About an hour way from the SMU campus lies the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).
Most SMU students and Dallasites travel through this airport when they are going back home or going on vacation.
While this busy airport has hundreds of thousands of people moving in and out of the terminals, last week the chaos stopped for a few moments.
An angry man at one of the check-in stations started attacking another passenger because he assumed the man was gay.
Spectators watched as the man started getting aggravated and hassling the “gay” man wearing a pink shirt.
One bystander wearing a cowboy hat tried to calm the agitated man by asking “what are you upset about?”
The homophobic man retorted by saying, “Queers is what I’m upset about!” He also pointed and gestured at the traveler in a pink shirt and screamed “this is faggot right there!”
This riled-up man then took matters into his own hands. He abused the apparent “gay” traveler by kicking and hitting him in the head. Bystanders then jumped in to help defend the man being attacked, and pinned the aggressor to the ground until airport police came. The man was handcuffed and then started acting delusional. He starts smiling and laughing at himself.
He then tries to explain his actions: “Let me tell you the reason why I did it: Because this is America, that’s why.”
As the suspect is taken away by officers, he continues to verbally harass and threaten the man in the pink shirt.
I was appalled that a man in a cosmopolitan city like Dallas would be saying homophobic slurs; moreover, I was shocked that man had the audacity to blatantly say such offensive things and act out in that way.
Bystanders commented that the man seemed under the influence of either drugs or alcohol.
That still does not excuse this man’s behavior. Not only should he not have been intoxicated at an airport, he should have had the decency and respect for another human being to go about his way, even if he finds his apparel “gay.”
While I was disturbed that someone would publicly announce their homophobia and attack a man right in the Dallas area, I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of help the victim received in the situation.
Bystanders that saw the attacker bullying the other man in the pink shirt took action right away and assisted by grabbing and holding the aggressor back by pinning him to the ground.
For the people that participated and took action, I would like to thank you and pay you my respects.
Few people, especially in a busy airport, would notice the argument between the two men; even if people noticed, it is so rare to find people that are willing to help in any unsettling situation.
The bystander effect is real and is a current problem in society.
Just last week, SMU students posed and stood outside near the flagpole acting out intense and heated arguments between two students. Other students who did not know the fight was staged would glance or eavesdrop, but very few students stepped in to help resolve the loud and intense fight.
A “mediator” would settle the fight then inform students who were watching that the fight was staged, and would ask why didn’t students help.
This proves the theory of the bystander effect. People will watch and witness disputes and potential harmful situations, but in most cases they are too uncomfortable to help resolve or diffuse the tension.
If it hadn’t been for these bold bystanders, the man in the pink shirt would have been injured just for choosing to wear a colorful shirt. A homophobic man would have felt his actions were justified since no one chose to act against him.
We should not allow situations like this to happen. We should have empathy and stand up, like the witnesses at DFW, and help a person in need. Remember, kindness never goes unnoticed.
