Although we love to view the world in absolutes, things are seldom black and white. Heroes have skeletons in their closets and assholes secretly donate money to the ASPCA commercials with Sarah Mclachlan. Okay, maybe not.
But the point is that the world is a complex place, full of moral ambiguity, double standards and mixed feelings.
So we have taken the task upon ourselves to bring back the epic binary of “good” versus “bad,” “right” versus “wrong,” and “virtuous” versus “evil.”
We humbly present to you: Asshole and Hero of the week.
Asshole(s): Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier
Via: jsonline.com
These 12-year-old horror fiction enthusiasts can add “assholes” to an increasingly demented checklist of characteristics that now includes “psychopaths” and “novice murderers.” On Monday, Morgan Geyser and Anissa Weier, of Wukesha, Wisconsin, were charged with first-degree intentional homicide for the attempted murder of their middle school friend. The victim was lured into local woods for a round of hide-and-seek before being stabbed 19 times by her killer playmates and left for dead. A passing cyclist discovered the severely wounded girl after she crawled from the woods to a nearby highway.
The motive behind the attempted murder was spurred from a “Demon-like meme” named Slenderman, a fictitious character made famous from the wiki horror forum CreepyPasta. Geyser and Weier were allegedly trying to impress the online figment, but there is currently no evidence that writers behind Slenderman suggested readers commit any brutal crimes. The attack had been premeditated and revised since February and was finally attempted Saturday.
In her confession, Geyser admitted to investigators, “It was weird that I didn’t feel remorse.” This takes the influence of the digital age of America’s youth to a dangerously new level.
The pre-teens will be charged as adults, which is a controversial tale as old as crime and will undoubtedly cause more than a little backlash in terms of individual beliefs and opinions of the U.S. justice system.
Hero: Barack Obama
Via: thyblackman.com
On Monday the Obama administration announced a plan via the Environmental Protection Agency that aims to cut carbon emissions 30 percent by 2030.
Rather than one set of federal regulations, the plan allows states to formulate their own plans of action, utilizing a variety of options to reduce emissions, mostly aimed at electricity generation (most of America’s carbon emissions come from coal-fired power plants). Options include increasing plant efficiency, altering plant hours and emphasizing alternative energy sources. Inefficient plants will likely close.
Whether you think Obama is a Kenyan commie, a sensible crusader of all that’s right and good or just a chill guy that seems like he’d be fun to smoke a blunt with, we can all agree that reducing carbon emissions is a pivotal step in approaching the climate change problem.
And although this rule will disrupt the economies of states that rely on the coal industry like Kentucky and Indiana, the benefits of a cleaner America far outweigh the negatives. The EPA predicts that the reductions will prevent 2,700 to 6,600 premature deaths. However you feel about it, needing to search for new employment is probably better than being dead.
Feature photo courtesy of: businessinsider.com
