Holy mackerel, what a week. Whether it be massive exams or getting caught in that massive storm yesterday, we’re sure that your patience has been tested at least once. It’s all part of being a Gator, though. Take heart: The rough bits help you to appreciate the good bits so much more. We’ll help you wind down with this week’s it-gets-better edition of...
Darts & Laurels
Last week, we issued a dart to those who painted over the 34th Street Wall monument to the victims of Danny Rolling, the “Gainesville Ripper.” Well, one group on campus showed us that there are those who care, after all. This week we’d like to give our first LAUREL to the members of UF’s Humans vs. Zombies who restored the monument. Good job, and thanks!
“Who am I to judge a gay person?” With these words Pope Francis has shaken Christendom. It seems like a step in the right direction: We want gay people to be as openly accepted and welcome in society as straight people. The new pope has been doing lots of novel things lately. For example, Pope Francis has ditched the golden throne and now sits on a wooden one. There’s a long way to go, but small changes like these are admirable.
It seems the pope is saying that it’s not his place to decide the rightness or wrongness of the issue of homosexuality, and that’s a big deal coming from a figure who has classically held moral authority over such issues. We give an iron LAUREL to Pope Francis, because we know he might not like the ruby one as much.
As you may have heard, whistleblower Bradley Manning was convicted of 17 of the 22 counts against him. Some are pleased with the verdict, if only for the fact that Manning was not convicted of the most serious charge — aiding the enemy. Yeah, thanks for not convicting him of something he never should have been charged with in the first place.
While the case of Bradley Manning strikes us as slightly tricky, there’s no question that he was denied human dignity while he was detained. The message is clear: That’s what you get for catching the government with its pants down. That and maybe 136 years in prison. We give the United States a freedom-never-looked-so-cruel-and-unusual DART.
If you haven’t already heard of this next one, look it up. You won’t regret it. Fox News recently interviewed scholar of religions Reza Aslan on his new book on Jesus. In classic Fox News style, the interviewer drew attention to Aslan’s religion: “You’re a Muslim, so why would you write a book on the founder of Christianity?” The response is golden: “To be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades, who also just happens to be a Muslim.” The interview goes way downhill from there, and nine minutes later you wonder how Fox News even let such an embarrassment continue for that long.
For continuing to deliver substandard content, we give Fox News a you’re-doing-this-all-on-your-own DART.
That’s all for now, Gators. Chomp those finals!
