If you don't say something...then, in a sense, isn't your silence a form of consent and complicity? -Jonathan Katz

Last night I went to a bonfire. There was a guy there who started this absurd and offensive racially (and otherwise) inappropriate dialogue, which I'm sorry to tell you I participated in. I could defend myself and say I did so minimally, that I didn't say anything as shocking as what you're probably imagining, but really, that's not the point. The point is that I failed to stop or leave or change a conversation that never should have happened in the first place. 

Of course today I watched this TED talk by Jonathan Katz (it gets fantastic about minute 12 or so). He said, "If you don't say something...then, in a sense, isn't your silence a form of consent and complicity?" I started to reflect on how I handled, or in this case, didn't handle the situation. The way my silence indicated consent, my laughter indicated complicity and my comments indicated concession.

I wish I had asked him to stop.

I wish I had asked him to tone it down.

I wish I hadn't laughed at what he said.
I wish I hadn't contributed in any way. 

But life isn't about regret. It's about change. And so, here I am, Internet, committing to do it differently next time. I don't know exactly how or what I'll do to handle it in a sincere, direct, and honest fashion, but I'm committing to you that I will do it differently, because I will not be a silent bystander to hatred or oppression.