“A Chance to Change”

A person is being harassed about the color of their skin. They look miserable, tired, angry, but most of all afraid. Afraid that if they stand up for their rights, they might get hurt. Others around them are laughing, jeering, and shouting words of encouragement to the bully. The rest of the crowd is ignoring the scene, running or walking away, also afraid that if they stand up for that person, they could get targeted, as well, and lose any hope of being popular at all.

This situation is not the first to be experienced and will not be the last. Too many people think that just because someone dresses, acts, lives, talks, or looks differently from them, that they have the right to bully that poor kid into the ground, to make them a social outcast. But that is the problem! People need to accept the fact that we are all different!

Acceptance is the first important step to stop racism, bullying, and harassment for good. Once people see that someone popular is not into bullying, they will stop doing the same thing too, because everyone wants to be cool and fit in to society. But that cannot happen until that person releases all their hard feelings about that person just to be their friends. Acceptance should be about loving and caring about whom the person is, not what they look like. It’s the inside that counts and not the outside.

So just think about it. When you see someone being shoved into a corner, or being pushed around, stand up for them. Do what you know is right and do not be intimidated by them just because they are taller than you, or tougher than you because by acknowledging your fear, you are letting them win over you. So accept others and treat others the way you want to be treated and the next time you see someone being harassed about their skin color or about how they look and/or dress, don’t just turn your back and walk away. Because the price people might have to pay later, might be too big to consider. I think that it is an important step in life to give someone a chance just to be their self and to enjoy their time with family and friends, not worrying about the next day of harsh bullying. “The most important thing you can give some one is…a chance.” -Unknown