The Question for 12/12

The movie On the Waterfront is an exceptional movie about a man named Terry and his involvement with the mob. When it comes to traitors and whistleblowers there is a distinct difference. A whistle blower works for the larger society while a traitor works selfishly. In the film, Terry, is ethically challenged on if he should “tattle” on the mob. Eventually he does just that and he is seen as a “whistle blower.”The characters beliefs are generally the same. A snitch is a snitch and there is no difference. Terry in the beginning of the movie would never dream of telling on the mob because the general idea was that anyone who gave information, no matter who it helped, was a traitor in the highest degree. Through the movie, though, we see that his beliefs change and, by the end, he knows that you are not a traitor if you help a larger, innocent society. Some characters, the ones who lead him to this decision, Edy and the Priest, always believe that a traitor and whistle blower are two very different things. The Mob characters always believe that any information given about the society was traitor behavior and was punishable by death. And finally, the views of the larger society. In the beginning no one was willing to talk because of their fear for themselves and for that, we can call them traitors to the greater good. They refused to protect the innocent, and by being faithful to the mob, they hust society. By the end, though, they realized that, if it protected the citizens and the larger group by giving information, it wasn’t treachery, it was protection.
I believe that anytime the innocent are being persecuted and information is given, the person is completely safe from the title of “traitor.” I believe that you are a traitor if you give information of protection to the ones trying to hurt something. In war (sorry, couldn’t think of a better example) if you give information to the other side, if both sides are fighting equally, it can be considered treachery. More importantly, I believe that whistle blowers are anyone trying to help those who have done nothing wrong. The difference between a traitor and a whistle blower is essentially this; when you “tattle” to help the wrongly persecuted you are a whistle blower, but if you are merely trying to win something by giving information, you can be called a traitor.