If You See Something
It will be uncomfortable, cost approval, diminish our influence. So what? When the wrong comes from those you once trusted, it opens your eyes to just how far someone is willing to go for power.
A year ago, I shared a post titled “Nothing to Say.” I was struggling with a heavy heart and felt as if my usual lighthearted style felt inappropriate and out of place. Not much has changed since then. And while we need laughter and lightheartedness to survive, I have not wavered from the permission to lament when it is the right time. I’m still lamenting the state of treatment of humans in the world around me.
I made a pledge that I would not bury my head in the sand and pretend all is well. I have faced the daily onslaught of jaw-dropping news, head up and eyes wide open, with a continued committment to paying attention.
In that post, I said, “Lament is holy work too, so I’m just going to sit here in this space and dwell in the waiting for a while. Come, sit with me if you’d like company. We don’t have to say anything.”
Some of you have showed up in the most beautiful way. Speaking your mind in your spaces and standing alongside wherever called. Quietly being there when a gentle word was just right and shouting from the rooftops when a bold word was called for. Injustice: you showed up. Inhumane conditions: you spoke up. Unbiblical. Undignified. Underserved. Unequitable. You’re addressing every “un.”
Many days, I still have nothing to say. But that doesn’t mean silence. It means setting aside lighthearted banter and turning down the volume on trivial stuff. But silence. No. The words of a flight attendant during recent travel stick in my mind: “If you see something, say something.”
I realize these are the words of a campaign of the Department of Homeland Security (and I don’t miss the irony they hold in our current culture climate). But what if we applied this broadly, to more than terrorism threats?
Why Do We Look Away?
You’ve been there. A couple begins arguing at the table behind you in a restaurant. You aren’t certain if the woman or the children are safe, but you don’t want to “make a scene” or get involved. It becomes more than arguing. The hairs on your neck prickle. The spouse is already making a scene, but people continue dining as if they don’t see it.
Or,
You’re in a doctor’s office waiting room, and the person working at the desk is obviously treating one patient very differently from others you’ve seen come in because this one is struggling to understand the paperwork due to a language barrier. It sounds more than edgy or impatient; it’s abusive. Others in the waiting room glance briefly at one another, then turn back to their phones. You all see it, but you’re waiting for someone to be bold enough to say something.
Or,
A cashier is polite and friendly while assisting customers, but one customer begins harrassing her, making comments about her hijab. The taunting escalates while the cashier continues speaking politely. Customers are shifting from one foot to another, and they avert their eyes to the gum and candy on display.
It doesn’t take much to set off an attack.
It might be a piercing.
A tattoo.
A cross necklace.
Spikey hair.
Pronouns.
Religious affiliation.
Immigration status.
Race.
Political alignment.
Body size.
There are a thousand ways we can fill in the blank for ways we might observe someone attempting to exert power over someone else. Verbally or physically assulting, minimizing, taking away rights, or crossing a boundary: each brings a choice to say something or stay silent.
Say Something
If we cannot practice speaking up for others in everyday situations, we will not rise to the challenge in bigger scenarios. It begins in the regular moments.
I’m as guilty as anyone of averting my eyes or preoccupying myself with anything to avoid getting involved. But when I look at every person around me as a human being created in God’s image, the boundaries and differences melt away. We are human beings: mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, children, family, friends. Living and breathing, hearts pumping, one of the same eight blood types flowing through our veins.
Saying something in a broader sense begins with seeing it not as a political thing but as a fellow human thing. Speaking these lines does not come with a political side. It comes with protecting humans because of their inherent worth and the equality that comes with that.
“That isn’t right.”
“Are you okay?”
“Stop! You’re hurting her.”
“Leave him alone.”
“I need to say something here.”
“You don’t get to treat people that way.”
“I won’t stand by while this happens.”
“That crossed a line.”
“Do you want to leave? I’ll go with you.”
“Would you like help?”
Following Christ means setting aside power, influence, and winning if it would cost human dignity to hold these in our grasp. I cannot turn off my consience or silence my voice for the sake of defending a party over people—even if it means giving up power or influence.
If you see something, say something.
That’s my invitation to you and me.
It will be uncomfortable. It will cost us approval. It will diminish our influencer lists and shrink our circles. So what? When the wrong comes from those you once trusted most, then it will open your eyes to just how far someone might be willing to go for the sake of building an empire of power. And when that happens, we all lose.
Someday, we might find ourselves standing in the shoes of needing someone to be our voice. Perhaps you’re already there. Until then, if you see something, say something.
Are you speaking up online? Share a link to a post so we can all raise your voice!
Now, that was a lovely post! I’d like what you said about usually having a lighthearted tone, but that doesn’t always work. One paradox about me, is that I like to laugh, and make people laugh… But I am also very sober minded. Truly, being a light and uplifter in this world often makes us pendulum from joy to sadness. I appreciate the attitude that Jesus had, in that he did not come to save the world, but that he came to save people FROM the world. That mindset can ease our burden somewhat, and, as you stated, just a quiet word or intercession here and there can be just what somebody needs. And that is a privilege worth paying any
price for.
Thank you, Michelle. This is so difficult and yet necessary. And yet I always wonder if it will make something worse for someone if I speak up (in some situations, especially spouse abuse). Hard choices. Thanks so much for reminding us of this. And "lament" is such a good word for what I'm feeling these days.