- What does it mean to be a “witness”? Have you ever been a “witness” to something that made you uncomfortable or made you question your environment? Without going into particulars, how did you handle the situation? If you are a “witness,” does that mean you are obligated to become a participant?
Sunday, November 8, 2015
To be a witness
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A witness by definition is: "An individual who, being present personally sees or perceives a thing..." (dictionary.com) Typically we associate a witness with someone who has seen a crime or accident take place. Personally, I have never witnessed something that made me uncomfortable or question my environment. I am curious as to if or when I witness something with those characteristics, if I will have a fight or flight reaction. If you are a witness it does NOT mean you are obligated to become a participant. Depending on the situation it could be extremely helpful if you participated or spoke out, but in no way does being a witness make you required to participate. Most often witnesses are simply bystanders.
ReplyDeleteA witness is defined as a person who sees an event, typically a crime or accident, take place. The only time I felt really uncomfortable was when I was kept up half the night because my brothers were fighting about gay marriage. I just laid there listening to my brothers argue back and forth and you could hear the frustration in Josh's voice when Ben wasn't listening to his points about the subject. But I just listened to them bicker and didn't take part of anything. If I am a "witness" that does not mean that you must participant, it just means you were where ever you were when ever this event took place. Sounds very unlucky in some sense.
ReplyDeleteTo be a "witness" means that one has experienced an event that had an effect afterwards. One event I was a "witness" to that made me uncomfortable or made me question my environment was the events of 12/13/13. I began to feel uncomfortable with being in school and I questioned every person I saw in school. I lost trust in school mates because of how I was effected. I handled the situation by isolating myself from others until I was better. In my opinion, if you are a "witness" it does not mean that you are obligated to become a participant.
ReplyDeleteA witness is just someone who sees something happen. Typically it is a crime and the "witness" is able to tell someone what happened in order to help clarify what actually happened. I have witnessed many things, but nothing that made me question my environment. If you are a witness you are not obligated to become a participant although your story is often very helpful to the solving of the case. Some situations are harder to handle than others, depending on the severity of the event that you witness. For example, witnessing someone stealing a piece of candy is not going to have nearly the effect of watching someone commit a mass murder. The more severe the situation, the harder it is for a witness to share their story, but also, the more important the story is. Every witness is different, as is every case.
ReplyDeleteBrendan Hinckley Josh Navarro; A witness is the same as a bystander. Someone who is present in the situation but not a part of it. Personally, we haven't been in a situation that made us uncomfortable or question our environment. If your a witness you're not obligated to become a participant, but depending on the situation, it can be necessary to step in to make sure everyone is safe.
ReplyDeleteA witness is someone who has seen a crime or accident take place.
ReplyDeleteI have not been a witness to something that made me uncomfortable or question my environment. However, I do believe a witness should participate in an event like this.
A witness is in modern definition someone who is in the present of something happening and saw most of the happening. Witnesses could be be to a crime to a person falling. I feel like everyone has witnessed something in their life by just living life. Witnessing something that makes you uncomfortable is something i believe most go through but not all. This could be witnessing someone bulling someone to someone witnessing that disgusting couple in the hall making out. I have been witness to someone bulling another person and how i handled it is that I stepped in and told them to stop but this has happened a couple times with different people and when I was younger I walked away from the situation and did not really help. It's told to kids that if you see someone bulling someone and you don't stop it that means your apart of it and in away I think that goes to if you are a witness does that make a participant. Their is a loophole in that by if your in a bank when a robbery happens you are a witness but not a participant. I believe that it depends on what you are witnessing to make you a participate or not.
ReplyDeleteTo be a witness is too exspirience and watch something and not be apart of it or physicaly involved. I have been a witness in situations of bullying and trash-talking nothing super intense but things that made me feel strange or misplaced. In these situations I usually stay quiet and keep to myself, try not to get involved witch is terrible but I am not a confrentational person.
ReplyDeleteA "witness" is someone who sees something take place, usually a crime or accident. A witnessed is also known as a bystander. I have witnessed different things but not any of them made me question my environment. If you are a witness, you are not obligated to become a participant but it is a good idea that you do because you can help the case by speaking out since you saw and know what happened and then they will have more stories of what happened other than just the people who were part of the situation.
ReplyDeleteA witness is someone who sees an event but isn't apart of it. They are a bystander that watches something happen, good or bad. People witness things everyday. I have even witnessed things everyday here in rich, white suburbia. It isn't very hard to be a witness. Nothing has really made me question my environment when I am a witness. By being a witness you are not obligated to participate. However, if something bad is happening you should get help whether that be an adult or police. Stepping in and getting help from a form of authority is often better than being a witness or joining in on the event.
ReplyDeleteaccident, take place.” In my own words this means to me, a witness is someone that oversees an action but doesn’t take part. I have been a witness for on many occasions like bullying, breaking the law, cheating, physical fights, etc. But, being a witness is not always bad for bad actions. I have been a witness in Missy Franklin’s swimming career at swim meets, I have witnessed two people in love getting married, I have witnessed a baby girl being baptised, ect. The only instances that I generally felt uncomfortable in are breaking the law, physical fights, or just instances that I know are wrong and I can’t change them. If you are a witness you are not obligated to become a participant because it’s possible to watch and not take part in. In situations that are bad it is suggested to find someone of authority to help.
ReplyDeleteA witness is someone who knows something is happening. Regardless if that is directly by viewing the incident or learning about it. As soon as someone is aware of a situation or action, they are a witness. A participant, however, is someone who takes part in an action. This can be by directly or indirectly influencing someone or something. A participant can also be an enabler. If something is happening and the participant has an option to do something, but doesn’t, they are still participating. For example, if I witness someone drop their books in the hall, and don’t help, I am still a participant. A witness doesn’t have to be a participant, but often they have no choice. This is why it’s important, and sometimes difficult, for a person to not unknowingly become a participant. -Anand and Caleb
ReplyDeleteA witness is a person how doesn't involve themselves in the situation and is a bystander. I dont think by watching something automatically involves you in the situation. You never remember the people watching you always remember the people who are involved.
ReplyDeleteA witness is a person how doesn't involve themselves in the situation and is a bystander. I dont think by watching something automatically involves you in the situation. You never remember the people watching you always remember the people who are involved.
ReplyDeleteA witness is someone who sees an event and has a personal knowledge of it. I have witnessed my aunt getting married, a car crash, but those situations have not made me uncomfortable. But if I eventually do witness something uncomfortable, I will probably try to stay calm, but fail at that. I think that if someone witnesses a crime, they are obligated to report it to the police, but that does not make them a participant in the crime itself. Same with marriage. If you see someone getting married, it doesn't mean that you are getting married yourself
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