The aptly named Buggin Out is the character that pushes the metaphorical snowball of racial tensions down the hill. He comes into Sal's pizza parlor and pitches a fit about the dearth of black men on the wall of fame, which features Italian Americans as a nod to Sal's own heritage. While his argument that Italian Americans don't eat at the pizza parlor, black people do has some validity, his presentation of the argument is hostile, meant to put Sal on the defensive. His outrage at being thrown out of the pizza parlor for disturbing the customers with his increasingly aggressive arguments drives him to petition the neighborhood to boycott Sal's. Through this petition, the audience learns that Sal's is widely accepted and loved by the neighborhood, despite the lack of photographs representing famous figures in black history. With no one to help him fuel his rage, he fades into the background of the film and seems largely reasonable in the brief moments in which Mookie encounters him on the street. It is only when he starts talking with Radio and Smiley about the similar injustices they've received at the hands of Sal's pizzeria (perceived in the case of Radio, actual in the case of Smiley) is he able to fan the fire of his hysterical rage into the attack on Sal's. He moves from the peaceful passive protest of petitioning and boycotting to a less peaceful protest of threat and disruption (the loud radio), which finally explodes into violence.
Buggin Out seems to me to be a personification of the noble cause of equal representation stepping over the boundary of the rights of others. While the request to have equal representation of famous black men on the wall of fame is entirely reasonable, the loud and angry demand for it stepped over the bounds. After all, Sal owns the building and therefore has the right to decorate it however he pleases. Buggin Out's initial response of boycotting the pizzeria was also reasonable; if he does not agree with the views of the owner, he is free to avoid the establishment. Peaceful petition was also a reasonable response; no one is compelled to share his views, but may express camaraderie if they wish. If enough people make a reasonable request, they are likely to receive a reasonable response (especially if the well-being of the business is at stake).
It was only after Buggin Out and Radio began dwelling on the fact that their own demands weren't being met, extrapolating what was a reasonable response on the part of a business owner into a racist attack on their personal rights, that they really begin to lose control. By paying attention to Smiley, they recruit to their cause a dangerously ill-informed yet passionate man who is unable to reason or control his impulses as well as the average person. And so perceived injustice fuels itself and the bystanders into hysteria, which causes several actual acts of injustice to be performed. A man dies and a beloved business burns to the ground. Was it worth it? Was having a photograph on the wall worth a life and a livelihood? I'm not sure how Buggin Out would answer that question, but it is one that needs answering.
Good stuff, Amanda. I'm not so sure Radio Raheem's sense of being wronged by Sal is just a matter of perception. While RR's music is loud and obnoxious to a number of people, Sal's response seems equally extreme and his rules on music a little arbitrary, maybe even less legitimate than his claims regarding the Wall of Fame. Hard to know about the music, though, as there are no other instances of people testing this. In any case, I sort of feel that the film seek answers not so much in the reasonable behavior you outline nicely above, but in some more practical negotiations based on the realities of the neighborhood. Perhaps the real problem is the difficulty of agreeing that such negotiations are necessary and possible.
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