Having a Voice

When will the corruption end?   It’s important to be aware of injustice behavior in order to break the silence and take action.  There will always be a global issue when it comes to the physical and mental abuse of individuals, yet there comes a point when society must make efforts to diminish this problem.  There comes a point that any person whether they be observers or direct targets of mistreatment must retaliate back.  By standing up towards racism, bullying, and domestic violence it could potentially transform society’s division between individuals.

Throughout history racism has been a huge dilemma for numerous individuals all over the world.  The constant antagonization from individuals craving superiority is the ultimate issue when dealing with segregation between racial groups.  Instead of discrimination, every man should “share with all men the calling to be a son of the living God.  Beyond the calling of race or nation or creed” man should become more open-minded and accept equality in order for society to become civilized (Martin Luther King Jr. 3).  An extreme case of racism, for example the incident which occurred in Staten Island, New York where on duty officers had racially profiled Eric Gardner, an African American male.  While standing on the corner of the street, local authorities had unintentionally killed the forty three year old man in a chokehold while arresting him “for allegedly selling individuals cigarettes, a misdemeanor offense under New York state law.” (Silvia 1).  If the witnesses of the case acted instead of recording the incident the outcome of this misunderstanding could have been different.  The death of Mr. Gardener could’ve in many ways been prevented but because no one took action, his voice remains unheard.

Society often hears about the recurring issue of bullying, and more than likely this problem generally surfaces in middle schools and high schools.  Many individuals do not take time out of their personal life to step and stand up for victims of this abuse.  This is a perfect example of various situations, at a well enough time to where any one person could break silence for any other being. Everyone including myself has had an experience like this where they had the opportunity to stand up for the voiceless people who couldn’t stick up for themselves.  Personally I had an experience where my little brother Greg, ran into a conflict with a kid from his class over a baseball game.  For some reason this kid just wouldn't leave my brother alone.  The conclusion got brought along once I yelled at the kid for the way he was acting towards him.  I took the initiative to help my little brother since I, at the time was two years older than him and was able to speak to his bully and put an end to the mistreatment.  This goes to show the variety of chances people can obtain, in order to decided whether or not to take action.

Moving forward, another controversial issue that has come up recently to this date is domestic violence.  For example, the incident of Ray Rice and his fiancé.  According to CNN, “Ray Rice and his then-fiancé, Janay Palmer, are involved in an early-morning fight on an elevator in an Atlantic City, New Jersey, casino. Atlantic City police say Rice and Palmer struck each other with their hands…” (CNN Staff 1).  Many people feel uncomfortable stepping in when seeing physical and mental disputes between spouses, yet that could potentially lead to an extremely dangerous situation if not handled correctly.  Domestic abuse is a serious matter that people should be aware of and help when able to because it could potentially save an individual from suffering and pain.   

In conclusion, there’s always going to be physical and mental abuse of individual’s. What matters most is what you make of it.  We need to be aware of injustice behavior in order to break the silence and take action.  It’s appropriate to break silence when dealing with racism, bullying, and domestic violence in order to transform society from their disregard of helping others during times of need.  Achieving this goal could potentially transform society’s division between individuals.