Speaking up for Willa

            When a person is put through immense pain and suffering, whether physically or mentally, it can be tough to determine how to handle the situation. These situations can be anything from stalking to sexual assault. In times of distress, it is often hard to speak up for yourself, and in cases like this you typically need someone to stand up for you. Speaking up for another person can entail anything from talking to them and letting them know you are there, to telling a figure of higher authority in order to get them help. In some cases, victims are able to stand up for themselves, but when they are not I believe everyone needs someone in their life willing to speak for them and stick by their side, however, in Friendswood, that wasn’t the case.

             In Friendswood, written by René Steinke, a group of teenagers decide to leave school to go hang out and party at the Lawbournes’ house. At this party, there were a group of guys, and one girl named Willa, all who decided to pop pills and

drink. Willa, who is not usually a drinker wants to impress her crush, Cully, who has also attended this get together. In the meantime, Willa got blacked out drunk and raped. The next day she woke up in a mysterious room with little memory of what went on that night. A woman found Willa and called her mother. After her mother was called and while she was getting dressed, Willa noticed something foul written on her hipbone… slut. After such a traumatic experience, the last thing Willa needed was to get shut out, however for a while that’s exactly what she got. She was sent out of school for a few days, all of her classmates looked at her differently, her mom disapproved of her leaving school that day, and her dad wouldn’t even look at her, she had relatively nobody. This however, is because nobody knew her side except the ones involved.

             In Willa’s case, there is one woman in particular who should have taken the time and effort to speak up for her, and that is the lady who found her in the room, Mrs. Thompson. When Mrs. Thompson found Willa, practically naked in the room instead of confronting her in a rude manner, she should have first asked her if she was okay. Although Mrs. Thompson was unaware of Willa’s current status, as was everyone, before calling her mom it would have been best to first check up on Willa and why she was found how she was and all alone. Additionally, before Mrs. Thompson called her mother, Willa attempted to dial the numbers to her house phone herself, however she was unable to and had to write the number down on a piece of paper. Willa’s behavior suggests that of trauma and it should have been recognized sooner. To my knowledge, it is also implied that Willa remained in the room with Mrs. Thompson as she got dressed and discovered “slut” written in ink on her skin. All of Willa’s behavior, and the profound language found on her body, should have led to questioning and or comforting from the lady that found her the way she was.

            Mrs. Thompson, being the first to discover Willa the next day, after the incident occurred, should have been the one to speak up with and for her because she witnessed her at her time of most vulnerability. All it may have taken was a simple “are you okay”, or “what happened last night”, or even an “I’m here if you want to talk about what happened to you” to make Willa more comfortable with the situation and what happened to her. I have no doubt in my mind that at that point in time the actions that occurred the night before were still a little hazy, and a blur, however, knowing someone is there for you when the memories flow back can make all of the difference. And I feel as though this coming from the woman who got a firsthand look at Willa could have helped her through. It is the little things that Mrs. Thompson could have went about differently, and speaking up for Willa, that could have made a world of a difference.                                                                                                                                                                                                             

TO LIE OR NOT TO LIE

Say one of your best friends borrowed your favorite shirt and they lost it, would you want them to tell you? Here the question may arise, to lie or not to lie? Putting myself in the other persons shoes I would know for sure I would want to know if my shirt got stained, ripped, or lost, causing me to come out and tell the truth, facing any given consequences. However, not everyone thinks like that. Some people feel it is okay to lie all the time, others in certain situations, and some not at all. I was raised to be one of those “in certain situations” people. I was brought up to believe that it is better to tell the truth unless it could physically hurt you or somebody else, however, you shouldn’t spare someone’s feelings because you’re afraid of the re-precautions.

Unfortunately, Madame Mathilde did not think the same way I do and that cost her a fortune. In the story, The Necklace by Guy Maupassant Madame Mathilde was a gorgeous, and materialistic maid who was unhappy with her life situation. She feels that she is superior and believes she should be famous and of a higher class. Her husband, Loisel tried his best to please her and satisfy her expensive taste. After surprising Mathlide with tickets to a ball, she refused the proposal because she had no dress. So Loisel trying to please her, bought her a gorgeous, and elegant dress. Then still unhappy, Madame Mathilde was annoyed because she didn’t have any jewelry, she decided to borrow a stunning diamond necklace from her friend Madame Forestier. At some point on the way back from the ball, Mathlide lost the diamond necklace, and panicked into finding more time, she wrote to Foster and said that the clasp of her necklace broke and they were sending it to be mended. In the meantime, they went to a jeweler who offered them a real diamond necklace, almost identical to the original for 36,000 francs. After 10 years of working long and hard hours to come up with the money, she finally returns the necklace to its previous owner. Come to find out, the original was a fake, it only cost 500 francs.

 Although there could be numerous themes such as greed, jealousy, self-perception, and class, the main moral of the story is based off of lying. Madame Mathilde’s little white lie, which seemed harmless and in her eyes like the “right” thing to do, telling the truth would have saved her a lot of time and money. Some people might agree that the “right” thing to do is nothing but a personal opinion and perception, and that being the case her replacing the necklace was right. However, she could’ve gone about it in a more mature and confronting manner. Coming forward and telling Madame Forestier that she lost the necklace could also be considered the right thing to do because it would save trust, time, money, stress, and some could even say Madame Mathilde’s wellbeing.

I have to say that in this case, and most others, lying is not the right thing to do. Unless lying could save someone’s life, you should never lie to save someone’s feelings, or make them feel better about you. I don’t know anyone who wants their friends or family to lie to them. Lying disturbs trust in many relationships, and can often cause you them all together. This is why the right thing to do would have been for Madame Mathilde to not lie. And I’m sure she learned her lesson.

            

Is Taking a Knee the "Right" Thing to do? 

           Since the minute you were able to make your own decisions, all around you, people encourage you to stand up for what you believe in. Some people will encourage you to stand up within reason, and others no matter the circumstance or consequence. Although these people may mold or influence your beliefs and decisions, you have the final say in what you feel is right and wrong. There is a very controversial topic souring in the media right now. During the national anthem, public sport figures have begun to take a seat or take a knee. This protest began with the 49ers quarterback, Colin Kaepernick.

           On September 1, 2016, Colin Kaepernick took a knee during the national anthem before a preseason game. This sparked conversation and debate, but like any good protest, he had followers. Many people argued this stand to be disrespectful and unpatriotic. However, Kaepernick felt he had a justified reason to refuse standing for our country. In Kaepernick’s interviews he stated that he would not show pride for a country which suppresses African Americans and other minority groups. If this wasn’t a reoccurring issue, would Kaepernick have so many people following in his footsteps? Many viewers believed that Kaepernick should have left his political beliefs to his own time and circumstances. And that a public figure should not use his/her publicity to raise awareness for their stand on such a controversial topic. However, if his beliefs and feelings on the topic were so strong, why not use publicity. Kaepernick is getting pummeled in the media for his stand and how he went about it, but who is to tell him his beliefs are wrong. If he is trying to stand up and make a change for something he truly believes in, the press ridiculing him won’t stand in his way. Instead of standing against him, why not stand with him and help change the way the people of the world view minority groups.

The "Right" Thing To Do

The “right” thing to do is nothing but a personal opinion based on morals and your upbringing. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s views on doing the right thing was that violence is never the answer, not even when violence or force is being used on you. In some circumstances, this can definitely be considered the “right” thing to do especially when it involves standing up for what you believe in. While reading Do the Right Thing the character that reminded me the most of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was Da Mayor. The main scene that connects the two together is at the end of the script after the police killed Radio Raheem. Radio Raheem was killed when the police put him in a choke hold to restrain him and get him away from Sal, who he was choking. When they pulled him off and put him into the hold he was struggling, but eventually the struggling stopped and he was lifeless. After his murder took place, the surrounding crowd got angry and formed a mob which went after Sal, Vito, and Pino. In turn, Da Mayor tried talking the mob out of attacking the family and their pizzeria because they “had nothing to do with what the police did”. Da Mayor could have jumped in with the mob, but instead he stood against the violence and defended what he believed was right. That is what I believe Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would’ve done, and it was the right thing to do.