On the Water Front

In the movie, On the Waterfront the difference between a "stool pigeon" and someone who is an "informant on criminal activity" is very defined. Our main character, Terry, struggles on whether to tell information about the mob or to keep quite. He knows that he might put himself in danger if he tells but he listens to his consiance and tells anyway. Although Terry makes a decision to stand up for what he believes in, many other characters view him as a "stool pigeon". These characters include the mob, Johnny Friendly and even his brother Charlie.
In my opinion I think it is right to tell about criminal activity. If someone was put in danger, or killed I believe they should be punished, and stopped from ever repeating this kind of activity again. However, I can understand why someone would be viewed as a "rat" for giving up insider information but I still believe that it is the moral thing to do!