Bully Spectator

[Lyricmaniac]

Is a spectator who watches a bully completely bash on someone out of nowhere as bad, worse, or not as bad as the bully himself? What if that spectator doesn't just stick around to watch, but decidedly speaks against the person that was bullied? Does that make a difference? What would you say to that spectator who doesn't just hang around the bully and not say anything about the bullying, but then speaks badly against the person bullied? What advice would you give the spectator?

I'm going to take a harder position to strike up a bit of chatter. I think that a spectator is worse than the bully. One might argue that the bully has certain predispositions that make it difficult for the bully to be less aggressive and choose right from wrong. However, the spectator consciously goes against his or her better values. The spectator who is not wrapped up in adrenaline and perhaps genetic predisposition has more a chose to do something and simple refuses not to. The spectator who doesn't stay quiet but encourages the bully is the most evil of them all because it somehow validates the bully in doing what he does best.

[Guardian]

I think it really depends on what the spectator is doing and what they intend to do by spectating. If they're cheering on the bully, then there's no doubt that they're worse than the bully because they may actually make the bully do stuff that the bully wouldn't usually do with the peer pressure. If they're just watching, then they're kind of neutral. If they're watching with the intent of stepping in if things get out of hand and helping whoever needs the help after, then they're probably helping the situation as best they can. Sometimes, getting involved can make a situation worse, and although it's not nice to see someone get beaten up, you could trigger something in the bully's friends saying that they can enter the battle because you have, which would probably end up with both you and the bully's original victim getting beaten worse than if you just waited for the fight to finish.

[Shade]

cooler than teh bully but not as cool if he doesnt help :3

[Barbatos]

agreed with shade. spectators are awesome. if they join in the bullying, 2x awesome. survival of the fittest!

[Autumn]

A spectator that doesn't mean the bullied any harm is just, well, afraid to act. Which is human. Pitiful, but human.

I think you're forgetting that standing on the sideline and yelling stuff also is caused by adrenaline for some people. Yelling is some kind of expression. You cry when you're sad or scream when you're angry. Same thing. Sound is emotion.

But yeah, I judge these kinds in a very simple format. Hitting someone is definitely worse than yelling at someone. The intentions may be similar, but the 'bullied' is hurt worse by the guy who hits him, or whatever is being done.

As for the encouraging the bully, it's a vicious circle. Both parties are at fault.

As for my thoughts on this about the person, I look down more on the spectator, because 99% of the time, I find him/her a weak piece of shit without a strong opinion or any willpower. But the acts he/she commits aren't as 'bad'.

[Kojo]

Operative word as...

Not as bad.

[Reives]

The case is a bit too generic and has too many arbitrary conditional gaps to be judged alone. For example, if there are many spectators, a psychological phenomenon called bystander's effect occurs and people are less likely to help. In some cases, hundreds of people walked by on a busy street as a person who was stabbed badly lay on the ground bleeding - Is it wrong that no one helped? Absolutely. But it can be argued that if that many people were all subjected to the same avoidance, many of which are very decent people, there must be something fundamental about the human psyche that caused this; and while it is certainly wrong, it wouldn't be a fair comparison to the one who committed the crime (be it bully or assailant) to begin with.

[DeM0nFiRe]

Heh, Reives brings psychology into it. He is right though, the number of people watching greatly influences people's subconscious decisions on whether or not to help. The idea is that the more people there are the easier it is to think "Oh, well I am sure someone else has already called the police" In one of the most notable cases, around 50 people watched and listened as a killer began stabbing the victim, ran when he saw he was being watched, returned when the cops didn't show to start stabbing again, run away again, and return again to finish the job. This example prompted a new law in the United States called the Good Samaritan Law which states that a bystander must aid a victim of a crime unless doing so puts them beyond reasonable risk.