Whose Rights Are Right?

Every now and then something comes across my path that provokes deep emotions of disappointment and sadness. I was raised to respect the rights of others, to conduct my own actions and related words on a manner that allows my neighbor, whether I know them or not, whether I like them or not, to enjoy his or her human rights that are guaranteed by our Bill of Rights. In other words, I believe that my rights end when I intentionally infringe on the rights of someone else. 

This morning I was watching a video which was posted to my Facebook page. I listened with interest as this individual described how he and his wife and daughter were verbally attacked as they watched an Alfred Hitchcock movie which was shown out-of-doors in Bryant Park, NYC. The treatment they received was deplorable, and I admire them for not retaliating, even when the man's wife had a glass of wine kicked at her back, forcing her to sit on a wet blanket on the ground in a wet blouse and slacks that reeked of alcohol. 

In spite of this treatment, the three-some sat quietly and watched the movie in its entirety over the din of hecklers who spewed hate and diversity accusations in their direction.

After I watched the video and considered using it as the basis for my blog, I was reminded of a movie that taught me a lot about acceptance of people, "A Reason to Kill". In what was a truly emotional closing speech made by the defendant of a murder trial, the defense attorney asked the jury to close their eyes and visualize as he described the torture a young girl went through, the daughter of the defendant, as she was gang-raped by young men in the southern town she and her family lived in. 

At the very end of his closing comments, the attorney asked the jurors to put themselves in the place of the  young girl...then, he asked them to imagine that this young victim was white. There was almost an audible gasp in the courtroom. Why? Those who have watched the movie will know why! The  young girl was black and her attackers were white. The father, who in a fit of rage over the personal violation of his daughter, was on trial for killing the young men as they were being escorted to the courthouse for arraignment, also wounding the deputy who said under oath that he didn't hold no bad feelings against the defendant. The father was found not guilty.

It doesn't matter who the man in the video I watched this morning was...he and his family was exercising their right to enjoy an evening in the park park, the same right each and every other person there was enjoying. Please, watch this video with an open heart! Put yourself in his place, your family on that blanket, eagerly waiting to watch a movie by a favorite screenwriter. 

Then, ask yourself after you've reached the end: "How would I like to be treated as he and his family were treated? "How would I have reacted under the same circumstances?" and "What gives citizens of this country of inalienable rights the right to infringe on the rights of another?" 

What are your answers?

American Family Attacked in Bryant Park, NYC