You Do Not Deserve Rape.

Willa is a 15-year-old smart and innocent sophomore who likes Cully, who can be labeled as the polar opposite of Willa. Cully decides to throw a party n the middle of a school day with alcohol and drugs in which he convinces Willa to attend. Willa is the only girl at this party and is not a drinker, however she gets drunk to impress Cully.  At one point during the party, Willa lays down because she is so tired and drunk.  At this point, Cully and a few others take advantage of her and gang rape her while she is heavily intoxicated and unaware of her surroundings.  The only person besides Cully and his friends who were aware of Willa being upstairs with Cully was Dex.  Dex likes Willa and is a good guy but struggles with doing the right thing.  This struggle includes Dex leaving the party, but more importantly, leaving Willa when he hears that she is upstairs.  Though Dex admits he doesn’t know Willa all that well, the right thing would be to check on her because he did have the knowledge that she was extremely intoxicated after speaking to Snow.  Additionally, even though he believes he didn’t know Willa at that well, he thought to himself that she wouldn’t just offer herself up to anyone.  Jealousy could have been a reason for Dexs’ leaving of the house.  He might have been so angry or disgusted with the thought of Willa to willingly wants to have sex with Cully that the only thing he wanted to do was leave.  However, even though Dex did not do the right thing by leaving, he could not have known If Willa was willing or not to have sex with Cully because she liked him.  Willas mother is another person who did not do the right thing.  Willas mother told the doctor she did not want whatever happened to get out.  In other words, Wiillas mother is okay with having her daughter suffer and be traumatized with this experience without trying to fight for any justice against Cully and the other boys.  In situations like this, it is hard for the victim to be brave and fight for herself, which is why both Dex and her mother are two people who should have done the right thing and should have tried to take a stand for Willa.

The following music video "Tip it Happens o You" was composed by Lady Gaga in 2015.  This song was written for the Hunting Ground, a documentary that deals with rape.  This song sends a message about being strong and speaking out against sexual assaults. 

Lying is defined as to speak falsely or utter untruth knowingly, as with intent to deceive.  A big question many people ponder is "Is it every okay to lie?"  Many people believe that lying is acceptable if used in a good and correct moral manner.  For example, people may find it acceptable to lie if you are lying to protect yourself from any type of dangerous matter, wether it is emotionally or physically.  For example, you may not want to open up your feelings to someone you believe does not have your best interest at heart but continues to pry to hear about your personal feelings.  It can be hard deciding wether to lie or not to protect someones feelings.  While most people who lie to protect feelings have the other persons best interest at heart, this could be the opposite of what the other person wants.  They may be more offended if they found out you were lying and sometimes people rather just hear the truth no matter how hard it may be to hear or even tell it.

In The Necklace, Mathilde believes that wealth is the key to making herself desirable to all the high class people at the ball and that happiness is linked with wealth, therefore refuses to attend the ball without wearing exorbitant jewelry and a dress.  She seeks help from her "friend" Madame Forestier.  Mathilde borrows what she thinks is the most expensive and costly necklace Madame Forestier owns.  After wearing it to the party and misplacing it,  Mathilde lies to Madame Forestier saying she broke the clasp and has taken it to get fixed.  In this situation,  Mathilde panics, lies, and then lies once again by omission of not telling Madame Forestier that the necklace she has returned to her is not her original.  In this case,  Mathilde was selfish and lied to protect herself from the consequences of her misplacing the necklace.  In this case, it was wrong for her to lie because her lie did not protect anyone except herself, and it did not protect her from any life-threatening danger.  If Mathilde had told the truth she would have saved herself from lots of stress, poverty, and debt. In the end, by lying, Mathilde thought she was doing the best thing for herself at the time, but in the long-run, it just ruined her even more and put her further into poverty- more than she already thought she was.

The following video discusses if lying is good or not, when it is okay to lie, and the statistics of on average how often the common person lies.  Please watch to discover the consequences and the effects lying can have on the person.

                                     Taking a Stand Kneel For Your Rights                   

 Colin Kaepernick was the former quarterback of the NFL San Francisco 49ers for six years. This six year quarterback put a pause to his NFL career the day the 49ers played a preseason game against the Green Bay Packers on the night of August 26, 2016.  Before kickoff, Kaepernick decided to take a stand by taking a kneel during the National Anthem. This was the action that shocked the entire NFL and Americans all over the country. 

            In an interview with the NFL, Kaepenick stated that his reasoning behind his action was due to racial injustice. “I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder. ...This is not something that I am going to run by anybody. I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. ... If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.” 

            Kaepernicks situation ties to the whole theme of the movie “Do the Right Thing.”  Kaepenick did what he did because morally, he believed it was the right thing to do.  Americans all over the country were stunned and angered by this action.  While I do not agree with the actions of Kaepernick, nor do I believe he did the right thing,  I do understand that he is exercising his freedom and natural rights as an American citizen.  The reactions behind his actions were so extreme because he did something no one has ever dared about doing before.   This action was earth shattering for Americans to witness because it is very difficult to watch someone protest against a country that you have so much respect and love for.  I believe that Kaepernick picked the wrong place and the wrong environment to protest.  There is a way to protest and get your opinions out to the world peacefully without being disrespectful to a country and to those who fought and sacrificed their lives for your freedom.  In conclusion, there is a right place and a right time for everything, and there is always a way to express your opinions, values, and beliefs without disrespecting those values of others.