Upstander-A bystander who takes action and stands up against violence, and bullying.
Last year I was practicing a skit in a parking lot in Old Town. In the skit there is a girl who is being physically abused, while the rest of the actors in the skit just stand by and watch. Well what was interesting about this run-through is there was this man that came over in a huff from a nearby bar (he was not drunk, promise!) and he walked up to us and exclaimed “whats going on here!?” Then he turned to the “abused girl” and asked her if she was OK, while the “abuser” was just scared that he was about to get beat up! We were all pretty freaked out at the turn of events, but explained to him what we were doing. After that we congratulated him on being an amazing Upstander!
It feels wonderful to know that there are people who, no matter what kind of a situation it is, will stand up for those that need help. Some times its hard to step in because you don’t know what boundary lines to cross and not cross, or if you should “get in their business”. Just remember, if you don’t feel comfortable confronting someone by yourself, get a friend or adult. It always helps to have back-up!
So today I leave you with a question: When was the last time you saw a need, and actually stood up for that person who needed help, even if they couldn’t express it? Or perhaps sat with the kid who has no friends?
Over and Out
-Rachelle Feuillerat
East High Junior
i love your blog .so keep not bullying.so keep being a upstander.i learn that bullying aint the way to solve a problem.i was once abully but know im not .i billied a girl cause she was funny looking.i bullied her until she cried.then i finally join choose respect and that was the best choice i made in a long shot.i want yall to know young or old never bully it is not worth it.trust me i know from my mistakes.
I rember a similar experience that I was partly responsible for … except this time, we were actually HOPING to get an upstander to step forward. Little did we know how rewarde we would be!
At the request of Dr. Jodie Hertzog, we took a Choose Respect Crew improv troupe up to Wichita State University to perform some “interruptive skits” of the type that rachelle’s group was practicing. The one that caught the awesome reaction featured a young man bullying his “girlfriend” in a loud and obnoxious way.
The MOMENT it started, a nearby young lady stood up immediately. Then when it was clear to her what was going on, she siad, “Hey, that’s no way to treat a girl!” and then said, “If you don’t stop, I’m calling security!”
We quickly called a halt to the performance, explained waht we were doing and gave her big props for being an upstander!
She made our day!
Lakenya- Thank you so much!! Thats awesome that you joined a choose respect group! Its also great that you are willing to talk about how you may have treated people in that past! Props to you for being so open! Keep up the good work!
Rob- I would have loved to see that! Wouldnt that have been if it had been caught on video? Soooo cool!
Hay we are hard at work at Wichita North working on a week of Leadership and awarness! Cant wait to see what we come up with and see how it goes!