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 you: Asshole and Hero of the week.
Asshole: The Anti-Semitic at Emory University
Via: Business Insider
Over the weekend, someone (or a group of someones) took it upon themselves to paint swastikas on the outside of Alpha Epsilon Pi, an historically Jewish fraternity house, at Emory University. The vandalism occurred sometime late Saturday night or early Sunday morning, right after the end of Yom Kippur, one of the highest holidays in the Jewish faith.
As of now, there has been no word on suspects in this case, but both the university and AEPi are standing together to find out who violated the fraternity house. Emory University released a statement saying that “this abhorrent act will not be tolerated.” This was followed up by a statement released by the Emory AEPi brotherhood saying, “We are working alongside Emory to ensure that intolerable acts of hate, such as this, will never occur again.”
I suppose everyone has the right to their own opinions and beliefs and blah, blah, blah, but when you choose to exploit your beliefs by defiling the beliefs of others, you are the worst kind of a person. Whoever did this was not only insulting the people of the Jewish faith, but he/she/they were also reminding the world of one of the worst blights of human history. To thrust this in the faces of anyone, Jewish or not, is disgusting.
So, unnamed perpetrator of these heinous crimes, since you clearly have no respect for human decency or kindness, take your crown of Asshole of the Week. You deserve it.
Hero: Fatu Kekula
Via: african-sweetheart.com
The Ebola virus is reaping victims all across West Africa, and it is beginning to spread to other parts of the world as well. The virus has a death rate of about 70 percent, but one woman was able to decrease her family’s rate to about 25 percent.
Fatu Kekula is a 22-year-old woman who lives in West Africa. Her entire family contracted Ebola, and she single-handedly took care of them. Her father, mother, sister and cousin all developed the disease after her father caught if from a hospital while visiting for another reason.
Fatu is in her final year of nursing school, and she invented her own equipment when her family doctor told her he could not come to the house to treat her family. She used what international aid workers have now dubbed “the trash bag method.”
Every day, sometimes several times a day for about two weeks, Fatu performed this long and arduous method, never missing anything. She put trash bags over her socks, put on rubber boots over the trash bags, and then put more trash bags over her boots. She put stockings over her hair, followed by a trash bag. Then, she put on a raincoat and four pairs of gloves per hand. And, finally, she donned a mask.
With her method, she was able to treat her family until beds opened up at the JFK Medical Center. Her mother, father and sister have all since recovered. Her cousin, on the other hand, passed away at the hospital shortly after arriving.
Despite the odds, Fatu fought hard to keep her family alive. She’s a hero to them, and an inspiration to us.
Featured photo courtesy of: CNN
