When you see someone being harassed in public, act like you know them and get them out of the situation

I took a course on civic courage last week and we were taught to not approach the perpetrators when we see a dangerous situation in public — that would not help the victim, and would just lead to us getting punched in the face too. Instead, we’re supposed to reach out to the victim, address them by name and ask them to come with us. This gets them out of the situation without needlessly endangering you.

Example (we watched a video on this): Two drunk guys enter a subway car and start bullying a skinny young guy reading a book (taking the book away, not letting him get up). Another passenger goes over (but doesn’t get too close) and says, “Hey, Peter, I haven’t seen you in a while, why don’t you sit with me? How’s the girlfriend?”

The people doing the workshop were former policemen and say this works 9 out of 10 times.

If nothing else, call 911. Don’t look away.