I feel like a coward. You too?
Imagine yourself being 10 years old again and at primary school. And in your class is a boy who is heavily bullied by another boy. More still, he is even beaten, regularly and until bleeding. What would you have done if you saw this happen? Or better still, if you now have children or grandchildren, what do you think they should do?
I already know what I would have done spontaneously as a child. First of all, I would have tried to speak with the bully. I would make him understand that his behavior is not okay and that there are much better ways to ventilate frustration. And if that had no effect and he would continue to attack my classmate physically, I will not only make him feel in words that I do not appreciate it, but I would make it physically impossible for him to use violence against my classmate. Please note that I will not use violence myself. I would stand between the bully and the one that is bullied. And yes, even if that results in the agressor becoming more angry and starts to kick around. Because if every other fellow member of my class does exactly the same as I do, then in the end, the bully always will lose his war.
And if, in an even worse situation, the bully would have a weapon hidden in his book bag so that I would risk being injured by my act, would I still do it as a child? The answer is clear: yes! I know myself. As a child I would have let my heart speak and not my mind. Because the heart is directly linked to my values and standards. And the mind always finds all kinds of seemingly legitimate reasons to deviate from it.
And you? What would you have done as a child? Or when would you be proud of your children or grandchildren when they are in a similar situation?
I myself feel like a coward at this moment because I am not more resistant to NATO's refusal to install a no fly zone above Oekra?ne. What dignity is left of ourselves when we are willing to sacrify, see others killed, for our own freedom?
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2 年Beste Bart, ik vrees dat de situatie iets complexer is dan op de speelplaats. Onderstaand artikel geeft wat context: https://theconversation.com/amp/ukraine-wants-a-no-fly-zone-what-does-this-mean-and-would-one-make-any-sense-in-this-war-179282
Bart, I think that as a 10 year old I would have reported the problem to a grown-up teacher and let him or her deal with it. Maybe not the bravest but definitely the smartest thing to do in a situation like that. My experience is that is impossible to predict (about others but also about yourself) how someone will behave in a dangerous situation until they've actually been there. I know how I will behave in a crisis situation in the mountains, when someone tries to rob me or when someone pulls a knife on me because I've been there (I will leave it in the middle whether my response was brave or stupid, it's a very thin line). But someone that walks away from a situation like that is not necessarily a coward. Being brave comes in many forms. However, complaining that someone else is not doing enough in a critical situation sounds a bit easy to me. Maybe you can apply what you advise 10 year olds to do, travel to Ukrain, position yourself between innocent civilians and the Russian troops and talk some sense in the Russians. ??