The professor walked into the classroom, his expression unreadable. The students, some focused, some barely awake, adjusted their seats, ready for another lecture. But today was different.
He scanned the room, then pointed at a young woman near the front. “You,” he said. “Yes, you, with the brown jacket. Get out of my class.”
Silence.
The girl looked around, confused. “What? Why?” she asked, her voice uneasy.
“Just leave,” he repeated. “I will not teach this class if you’re here.”
The other students shifted uncomfortably in their seats. They glanced at each other, then at her, waiting for someone to say something. No one did. Some looked down at their notes. Others gave her an apologetic glance but said nothing. She hesitated for a moment, then quietly picked up her bag and walked out.
The door closed. The professor turned back to the class.
“Why didn’t you say anything?” he asked.
A few murmured, some shrugged. One finally spoke up. “We didn’t know what to do.”
“Did you think it wasn’t your business?” he asked. “That it didn’t concern you?”
A few nodded, still unsure where this was going.
He exhaled, then spoke again, slower this time.
“When you see something wrong, and you stay silent, you are part of it. When you watch injustice happen and say nothing, you allow it to grow. You may think it doesn’t affect you, but one day, it will. And when it does, you’ll wonder why no one stood up for you either.”
The class sat in heavy silence.
The Cost of Looking Away
The world today feels like that classroom. We see things happening; people treated unfairly, policies that make life harder for certain groups. We feel bad, we shake our heads, maybe even whisper about how wrong it is.
And then? We move on.
Because, well, it’s not our problem, right?
Maybe it’s fear. Maybe we tell ourselves it’s not our fight. Maybe we assume someone else will step in.
But that’s the thing about injustice… it doesn’t stay in one place. It spreads.
Right now, immigration is one of the biggest topics around the world. In Germany, stricter deportation laws are being pushed. In the U.S., new policies are making it harder for immigrants to stay. Across Europe, it’s becoming more and more acceptable to treat outsiders like they don’t belong.
And yet, most people are just watching.
History has shown us where this leads. Not in some big, dramatic moment but in the slow, quiet acceptance of things that once seemed unthinkable. A law gets passed. A rule gets changed. A group of people slowly lose their rights. And by the time people realize what’s happening, it’s already too late.
There is a difference between witnessing and acting. Between knowing something is wrong and choosing to stand against it.
The truth is, Silence has never protected anyone… it has only ever protected injustice.
You don’t have to be an activist. You don’t have to be on the front lines.
But when you see something wrong, speak up. Say something. Let people know you see what’s happening. Remind those in power that people are watching. That not everyone is willing to stay silent.
Because the biggest danger isn’t just what’s happening; it’s the silence of those who know better but say nothing.
