In this Ted Talk, Dwinita Mosby Tyler discusses why showing up and advocating for individuals who confront injustices outside of your own lived experience leads to a more equitable and just future for everyone. Tyler claims that in order for change to occur, we need allies—not just any allies, but “unlikely allies” within the majority or oppressor groups, as she puts it. Men leading paid equality for women, white people leading the charge to eradicate racism, Blacks and natives standing up for immigrants, and so on are some of the proposals she made. The podcast “The Air We Breathe: Implicit Bias And Police Shootings,” on the other hand, covers Terence Crutcher, another Black man who was killed at the hands of a white officer, Betty Shelby. Officer Shelby shot and killed Crutcher simply because he later put his hands back in his pockets after having them up in the air, only to discover that he was unarmed. Scoot Wood tries to justify the white officer’s actions by claiming that Crutcher was shot because he was a big man, rather than an African-American man who was not cooperating. He then proceeds to add that she is not afraid of black people and that she was recently at an all-black high school homecoming football game the week before. However, the victim’s sister argues entirely differes as she believes that her brother experienced police brutality because he was a Black man, not a big one. A father, brother and important member of the community was murdered. 

Although I have always understood the importance of being an upstander, both the Ted talk and podcast have reminded me of the flaws and negative outcomes of just being a bystander. Change is frequently delayed because we hesitate to fight for others merely because we are not as affected by a particular circumstance as they are. We should feel responsible to help oppressed groups outside of our experiences in order to overcome injustice and establish a more just world. For example, if there are more men pushing for equal pay and fair treatment in professions for women, change will inevitably occur. Naturally, equal compensation for equal effort would considerably alleviate poverty among working women. Similarly, the oppressed are more likely to attain justice if there are more upstanders in other oppressive groups.