Analysis Of A Bystander's Poem 'First They Came'

Don’t be a Bystander If the citizens of Germany never agreed with Hitler’s ideology the atrocities of that war would have never happened, maybe even the war wouldn’t have happened. Pastor Niemoller’s poem “First They Came” is the best imagery of this. If people would have stopped the persecution of Communists in Germany they could have halted the persecution of people who were not Hitler’s ideal people, could have saved millions. When people allow bad things to happen while knowing about the situation, they are allowing it to happen. If only one person steps up that is still better than no one trying to save that person. If only one person can change the mentality of someone else to never be a bystander while someone is committing an atrocity,

came up with the most logical way to solve the issue of the “Diffusion of Responsibility”. The solution is quite simple when King phrases it, “With non-violent resistance, no individual or group need submit to any wrong, nor need anyone resort to violence in order to right a wrong (King,1958).” This quote from King is is way of passively solving the “banality of evil”. This is the method that I previously described in different words, changing the mindset of the public, one person at a time. This method seems simple and like it wouldn't be efficient in stopping the “banality of evil” quickly but this can stop the issue in the long run. People have thought this way for the longest time because there was never anyone potent enough to change the minds of the public, never a big enough issue for people to all recognize as something bad. That all changed throughout time with people that left a thought in the minds of the people and spread the idea to lead to the revolution that King pushed to the next

The situations may even go back to before the dawn of time since brutal acts is in human nature. Some examples are Martin Luther King Jr.'s assault when there were tons of bystanders who did nothing, the multitude of experiments based on “Diffusion of Responsibility”, and there are even crimes where people do nothing and hope that others will help the person in danger. Carol Tavris had a particular quote in an article that stood out as a way to solve this issue, “by understanding the social pressures that reward groupthink, loyalty and obedience, we can foster those that reward whistle-blowing and moral courage. And, as a society, we can reinforce the belief that they also sin who only stand and watch (Tavris,1991).” Tavris is mainly saying the more people understand the issue the better we can find a solution to it. This is a solution in several view points, the solution will vary depending how you see the issue. If people could understand the crimes that happen while bystanders diffuse the responsibility of helping on others, then they would be more likely to adapt the issue to their real life and not let it happen again. Others will see the solution as there is reward for whistle-blowing on the crimes that are done, whether the reward is the feeling of doing a good act or a physical