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. 

Is it always right to take the high road?

Spike closes the end of Do the Right Thing with a quite by Malcolm X that states, "I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn’t mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense. I don’t even call it violence when it’s self-defense, I call it intelligence.".  This quote connects on a very strong level to the story.  In this quote Malcom X is stating his belief that violence is a very intelligent strategy and method of self-defense.  This belief connects to the the beliefs of Buggin' Out throughout Do the Right Thing and his self-defense against racial prejudice.  Malcom X states that he doesn't necessarily support violence, but he will not be afraid to use it if he needs to defend himself and will use it to do whatever it takes to end a poor situation.  At the end of the play when Radio Raheem was killed, the mob saw this as an act of racism and lashed out trashing the entire pizzeria. This showed violence in attempt to self defend.

Spike also closes the end of Doing the Right Thing with a quote by Martin Luther King Jr. which states "Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."  In this quote, Martin Luther is trying to get the message across that violence is not the answer nor the way to fix something that is unjust.  In other words, Martin Luther's messages would be to "do the right thing".  Radio Raheem did the right thing when Sal yelled at him to turn off the music in his restaurant.  Radio Raheem obliged without starting trouble with Sal. Another scenario that resembled the idea of peace not violence was when Buggin Out' let Clinton go without starting trouble with him after he had messed up his brand new expensive sneakers and did not apologize. These scenarios resembled Martin Luther's message of how hatred can not be fixed with more hate, only love.