Complacency and Silence

tl;dr: we see wrongs happen all of the time. How often do we speak up? My own shortcoming on the boardwalk.

My daughters and I went for a short stint to the beach at Ocean City, Maryland.

One evening, we were walking along the boardwalk and, naturally, the power of suggestion was strong, so I was lobbied to “get ice cream.”

It wasn’t a hard sell.

The boardwalk in Ocean City had signs all over the place mandating masks and, when possible, physical distancing. I’d say there was about 75% mask compliance. About 10% of the non-compliance was with people consuming ice cream or beverages, etc. while they walk. I get that. Hard to eat through a mask.

Then, there were the 15% of people who just clearly didn’t even care.

Most of the food/beverage places we passed, however, seemed pretty well secured when it came to plastic barriers, masks, and gloves, so I wasn’t super concerned when we walked into the Dippin’ Dots at 11pm.

The Injustice Behind the Counter

The man behind the counter was counting the cash and getting ready for closing time.

He didn’t have a mask or gloves on.

When my daughters ordered, though, he didn’t put on a mask, gloves, or even wash his hands (cash is filthy).

I saw it all happen in front of my eyes. And yet, I did nothing.

And I don’t know why I didn’t. But I didn’t.

Obviously, I am hopeful that the consequences of that decision from a health perspective are non-existent. And, even if something terrible were to happen as a result, it would be difficult to trace it back to that moment.

Yet, I know better.

And still, I did nothing and I’ve been both kicking myself and wondering why?

Too Tired to Fight

I spent a year in the mid 90s studying the Holocaust at the University of Frankfurt. I’ve read thousands of pages about complacency.

I’ve heard Martin Niem?ller‘s poem, First They Came hundreds of times:

First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—

   Because I was not a socialist.

Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—

   Because I was not a trade unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—

   Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak for me.

And yet, I didn’t speak up.

It troubles me that, in a moment where I saw something obviously wrong, I chose to stay silent and I chose to avoid the confrontation.

It made me really sad.

And I realized that sadness is multiplied hundreds of thousands of millions of times daily on issues of all kinds.

What makes someone back down and avoid confrontation?

What makes stand up and confront the issue?

These are fundamental issues and I don’t have the answer.

I just hope that this mistake isn’t severe.

More importantly, I hope the pain of the feeling reminds me to not let injustice-of any kind- persist.