Regan Ross Exploration Four

Part 1: I found the documentary "Ain't Scared of Your Jails" very inspiring. What inspired me most is the bravery of the young students. They were willing to take beatings, go to jail, and be ridiculed publicly; they were there to make change happen and they were not going to take no for an answer. If I were in the same situation as them today, I don't know if I would be strong enough to do the same thing they did. One thing I will take away from the film is the power of non-violence because it is relevant in many situations, especially today with protests for the "Black Lives Matter" movement. I think that everyone could learn something from this film, including "Black Lives Matter" protesters. These civil rights movement leaders got what they wanted done without any violence, at least from themselves. I believe that one problem with today's protestors is that they are too quick to use violence to get their point across. This just causes a state of chaos for everyone involved.
  "We took our seats in a very orderly, peaceful fashion. We stayed there at the lunch counter studying and preparing our homework because we were denied service." This quote was said by John Lewis about the sit-ins in Nashville. He explains just how nonviolent the students were at the lunch counters. The sit-ins are really what put the civil movement in the eye of the public. Nonviolence was a huge part of this movement, and if the movement was not based on nonviolence, who knows what it would have turned into.
John Lewis was born in Alabama in 1940. He is considered one of the "Big Six" leaders of the civil rights movement. The some of the other six leaders are Martin Luther King Jr. and James Farmer the representative for CORE. John Lewis was the chairman of SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee). Lewis was also part of the freedom rides. Today, Lewis 76 and is part of the US representative for Georgia.

Part 2: The short story I chose from the book was "Friends." One theme that stood out to me in this chapter was the soldier's ability to forgive each other. The two men had been in a huge fight and in the end, they both were hurt. By this chapter, the men had forgiven each other and they were better off now as friends than they were before. It doesn't happen very often for two people to be closer after such a huge fight. I think the writing was at its best when Strunk got a "wheelchair" injury and Jensen decided not to kill him even though they had made a promise to each other. The part I thought was important was that Jensen was relieved when Strunk died on his flight to the hospital. This showed how much he actually cared about Strunk. If Strunk had asked Jensen to kill him, would he?

The long story I chose from the book was "Sweetheart of Song Tra Bong." One idea that stood out to me is how easily and how much Mary Ann was able to change. She went to Vietnam a normal girl and while she was their she became a soldier who was thirsty for thrills. I think the writing was at its best on page 109 when Rat was explaining the feelings of war as a metaphor in the case of Mary Ann.  "For Mary Ann Bell, it seemed, Vietnam had the effect of a powerful drug: that mix of unnamed terror and unnamed pleasure that comes as the needle slips in and you know you're risking something." In this quote he attempting to make his audience realize why Mary Ann did what she did. This story brought up many questions. 1. Where did Mary Ann actually go? 2. Was Rat telling the whole truth about this story? I ask this because the story seems very unrealistic to me.