Juhstickifayshun of Rehsitayshun

Being a conformist who tends to not ruffle feathers, I would definitely not behaved in the manner that Richard did. However, his actions were totally justified. Richard realized that it wasn't fair to him and all his fellow African-Americans to be forced to act in a different manner when white people were in the area, or in this case, the audience. The principal has every right to behave in the manner that he did as well, because being the principal of a high school means identifying potential problems and trying to prevent them from happening. This was just an unfortunate circumstance where no outcome was going to please everyone. Had I been in the position, I would have decided that it was important to pick and choose my battles, and that my valedictorian speech was a secondary issue that didn't speak to me.