Asshole and Hero of the Week

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. 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: Andreas Lubitz

A few days ago, international news broke of a Germanwings plane that crashed into the French Alps, killing 149 people. After a transcript of the flight was released to the German media, the whole world came to the shocking realization that the co-pilot of the plane may have crashed on purpose.

The transcript allegedly reports that the pilot was locked out of the cockpit and the co-pilot, Andreas Lubitz, purposefully decreased altitude in order to crash the plane.

Media experts are analyzing whether mental illness was to blame for this horrendous crash. I say that’s no excuse. Even if mental illness was to blame for this crash, someone should have been able to stop it. The airline. The pilot. Someone should have noticed that this co-pilot wasn’t in his right mind to fly. There has to be some sort of psychological test you have to pass before you are able to fly a plane full of people over a mountain range.

There has to be some explanation for why all those people lost their lives. And until all the data is in, I’m going with logic that says that the co-pilot is to blame for this crash. Whether it was intentional doesn’t matter. If he let the captain back into the cockpit, then maybe the crash wouldn’t have been fatal for everyone.

Hero: Cards Against Humanity

This week, the geniuses that created the adult-only card game, Cards Against Humanity, announced that they will releasee a new pack, whose proceeds would be created into a scholarship fund for women seeking degrees in STEM-related fields. The aptly named “Science Pack” will provide full-ride scholarships to women seeking undergraduate degrees in science, math, engineering and other STEM fields.

The leadership of Cards Against Humanity has stated that the team’s passion for creating this scholarship program has to do with the fact that women are not represented well in STEM fields.

In a press release announcing the scholarship fund, co-creator Josh Dillon said that it is important for women to have equal representation in science-related fields if they so choose. “We felt like the funding from this pack could have the greatest impact by making it possible for more women to get an education in those fields, and by giving them a platform to share their work and their passion for science,” Dillon said in the press release.

The press release went on to define the terms of the scholarship, and their inclusion deserves an award. The release says that “applicants can be in high school or college, and must identify as women in a way that’s significant to them.”

They included anyone who identifies as a woman, rather than just those who were born women. I think it’s important that they make that specific distinction.

Who knew a game with such fucked up tendencies could do something that helps bring gender equality to the forefront of discussion? Good job, Cards Against Humanity execs.

 Feature photo courtesy of: Wikipedia

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