We are very good at being horrified for a few minutes. We read the messages. We shake our heads. We say that something should have been done. Then we close Instagram, go to class, meet our friends, complain about our day, and eventually forget.
Someone else does not get to forget on command. And perhaps that is where our responsibility begins.
In the friend who refuses to laugh. In the person who speaks when everyone else stays quiet. In the institution that keeps caring after the headlines disappear. In the stranger who chooses compassion over curiosity. In all the moments when protecting someone costs us something, and we decide they are still worth protecting.
It is easy to say that survivors are not alone. But it is much harder to make sure they actually are not.
Whose future are we protecting?
We are very good at being horrified for a few minutes. We read the messages. We shake our heads. We say that something should have been done. Then we close Instagram, go to class, meet our friends, complain about our day, and eventually forget. Someone else does not get to forget on command. And perhaps that is where our responsibility begins. In the friend who refuses to laugh. In the…