I don’t get it, if she was being bullied, then why didn’t she speak up for herself and end the situation? This question pops into my head every time someone doesn’t do anything to end their harassment. People need to rock the boat every once in a while, especially if an unjust act is occurring. It is definitely not right to bully or cheat, or lie, but what’s worse are the people who witness these events and do nothing to stop it. Situations like these are pandemics in our schools and societies, and it needs to end.


In the movie The Freedom Writers, Eva rats on a member of her gang in court, betraying her people. Because of this, her “friends” threatened her life, and she was exiled. Although the situation might not have turned out for the better, at least she told the truth and kept an innocent man out of a life in prison. Now, this whole thing might sound corny, but it really is the right thing to do, you might just have to see through the eyes of the person stuck in a bad situation and think of what you would do and how that decision would affect your life.


If you are being bullied or harassed, the only way out of it is to stand up for yourself and tell them to stop, or go to a teacher who can put a punishment in place. No one should be afraid of standing up and speaking for themselves, most of the time, the situation will end. Recently, I was being harassed in my math class because I asked some people to be quiet so I could learn, and they apparently did not want to be told what to do. This ‘harassment’ eventually let to mocking, accusations, and even threats. Me and my friends eventually went to the office and told administrators everything. They talked to the kids, and now, they don’t even interrupt the teacher. Although they know it was us who ratted them out, the situation eventually ended. If we hadn’t told the administrators, the threats could have become actions and we could have gotten hurt just because we were quiet. In my book, staying quiet isn’t even an option.


Throughout history, there have been unjust situations, bigotry, and racism. What do you thing life would be like today if Martin Luther King Jr. never spoke out? Or what if the Boston Tea Party was never thought of? If people hadn’t rocked the boat or spoke up, advanced civilization might not have been implemented in our society. We would be imbeciles, afraid to try anything now, or change the ways of prehistoric, small-minded living.


Speaking up for yourself or someone else is the right thing to do, not to mention, has been a key role in developing modern society. To continue to strive in the world, the boat must be rocked every once in a while, and unjust situations must come to light. Would you want to live in a world where everyone was quiet?