We've all heard the horror stories, a corrupt government takes advantage of its citizens and they rebel, destroying what was once their home. When I turn on the news these days, it is not uncommon for the headline to be another murder by the police and people "rioting" after. The media portrays the protesters as "thugs" or "savages" when in fact they are much more civil than our beloved heroine, Katniss Everdeen, was in the hit book series, "The Hunger Games."

First of all, there is a big difference between "rioting" and "protesting." What happened a few years ago in Baltimore was a riot, meaning property was damaged intentionally. This also happened when the San Francisco Giants won the World Series in baseball. What happens all across the country are protests, in which people usually chant and march, exercising their constitutional right of freedom of speech and right to gather. Yes, it does occasionally get out of hand, but when horrible things are happening to our brothers and sisters, are we supposed to remain silent?

I always hear people saying how "stupid" these demonstrators are, with little to no reasons to back up their claim. The way the media publicizes protesters is unfair. American media is very one sided. It is just the same as Americans thoughts on Muslims. Yes there are some bad Muslims, but there are also bad Christians, but not all Muslims are terrorists and not all Christians are angry towards sinners. Just because we do not share the same beliefs does not make one of us better than the other.

The people who were in the capitol in The Hunger Games saw the lower districts begin to rebel and could not understand why. This is due to the fact that people never try to walk in each other's shoes. Had the capitol and the lower districts been reversed, the capitol would be up in arms in anger over their unjust, biased government.

This does not only go for the Black Lives Matter protests, but pride parades used to be considered socially unacceptable, and still are in some areas. The "Slutwalk" is still shamed by angry men across the country.

Just because you do not share an opinion on something being unjust or not with someone else, does not make you superior. Instead, try to imagine what it would be like to be on their side of the fence. In doing this, we can all understand each other a little bit more. Take yourself off of the capitol, and put yourself in the games. Then you can make an educated decision on what you believe is appropriate.