Increasingly, parents became passive bystanders, Mr. Light says.

For weeks, the Knicks (37-24) had been passive bystanders as teams like the 76ers (34-26) had been closing in.

With the exception of Heidelberg, townspeople generally remained passive bystanders.

Nations are often not just passive bystanders but are complicit, as they continue with business as usual.

Public television and cable are not just passive bystanders.

We are seen as passive bystanders.

The jury, he said, would hear "what happened to John Lindh," implying that Mr. Lindh was a passive bystander.

One is a passive bystander, portrayed by Stuart Cassidy, and the other, persuasively danced by William Trevitt, becomes the woman's lover.

Craig Kielburger has suggested that all the suffering and violence in the media have conditioned us to become passive bystanders.

Many intense, in-your-face jocks suddenly become passive bystanders when their pathological brothers assault and rape.