Stand Up For Someone

Do you know someone who seems to be getting treated unfairly?

If we want to make a fair world, we have to be willing to stand up for each other. Otherwise, we end up as “bystanders”, just watching as unfair things happen to those around us. Sooner or later unfair things might happen to you, and you’ll want someone to stand up for you as you did for them.

Standing up for someone takes bravery. You might have to risk seeming uncool, or risk making a bully angry at you. It’s not easy. But not doing anything is worse.

Standing up for someone doesn’t mean you have to leap into every conflict all the time. Maybe you don’t feel like you could yell at a group teasing someone to stop - but you could talk to the person after to show you’re an ally, and then ask a teacher or other adult for help in stopping it from happening again.

If you believe you can be the kind of person who stands up for others, and if you begin keeping a lookout for people being treated badly around you, then you will make your school, your neighborhood, and ultimately our whole world a much better place.

Getting Started: This experience may not be one you can “plan” on happening a certain moment; you might just have to wait for an opportunity, and then be ready. But here are a few steps to consider:

1. Is there someone you know now who is getting treated unfairly? Say, is there a kid who always gets bullied online or offline, or someone who gets teased in a way that you know is hurtful to them, like for being different, having an accent, or something along those lines? If so, start by speaking out for them. You could start by letting them know that it’s not right how they’re being treated and that you respect them. Then, find a way to intervene. If it’s possible to tell those who are being unkind directly to stop, or to make them realize they’re doing harm if they aren’t aware, begin there. If that’s too risky or would cause other conflict, ask for an adult to help put it to a stop.
   

2. Stand up for someone you don’t know. There are many people in the world who are facing severe hardship at any moment. Think of refugees who have had to leave their homes, or people who are attacked for being different. There are ways to stand up for these people, too. If there is a particular group of people facing hardship that you know of, look for advocacy organizations that are helping to organize help for them. They might need your help to write letters to Members of Congress or other elected leaders, to let them know you and others care about this issue.
   

3. Get yourself ready to step in spontaneously. If you don’t see a need to stand up for someone now, it helps to think ahead and prepare yourself for when the need comes up. You could prepare a few situations, and think about what your response would be. For example, let’s say a student is saying bad things about another student in a text thread, or on social media, and you see it happening. What would you say? Try to come up with one or two possibilities, like:
   “Let’s not talk about each other like that.”
   “Hey keep it positive!!”

   You can always put it on parents and say “hey my parents might see this and would be super mad if we’re talking to each other like this”
   

It’s risky, and might feel awkward, but the person you are speaking up for will appreciate it, and probably many people who were too scared to say something will also feel relieved and inspired that you bravely spoke up.