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 it 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: Elizabeth Lauten
Every Thanksgiving, the President of the United States pardons a turkey in front of the press. Despite its silliness, this turkey pardoning is a time-honored tradition. This year, President Obama’s daughters Sasha, 13, and Malia, 16, were in attendance, and like typical teenagers, they were not amused by dear old dad’s typical “dad jokes.”
Following the event, Elizabeth Lauten, communications director for Tennessee representative Stephen Fincher (R) took to Facebook to chastise the Obama girls’ behavior during the turkey pardoning, calling them out for not respecting their positions as members of the First Family.
Lauten attacked the girls for what they were wearing during the event, like a middle school mean girl, saying, “dress like you deserve respect, not a spot at a bar.”
First of all, these girls are teens, so for Lauten, an adult, is ridiculous, catty and disgusting. Second, they were not doing anything inappropriate. They dressed for their age, but in a conservative manner. They were just playing their role as teenagers.
Lauten’s diatribe took plenty of opportunities to criticize President Obama and his politics, too. However, her criticism of Sasha and Malia contributed to an ongoing trend of horrifically bullying teenagers online, and should not have occurred.
This type of writing, the kind that criticizes someone based solely on superficial grounds, should not be tolerated, especially when it is done by someone who is supposed to run the communications for one our nation’s leaders.
Bottom line is this: Don’t attack kids, even if it’s just with words. It makes you small. It makes you petty. It makes you an asshole.
Via: WAMU
Hero: Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners
In a world where we hear stories about laws tearing people apart on the basis of gender, race or class, it’s wonderful to hear a story where the opposite occurs.
On Tuesday, the Miami-Dade County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance forbidding the discrimination of a person based on one’s gender identity in housing, employment or other public accommodations. Despite dissent from one of the board’s members, the ordinance passed.
Although this doesn’t make the ordinance a law just yet, it’s a first step to making a statewide anti-discrimination law on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Amid all the discrimination in our country and in the world, this ordinance passing in Dade County shows that equality is not just a pipe dream. It’s within reach.
This is about showing not only one community that their voices will be heard, but it’s about showing the whole world that being different shouldn’t make you lesser. The law can and will recognize those who have marginalized. It will take time, but society will catch up.
Thank you, Dade County, for showing us that hope can still exist in this otherwise despondent place.
Feature photo courtesy of: GB Times
