Indifference

by Irem UNAL

Indifference, in terms of society and the inaction of society,
is consciously knowing that something is wrong, but not doing anything about it.

Empathy and partiality are the exact opposites of indifference. Being indifferent is being unbiased, apathetic, and impartial. The dictionary describes indifference as the state or quality of being unbiased; not mattering one way or another; and having no interest or concern for. Although this simplified definition is correct, there is also a much more deep and crucial meaning to it that can only truly be expressed by the inaction of society.

Indifference can be spotted all throughout history. The African-American Civil Rights Movement is one of the most important historical examples of widespread indifference. African-Americans suffered years of being treated horribly, discriminated against, and being seen as inferior by white Americans. They were not provided the same privileges that whites were and they were obligated to settle for less all because of what certain white people thought. This was wrong in many ways because, in present day, many families raise their children with the mindset that everyone is equal no matter what color their skin is. And today, some of those parents and children wish that they could go back and stop this from happening. People cannot quite fathom why or how anyone would sit and watch as something so immoral happened to so many people with the same anatomic features as them except for their skin color. For years, white Americans stood by and watched or actively participated in the relentless discrimination and mistreatment of African-Americans, but no one stood up and said anything to stop it. I think that deep down a good handful of whites knew that what was going on was wrong, but chose to act as though they did not care or that it didn’t matter to them for the sake of their own reputation. The indifference in this era of American history was overwhelming.

The term indifference can be a very simple word at times and rather the opposite at others. I would like to focus on both sides by discussing the role it plays in the immaculately composed novel “Night” by Elie Wiesel. Within just the first four chapters of the book, impartiality and pure apathy at their most extreme extent are vividly demonstrated in the actions, events, and personalities of the people in/working at the Jewish concentration camps. For example, Wiesel describes how as soon as he and his family arrived at Birkenau, a SS (short for Schutzstaffel, Hitler’s henchmen) exclaimed, “Men to the left! Women to the right!” Wiesel expresses his thoughts on this in the next sentence as “Eight words spoken quietly, indifferently, without emotion.” This shows the side of indifference that the dictionary describes; emotionless and showing no concern for the situation.

However, the following quote is the one that pinpoints the actual societal stance of indifference; the deep and more complex side of indifference. This quote comes to being when young Elie is standing on the grounds of Auschwitz and staring at and thinking about the crematorium… He pinches himself and thinks, “How was it possible that men, women, and children were being burned and that the world kept silent?” The absolute most important part of this quote is the last four words: the world kept silent. This is a thought that probably comes to many peoples’ minds when thinking about the holocaust. How could billions of people who were aware of the situation in Europe just sit and watch? How could they not say anything? Or do anything about it? The answer is indifference. The reason people didn’t, or couldn’t, say or do anything about this was the fact that they were scared. People were utterly scared. I think they wanted to do something about it because they knew the situation was all wrong and that this wasn’t the way things were supposed to be. But no one said anything. Which is the pure definition of societal indifference. Indifference, in terms of society and the inaction of society, is consciously knowing that something is wrong, but not doing anything about it.

Indifference can also be found in individual lives specifically. From the day people are born, it is more than certain that they have been in many situations where something wasn’t right or moral, and they have just passed it by without considering the other side of things. One example is the ongoing indifference towards homelessness. When someone sees a person lying on the ground on the side of a road, they automatically can assume that that person is homeless; that they do not have food or somewhere they can go to keep warm. But most of the time that is all. Most people don’t think twice and realize that this person is probably suffering seriously. For the first few years of a child’s life, a mother will often tell the child to “look forward” and “don’t make eye contact” if they pass by a homeless person on the sidewalk or at a mall somewhere. Although they know that this person is starving, thirsty, and most likely in serious bad health, people still choose to ignore it. Why don’t they reach out to help that person when they know that he or she is in bad shape? Why do they ignore and act so careless about something that is clearly a problem right in front of their eyes? And more importantly, how could they? These are questions that are asked surrounding any situation of indifference, whether it is minutes later or years later.

Is targeting for a world where empathy oversizes indifference too much to ask for?