The Perilous Fight

While the national anthem is playing, most people stand up and put their right hand to their heart, but this is not what Colin Kaepernick did during the game with Green Bay. Kaepernick, a San Francisco 49ers quarterback, created controversy when he refused to stand during the national anthem in protest to the mistreatment of African Americans and other minorities in the United States. Instead, he knelled while the song was being played. During an interview after the game, Kaepernick stated that "I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color." He did it to show that what is being done towards minorities is wrong and something needs to be done about it. Although I do think that it is important to express what you are feeling and protest when you believe that something wrong is happening, I think that he could have handled it in a better manner. Kaepernick should not have brought politics into football, a family sport which people watch to relax and entertain themselves. He also showed disrespect to the country and to all the people who fought for the freedoms we have. If he wanted to protest, he should have done it outside of his workplace. In the interview, he also said that it would be selfish of him to look away from the issue which is why he took a "stand" but he could have taken a stand in any other place or done it in a different way. I don't think that Colin Kaepernick did the "right" thing when he knelled during the national anthem, but I also don't think he did a completely wrong thing because he was doing it for a good cause. He felt that as a public figure, he could make a different by shedding light on the issue and help other minorities like him.

Do The Right Thing

The quote "...Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys a community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leave a society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. connects to Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. In the script for the movie, Radio Raheem stands outside Sal's Pizzeria blasting music which makes Sal so angry that he took a bat and breaks Radio Raheem's boom box. After his most valued possession is destroyed, Radio Raheem freaks out and starts physically fighting with Sal. Later when the police come, they put Radio Raheem in a choke hold to stop him but in the while, kill him. Radio Raheem's hatred of Sal caused him to join the boycott and blast the music in from of the pizzeria. Sal's hatred of the music and tendencies to be a little racist caused him to get so angry that he smashed the boom box. This goes to show that both their violent acts were a result of their hatred of each other. After witnessing the death of Radio Raheem, black people in the community including Mookie grew extremely furious. Even though Da Mayor tried to stop the riot, he was not able after Mookie threw a garbage can into the window of the pizzeria. They completely destroyed Sal's Pizzeria and burnt it to the ground. Mookie's hatred towards Sal and his anger at what just happened made his start the riot that burnt down the pizzeria. The violence destroyed the community and caused the blacks in the community to be against white people and police officers. The violence ended Radio Raheem's life and brought down Sal's Pizzeria. The events that happened will cause Sal and his sons to hate black people even more and make the people in the community intolerant to the people who caused their pain.

 

 

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