Elie Wiesel and Friendswood

Henry Barboza

Professor Young

ENGW 1101

April 10, 2017

Elie Wiesel and Friendswood

            After reading The Perils of Indifference speech by Elie Wiesel, I was astounded. Reading this profound and saddening speech I learned new information not only about him, but about what indifference is, how it affects people and about World War two. Wiesel’s speech is a powerful piece, he talks to the president and explains that what was happening in Auschwitz and Treblinka was known by the Pentagon and by former president Roosevelt. This left me impressed as it is something that I did not know about the war, it is something that is both terrible and confusing. It made me feel just the same way as in Friendswood. With Willa being raped but others knew and did nothing. It amazes me that this kind of indifference can happen and so much terrible decisions made.

            In Friendswood, character Willa is raped by two students in the football team while she was blacked out from drinking. Her friend Dex was present and did nothing. He knew that something was wrong but decided to remain silent and other people knew as well, like her parents but did nothing. It makes me wonder what leads people to make these decisions to just be by-standers much like the American government in World War two with the situation in the concentration camps. It compels me knowing that people know something is wrong and unjust but still decided to be mute or turn a blind eye on it. Doing this causes indifference to the victims of these events and as stated by Holocaust survivor, Elie Wiesel, “he or she feels forgotten” (Par. 9). These two events are related because they are crimes and in both times, they were left behind by others. It is sad to realize that this is a reality and I believe people, instead of being by-standers should take action and help, intervene where it is needed.

            If situations like these keep going on, it is unpredictable where our world is headed to. Would anyone want to see crimes on-going on a regular basis, with people knowing who did it and doing nothing about it? Would anyone want to integrate this feeling of disparity and indifference towards the victims of these crimes? Why should people just decide to watch and not act, if someone is drowning would you watch them struggle and slowly die or would you help? These are questions that I ask myself. Questions that would help other people realize that our fragmented mentality is wrong. That by not helping victims and the law punish the perpetrator we are essentially an accomplice.  Both the rape of Willa and Wiesel’s speech are very eye opening to how helpless and demised people feel when nobody helps, and the agony they go through when they find out people knew but did nothing. Our mentality needs a change and as human beings action needs to be taken, else our world is going down a dark path.