Elie Weisel's Essay The Perils Of Indifference

Lauren Garvick
Christine Massey
English 111
March 4, 2013
Indifference or Immoral? How often have you walked by a person ringing a bell for the Salvation Army without even taking a second look? Many people choose to be indifferent to certain situations on a day-to-day basis without realizing it. Whether you ignore a homeless person begging for food or simply walk by a person collecting change for the Salvation Army, you are being somewhat indifferent. To be indifferent means you have no feelings or emotion towards a certain subject at all. When it comes to indifference, the negative outcomes heavily outweigh the positive outcomes. By choosing to be indifferent to a situation some people believe that they are not doing anything wrong.
In certain ways that can be true, but by them being indifferent, they are certainly not doing anything for the better. By having no emotion to the situation at hand people believe they are doing nothing wrong.
In reality they are being heartless which in turn means they are being wrong. By being indifferent you are much more of a threat, you do not have a care, therefor you are able to be heartless in so many ways. Elie Weisel describes indifference as, “A strange unnatural state in which lines blur between light and darkness, dusk and dawn, crime and punishment, cruelty and compassion, good and evil”(290-291) in his essay “The Perils of Indifference.” Weisel shares the same views as I do when dealing with indifference. It can be very dangerous since there is no good or evil only apathy. People that argue indifference can cause no harm clearly do not realize how many situations indifference
influences. Indifference played a key role in the take down of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, in New York City, New York. The members of the Taliban were required to be indifferent in order to “honor” their country. The fact they had no feeling towards the events that were about to unfold made them much more dangerous and allowed them to do an extreme amount of harm. They had no emotion with the fact they were about to take countless lives. They also were apathetic in the fact they were about to take their own lives as well. The men that took down the plan were calm seconds before they took control of the flight to insure they were not being suspicious. Like the men that took down the twin towers the essay “This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen” describes other soldiers using indifference in order to “honor” their country. Borowski writes, “I feel no pity. I am not sorry they’re going to the gas chamber”(474). In this quote the soldier explains he feels no sorrow for the people who are dying. He makes use of being indifferent in order to murder countless people. Many people in such a situation would feel terrible but these men were proud in “honoring their country and did not care that they took so many innocent lives. Much like the men “honoring” their country with indifference in the take down of the twin towers, the soldiers involved in the Holocaust “honored” their country in the same way. Through out the Holocaust the act of indifference was responsible for many lives lost. The soldiers unloaded train after train of Jewish people without a care in the world. It was as if they were unaware that they were leading these people to their inevitable death. In the soldiers defense it is better they were indifferent rather than happy they were taking so many lives. But regardless by them being indifferent they were able to take life after life of countless Jewish people. While one may think the people noted previously are heartless they do not realize how they themselves can be heartless in much smaller situations.
Walking by a homeless man with out even taking a second look is being indifferent as well. You may think others will help him but chances are everyone else has walked by with as much indifference as you. Have you ever seen a person mistreating their child or an adult mistreating another adult in public? By simply walking by and “not getting in their business” you are being indifferent. Granted one should not stick their nose in every argument you see, but when witnessing something that needs to be addressed one should do what they need to do in order to make things right. Rather then being indifferent put your self in the other person’s shoes. How would you feel if someone passed you by without a care in the world in your time of need? When people believe they are being indifferent to make things easier on themselves they do not think about the harm it is doing to others. By being indifferent to situations requires no emotion, much like the men who took down the twin towers indifference can never lead to something positive. Therefor indifference is much more dangerous that being hostile or angry towards a situation. Whether indifference is involved in the lose of innocent live or simply ignoring a person in need it can lead down a dangerous
path.

Work Cited
Borowski, Tadeusz. “This Way for the Gas Ladies and Gentlemen.” Ideas That Matter. Ed. Elizabeth Rodriguez Kessler, Jeffery Andelora, Katharine N. Ings, Angela J. Jones and Christopher Keller. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 464-482. Print.

Weisel, Elie. “The Perils of Indifference.” Ideas That Matter. Ed. Elizabeth Rodriguez Kessler, Jeffery Andelora, Katharine N. Ings, Angela J. Jones and Christopher Keller. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2012. 289-294. Print.