Active Bystander Scenarios
SET #1
What impact will this scenario have on your colleague/team/community?
What potential impact would not disrupting the behaviour have?
How do you feel in the moment? What emotions might you feel in the scenario?
How might you be an active bystander in that moment?
(Group 1) A lady in her 50s wearing ethnic clothing boards the bus. From her interaction with the bus operator, you notice she doesn’t speak much English. She sits in the Courtesy seat. At the next stop, a person using crutches gets on the bus and asks the lady to make way so he can sit. The lady stares blankly at the person and doesn’t speak nor move. The man eventually gets angry and states, “You people are always doing this.”
(Group 2) A new employee is sharing their story at a BC Transit community event about why they came to live in Canada. She talks about the anti-homosexuality legislation in her country. Someone interrupts and says, “You don’t look gay.”
(Group 3) During a team meeting you overhear a colleague talking about the anti-racism effort at BC Transit, referring to it as part of “the socialist agenda.” During the Q&A, the same colleague asks, “So, we’re all about diversity now and I feel like there is a contradiction. Let’s be honest, we don’t really want all kinds of diversity, right? I mean, I feel like we’re not allowed to have a diversity of opinions on diversity?”
(Group 4) Your manager wants to address diversity in the workplace. In meetings when the topic emerges, they look at your colleague, the only individual who identifies as an Indigenous person on your team. You notice that your colleague shifts uncomfortably and averts their gaze when the topic comes up.
(Group 5) During a staff meeting, one of your colleagues (Colleague A), who uses they/them pronouns, shares a suggestion. Another colleague (Colleague B) at the table responds to Colleague A’s idea with, “I have to agree with him. That’s a great idea.” You’re aware that Colleague B has insisted on using Colleague A’s old pronouns ever since Colleague A came out as non-binary.
SET #2
How do you feel in the moment? What emotions does the scenario trigger?
How might you be an active bystander in that moment?
(Group 6) During an online meeting between you, your manager, and two other colleagues, there are questions around BC Transit's plans to provide specific support to Black and Indigenous communities. One of your colleagues seems exasperated and says, “I still really feel like this is favouritism. The white staff are being hit by COVID just as bad. Maybe this is unpopular right now, but I’m of the school that all lives matter.” One of your colleagues who is a member of one of those communities falls silent.
For more information on why “All Lives Matter” is problematic, this article explains it well.
(Group 7) A meeting is winding up and as people are leaving, you overhear a conversation between two colleagues. Colleague A makes a discriminatory comment. Colleague B, who is a person of colour, gives Colleague A feedback on their comment, but A tells B that they are being overly sensitive and “Everything is political these days!” This is not the first time that Colleague A has received feedback on their offensive comment.
(Group 8) With all of the changes and messaging around the hybrid model of returning to work, your manager is frustrated. She complains out loud to her team that everything is so confusing that she’s “getting schizophrenic.”
(Group) A colleague comes out as trans and your manager says in a surprised tone that they “didn’t look trans.” Another one of your colleagues, who is a woman of colour, pulls your manager aside to give them some feedback. You overhear your manager say, “You don’t need to get so mad. Let’s be respectful when we have these conversations.” Your colleague goes back to their desk looking visibly frustrated.
(Group) During a staff meeting, one of your colleagues (Colleague A), who uses they/them pronouns, shares a suggestion. Another colleague (Colleague B) at the table responds to Colleague A’s idea with, “I have to agree with him. That’s a great idea.” You’re aware that Colleague B has insisted on using Colleague A’s old pronouns ever since Colleague A came out as non-binary.
(Group) A manager says a homophobic/transphobic slur during a meeting. A colleague speaks up about it but the manager brushes it off and says “It was just a joke. Besides, I’m not hurting anyone since nobody from the LGBTQ+ community is here anyway.”