On this blog, I post a lot about action. Action needs to be taken. Quiet action, public action, online action, mass action, individual action. We all just need to act. There are too many people who just stand by and let life happen around them, even when someone else is in trouble. By this generalization, you'd think that any action taken to help another would be celebrated because hey, somebody finally stood up for their fellow human. Isn't that what you'd think?
Here's my question: is simple action heroism? Is doing the right thing now defined as performing heroics? Is saving your fellow classmate from a "knife-wielding bully" classified as trying to be a hero? According to a Calgary school, it is and heroism is not an action condoned by the school.
My first thought: Umm...what?
My second thought: Maybe there's something going on here that I'm not aware of.
My third thought (after furiously scanning the article in question): Nope. There is nothing I'm not aware of and this school is teaching its students that action is not something to be taken by yourself, but by an older and more experienced adult.
My fourth thought: .... well, shit.
The article (http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/05/31/briar-maclean-reprimanded-for-stopping-a-knife-wielding-bully-at-school/) describes a teenage boy who wasn't looking for trouble but nonetheless found it right beside him, threatening a classmate with a knife. His first instinct was not to go running for help, but to use the few vital seconds afforded him by the unsuspecting nature of the bully to push the knife away from his friend and significantly decrease the risk of injury.
Let me pause here and ask: if someone next to you was being threatened with a weapon and you have less than 3 seconds before someone gets hurt to decide whether to call for help or to push away the attacker, what would you do?
The article continues to say that the boy, Brian, was later called down to the principal's office and held there until the end of the day for police and school interrogation while his locker was being searched. His mother also received a call informing her that her son was being irresponsible and "playing hero" and that the school did not condone his actions. Essentially, the fact that Brian saved his classmate's life was inconsequential but the actions that Brian took to save the student were reprehensible and worthy of punishment.
May I take another minute and just restate my first thought? Umm...what?
This is not okay. Take it from a four-eyed fat middle schooler named Sara who has also been a victim of bullying. That's right. I had my back against the wall. I was surrounded by girls who were "better" than me. I was asked all kinds of shaming questions that I couldn't answer and when I tried they laughed in my face. Had one of my friends, a beautiful and brave woman even at age 13, not acted, I have no doubt that the verbal harassment would have turned physical. Katie had to walk into the semi-circle all by herself, grab my hand, and pull me out because I was incapable of getting out myself. But Katie is not a hero for pulling me out of a situation like this just once. She is a hero because she would do it over again.
Just like Katie, Brian's actions in the classroom did not make him a hero. He simply did the right thing. What makes Brian a hero is that he did the right thing and would do it again even if he knew he was going to get in trouble. A hero is not someone who does the right thing once in public, but who tries to do the right thing always, regardless of the consequences of the perceptions of others.
Heroism cannot be a noun. It must be a verb because to be a hero, you must never stop acting in ways that will protect the basic human values around you. So Brian, continue to protect your friends, your peers, and most importantly, yourself, and you will be known as a hero the world around.
For more information on how to be an everyday hero visit: (http://www.raproject.org/). This is really helpful in determining the difference between a value and a belief and it can put you in contact with some great resources to help you become an everyday hero.
