Answer

 A bystander is any person who witnesses bullying whether personally or through online platforms.  These bystanders could be friends, siblings or even strangers, but they suffer a lot of traumas each time they get to witnesses such cruel behaviors (Stopbullying.gov). There are several roles that those who witness bullying can play, including reverting from being a bystander to becoming an upstander. Accordingly, an upstander is any individual who witnesses bullying taking place but rather than keep quiet about it, decides to speaks up and intervene to save the victim from such situation. Usually, children who become the victims of bullying usually feel unloved and uncared for especially in situations where there are bystanders who do nothing about the bullying. They make such victims develop the feeling that nobody cares about their plight, making them believe that the world is such a cruel place to be (Stopbullying.gov). However, sometimes bystanders avoid interjecting for fear that they might end up being bullied as well in retaliation for standing up against the cruel conduct of bullies.

              Bystanders however can become upstanders by aiding the victims, especially where they are children to make them cope with the trauma that comes with bullying. Just by speaking up, such upstanders stand a chance of making a whole world of difference to the victim as that relieves them of stress and anxiety. First, the bystander can become an upstander by questioning the bully`s conduct and calling them out for their cruelty (Stopbullying.gov). By so doing, the upstander would make the bully realize that his or her conduct is unjustified and uncalled for. In most instances, the bullies do not understand just how much damage they could be doing to their victims especially psychologically and emotionally. Questioning their conducts might help them to understand that their behaviors is unethical and unnecessary (Stopbulliyng.gov). They can also use humor to remove the tensions between the bully and the victim. Such approach changes the focus and redirects the bully`s focus to other things away from his intention to bully the victim. The good thing with using humor is that it doesn’t make the upstander another victim of the same. 

             Also, in the event of fear of retaliation, the bystanders can gang up against the bully to demonstrate to him that there are several people who do not like his conduct of bullying others (Stopbullying.gov). Ganging up provides some sense of security considering that there is power and strength in numbers. Moreover, it would take an extraordinary amount of courage for the bully to face a group of bystanders who might be of different age groups and physique. It is also prudent for the upstanders to walk with the persons who are likely to become victims of bullying (Stopbullying.gov). It helps in diffusing potential bullying as the bullies would fear approaching their victim where they are with elder or stronger people. It is possible that bullies are cowards who only take advantage of soft targets to express their underlying feelings and characters.

              It also makes a difference to walk up to the victim of the bullying to assure them that whatever they suffered from is unjustifiable in the estimation of right-thinking members of the society. Sometimes people do not approve of bullying but they remain afraid of speaking up because they might end up becoming victims too (Stopbullying.gov). As such, where such bystanders lack the courage to speak or intervene against bullying, they can walk to the victim and assure them of the moral and emotional support. It helps a great deal when victims find somebody to share with their feelings and encounters. The bystanders can also choose to become the victim`s hero by approaching the bully and telling him off about his behavior of bullying others (Stopbullying.gov). Doing so makes the bully become fearful and thus refrain from harassing the victim.