for any information about the perpetrator and the victim. If they were to find any of the victims friends it is possible that the friends would immediately know if a real problem was occurring and in that case a proper intervention can occur. A bystander has a responsibility at a party for a victim that is powerless. If a victim is too intoxicated and is being taken advantage of it is in the reliance of other people for their safety. A bystander that does not intervene is allowing a person to be violated and used because of their failure to intervene. If a person fails and is incapable to help themselves it makes it the responsibilities of the bystanders to take the correct action and give assistance to the person in need.
Bystanders have shown that in public situations they fail to intervene because of the diffusion of responsibility. They have shown that the presence of others in a public situation decreases their chances of intervention. Bystanders however should make it their moral obligation and personal responsibility to intervene in a situation that requires attention for the better good of society. A society that can witness a person being bullied till their own suicide or that can watch a person be taken advantage of and sexually assaulted is sickening. As people living together on in the same community these actions should be taken for the dramatic changes that it can make. If bystanders were always to intervene when necessary there would be endless amounts of benefit to people everywhere including the prevention of sexual assault and decreasing numbers in bullying and teenage suicide.