Simple, but effective.
With a lot of negativity towards minorities happening every day, many of us openly talk about how awful it is, and how we wish it would stop, but how many of us are actually doing anything to stop it?
In school, we were told that if we see someone bullying another child, to say something. Some teachers would even say ‘if you do nothing, you are as bad as the bully’.
This idea can be equated to the injustice we often see with women, black people, the LGBT community, and the Muslim community among many others.
One of the most publicly harassed communities at the moment is the latter: Muslims are facing abuse over burkas, their beliefs, and acts of terrorism that have nothing to do with them.
One Tumblr user named Maeril, who is A French Middle Eastern illustrator, has created an image of what to do if you see Islamophobia.
The image is simple and realistic.
It simply suggests that you engage with the person being harassed, chat to them, support them until the harasser gets bored and walks away. Sometimes the easiest thing you can do when someone is in trouble is be a friend.
While the image was created to apply to Islamophobia and the abuse Muslim people face, it could easily be applied to any young women, or person within a minority that is being targeted for no reason.
So the next time you see something someone being harassed in public, remember that being horrified isn’t enough, but being supportive in the moment could make a huge difference.
