Walking This Way: Exploring Tolerance, Diversity, and Difference
Standing up for what is right

What's Right | Reading List for Parents | Reading List for Students | Family Activity | Hand-Outs

When someone else is being unfairly treated,
you have a chance to stand up for what you know is right.

• Resist the temptation to join in to get acceptance from the crowd.
• Get involved: being quiet makes intolerance worse.
• You have to think about what you really believe in. Do you value fairness, acceptance, and respect for others?
• If you take a chance and treat people who look different like everyone else, other people won’t be as scared – and then they’ll do the same thing.
• Make a resolution that whenever anyone makes a comment that you consider prejudiced, you will speak up in some way. For example,

You hear: You could say:

“That guy should go back to his country.” “He’s a nice guy.”

“She’s such a retard.” “That’s not very nice.”

“Did you hear the one about the Jew and the Mexican?” “Hey, my father’s Jewish.”

Do the right thing, not the easy thing!

Have a family discussion and talk to your family about each of the ideas.