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.
Via: KOAA
Asshole(s): Internet Trolls
We’ve all come across these assholes from time to time, but these particular trolls are more despicable than your average Yik Yak moron.
A South Carolina woman, Linda Pringle, posted a picture of her child on Facebook and the horrifying comments that followed were too much for this mother. She’s been calling out these cyberbullies who have turned a photo of her two-year-old daughter into memes and a joke.
Her daughter, Mariah Anderson has a rare condition called Chromosome Two Duplication Syndrome, a condition that affects motor and learning skills. Her prognosis is not good. The fact that she made it to her second birthday is a blessing.
And the assholes of the internet have taken it upon themselves to make fun of this picture, calling the child “a monster.”
This girl – this child – is not a monster. She’s a person.
So assholes of the internet, listen very carefully. Do not make fun of a child for the way she looks. She’s a child. You don’t know the circumstances surrounding a picture. Think before you judge and before you type. The world has enough ignorant bullies in the world. Let’s not expose this little girl to them with what little time she has left on this earth.
Via: The Grio
Hero(es): Inmates at Rikers Prison
This week, inmates at Rikers Prison in New York tore down a Plexiglas wall in order to stop a female corrections officer from being raped by another inmate. She was injured in the attempted rape and treated at a nearby hospital.
Typically, we hear about inmates as “the bad guys,” but in this instance these guys teamed up to stop an injustice from happening. They recognized that the crime being committed is inexcusable. Instead of just “standing by and serving their time” like most other prisoners do, they took a step to prevent a crime from happening, which is pretty damn cool considering who they are and where they are.
The other corrections officers at the prison stood up to the head of the prison and demanded that the incident be called a “sexual assault” rather than “use of force” like they originally tried to label it. Calling attention to rape and sexual assault instead of brushing it under the rug is essential if we’re ever going to be able to exist in a society when they are not normal happenings.
I like when atypical heroes take center-stage and do something heroic. It’s surprising. It’s refreshing.
So nice job, inmates of Rikers Prison in New York. I don’t know what you did to get put into prison, but I do know that if you were not there, that corrections officer may not have been as fortunate as she was.
Feature photo courtesy of: WNPR
