What Does It Take To Be An Active Bystander? | It’s A Question Of Balance 21 November 2015

Broadcast on 21 November 2015 on KSCO AM 1080, KSCO 104.1 FM, KOMY AM 1340, and KSCO.com Live Stream.

'It's A Question Of Balance' is a two hour show which balances the intellectual with the creative. The show combines a debate topic with an arts interview because discussion and creativity are two of the most vital ways we engage in the world. 

Check out podcasts of the different topics and arts guests at www.itsaquestionofbalance.com

Hour 1: Out And About – Conversations with People on the Street about Questions That Matter: ‘What Does It Take To Be An Active Bystander?’

This week we consider ‘What Does It Take To Be An Active Bystander?’ Virginia Tech states the following: “Bystanders, the largest group involved in violence, who greatly outnumber both perpetrators and victims have the power to stop abuse and to get help for people who have been victimized. Active bystanders are people who are aware of an abusive situation, and choose to speak up and say or do something without putting their own safety at risk.” Would you consider being an active bystander and what that would look like for you? What holds people back from intervening do you think? My guest this week in the arts hour of my show is award-winning music supervisor Bonnie Greenberg. She worked on the film The Hunting Ground (it airs on CNN 11/22 8 PM EST), which is about sexual assault on college campuses. This is a real problem, not least because colleges minimize it and try to sweep it under the carpet whenever possible. Research shows that only 8% of men on campus commit nearly all the sexual assaults so what do you think the majority can do to try to combat this problem? Many victims of sexual assault are met with a victim-blaming attitude. Is this something you can relate to? Have you ever found yourself blaming a victim when you have read about an event in the media? Or have you been blamed yourself or know anyone who has? Why do you think that people most often do not intervene when they see a situation that could escalate into a sexual assault? What does it take to be an active bystander?

What do you think? For more info on the show and to hear past shows visit www.itsaquestionofbalance.com