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: NY Daily News
Asshole(s): Cherif Kouachi, Said Kouachi, Amedy Coulibaly and Hayat Boumeddiene
Unless you’ve not been paying attention to the Internet these last few weeks, you’ve heard about the terrorist attack at Charlie Hebdo in Paris last Wednesday, killing 12. Brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi were identified as the assailants of that attack, and police have since killed them.
The next day, a policewoman was shot and killed. And on the third day of these terrorist attacks, four hostages were killed in a Jewish grocery. These acts are said to have been perpetrated by Amedy Coulibaly, who was killed by police, and Hayat Boumeddiene, who is still said to be at large.
It seems that these acts have been committed in the name of the Prophet Mohammed, which has sparked intense religious-fueled debates amongst people in our society. These attacks add to the powder keg that is the human experience in today’s world.
Regardless, the world has come together with the social media campaign “Je suis Charlie,” which means “I am Charlie,” and many powerful international leaders attended a French Unity march this past weekend. This may be inspiring in a way, but there’s no reason why it should have occurred in the first place.
Religion shouldn’t be a basis for attacking innocent people. Nothing is a basis for attacking innocent people. This tragedy should never have happened, and it’s because of the four of you that it has.
Via: The Comic’s Comic
Hero: The Hollywood Foreign Press Association
For those of you who are not pop culture junkies like I am, you may not know anything about the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The HFPA is a group of journalists who report on the entertainment industry primarily outside the United States. They also host the Golden Globe Awards in Los Angeles each year.
Typically, when I watch the Golden Globes, I expect the same people to win for the same things year after year. When I turned them on Sunday though, I was delightfully surprised that this year was different.
Not one of the winners in the Television category has won before. Joanne Froggatt won Best Supporting Actress in a TV Show, Miniseries or TV Movie for her role in “Downton Abbey”; Matt Bomer won Best Supporting Actor in a TV Show, Miniseries or TV Movie for his role in HBO’s “The Normal Heart”.
The one thing that all the winners seemed to have in common is that they were all shows or roles that commented on problems in our society. I think this is the first time I can remember seeing this dramatic of a social statement.
From the LGBT community to the Latino community to rape victims, social injustices of all kinds were rewarded and recognized at this ceremony. It would have been easy for the HFPA to reward the same people and groups that continually get recognized year after year, but this organization decided not to take the easy road this year. Good job, guys. Good job.
Feature photo courtesy of: Europe 1
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