I found a very moving clip from a show on ABC called "What Would You Do?" of an episode based on domestic violence. What the show does is it sets up a scene with actors and sees how people in the public react to it. The public does not know they are actors until they are told so after their intervention with the event. In this case, the actors were an abusive boyfriend with his girlfriend in a restaurant. The girlfriend already had very visible markings on her face that were unmistakably abuse from her boyfriend. She enters the restaurant alone, crying. Then her boyfriend follows and immediately verbally abuses her. See how the public (who think this is real) intervene:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nIEFiHgPPgE
I think this episode is extremely uplifting. It is truly inspiring to see that men and women feel the need to step in and stop this violence. They put their own safety in danger (which is not always the best- you want to be safe, too!) in order to protect those women, and they did that because they knew it was right. They couldn't fathom the idea of those women going back to their abuse any longer, so they took their civil liberty to intervene. In other videos from the show, the public explain that they feel as though they have an obligation to uphold our society. Check out other episodes on youtube concerning cyberbullying, sexual harrassment, and more. Sometimes the public just stare in disgust, but don't physically intervene. All in all, everyone knows what's unacceptable but they may not always stand up and say it. But shouldn't we? If we just sit and feel disgusted but don't actually do anything, we are adding to their hurt. Silence is the killer. Sometimes domestic violence or bullying ends tragically in homicide and/or suicide. Maybe if just one person intervenes before they commit those acts, their lives will not end. We need to break the silence. We all have the ability to stand up against what is wrong.
What would you do?
I know that domestic violence seems never ending and is of course extremely depressing. It seems as though 1 in 4 is way too large a number of people to be hurt by this horrific issue. In truth, it is hard for me to read article after article about women and children and men being torn apart by domestic violence. However, what keeps me going is knowing that there is a rapidly growing number of citizens doing their part to stand up against this abuse. This clip just proves it! We have this innate protective nurturing trait within us that needs to help others in distress. That comforts me. So when asked why I would not want to pursue some kind of "practical" career such as marketing, accounting, law, teaching, or whatever else society deems financially stable, I simply reply that I could not see myself doing anything else. No amount of money or stability could veer me towards any other career other than preventing this hurt. It may account to sleepless nights, frustrations and tears, and maybe I won't get to vacation in the Bahamas with my paycheck, but I will live better knowing I have helped another life. What will you do?
Do your part and stop the hurt.
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