Aprils, 2019 I The Clarion
Opinion
Page 5
Legally, I'm conflicted about
Jussie Smollett Situation
By Julie Carter
Opinion Editor
Over the past weeks, we as a nation were
bombarded with news about Jussie Smollett’s
alleged hate crime that turned out to be a
farce. Initially, Smollett was charged with
disorderly conduct amongst other charges.
When prosecutors decided to drop all charges
against the “Empire” actor, the nation’s jaw
collectively hit the floor.
Cook County state’s attorney Kim Foxx
said the charges were dropped due to a lack
of enough evidence to secure a conviction for
Smollett and that she wanted to focus on bigger
crime within the city of Chicago.
The aspect of wanting to focus on larger
crime within the city of Chicago is easy
enough for me to understand as well as calls
that Smollett could not receive a fair trial after
all the media exposure. Even if I accepted all
that, I am still troubled by the decision to drop
all charges against Smollett.
With the charges being dropped, it sends a
clear message to Chicago as well as the rest of
the nation as a whole: we don’t care about those
who file false police reports. Now, ever5Thing
Smollett did is still up for speculation, but the
evidence against him is rather daunting for
anyone to stomach.
Smollett’s alleged attackers were found with
a check that Smollett had given them. This
denotes that this is hardly a random act of hate
violence.
Smollett’s actions also make it that much
harder for every victim of a hate crime to be
taken seriously. People will begin to ask: is this
just another Smollett incident? Smollett should
be the punished exception, not the guideline by
which we treat every other victim.
We as the public must hold ourselves to a
higher standard, and we should expect the same
of our criminal justice system. I believe in the
system, but this is a serious lapse in judgement.
Photo from People .com
Smollett addresses the hate crime allegations
during a press conference.
'No' never means 'maybe'
By Kenny Cheek
staff Writer
Peer pressure is something that we hear
throughout all of our lives, whether it has
to do with cheating on a test, drinking until
blacking out and especially when it comes to
relationships.
The phrase “no means no” obviously never
means yes. This is true when it comes to
literally anything. So why do people press
you when you say no? When does “no thanks”
transfer into “maybe, but you can try and
convince me?”
People do not just experience this in
affectionate relationships; this can happen in
friendships, family relationships and so much
more.
If you have a friend that you have asked to
do something, and he or she has said no, then
what is the point in asking again when you have
already heard their answer? Unless you are hard
of hearing, there is no excuse.
“In high school, I had this friend who would
ask me to go to parties often. I am not that type
of person, so I always said no, but she would
persist and try to persuade me,” Savannah Jones
said. “I just quit talking to her.”
This type of persistence may seem cute to
people who think of it as just playful and an
attempt to broaden their friend’s eyes to the
world that they do not want to enter, but to the
rest of the world, it is annoying, and makes
people think that their words hold no weight.
Despite what most people think, not everyone
shares the same interests. Not everyone enjoys
partying, hiking, drinking, driving, singing,
going out or whatever activity you force them
to agree to.
In fact, this can ruin a friendship rather
quickly. It does matter to the person you ask
as to whether or not you consider their feelings
when you continuously bombard them with the
same question only to receive the same never
ending answer.
As for family, it gets harder and harder when
you are busy with college, work and life in
general to go along with whatever your parents
force you into.
“Everytime I’m home, my mom asks me
to play my oboe for the church. I don’t go to
church, and I don’t like playing in front of
people. Every single time I tell her no, but she
has been asking me for years,” Rachel Gunnis
explained. “It gets really tedious.”
This strain on a relationship can lead to
arguments and heated discussions often when
parents think they still have ultimate authority
over you when you finally gain independence.
The next time you ask a friend, family
member, coworker or whoever to go out and do
something, and they respond with a no, try to
consider their emotions. Ask once, then accept
the answer. It really is not that hard.
NO MEANS NO.