Being A Bystander

222 Words1 Pages
One way that people respond to systems of oppression is by being a bystander. A bystander is a person who witnesses an oppressor harassing a victim but does nothing about it because it does not affect that person or so they think that it does not affect them. One of the poems that talk about bystanders is ' First They Came For ' by Martin Niemoller. The poem takes place in Germany, during WW 2. The poem talks about how the author did not stand up to the Germans and let them send Jews, trade unionists, and socialists to concentration camps Because he was not one of them, but in the end the Nazis send him to the concentration camp leaving him to regret being a bystander. Lastly, the poem, ' The Hangman ' by Maurice Ogden tells how