The Difference Between Good And Evil

Posted on by under Bits 'n Pieces, Global Issues, History, Law and justice, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Two stories in yesterday’s news caught my eye and the juxtaposition was jaw-dropping.  One is about a good person, a truly inspirational leader, stepping down, and the other is about a young, grossly ignorant punk being treated like royalty.

A good person stepping down

I was saddened to see that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand is stepping down.  I have a great deal of respect and admiration for Ms. Ardern, who has been Prime Minister and leader of the Labour Party since October 2017.  She first came to my attention on March 15th, 2019, when 51 people were fatally shot and 49 injured in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, by a gunman espousing anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant hatred.  Ms. Ardern stepped up to the plate in a very difficult time, saying …

“We represent diversity, kindness, compassion. A home for those who share our values. Refuge for those who need it.”

Ardern spearheaded legislation to ban military-style semiautomatic weapons and assault rifles just six days after the attack.  She also acted quickly to close the country’s borders early during the Covid pandemic, and imposed strict quarantine requirements that went a long way toward keeping New Zealand’s Covid mortality rate far below most other countries.

While she is still popular, however, time and circumstances take a toll.  In announcing her decision yesterday to step down ahead of elections later this year (October), she said …

“I’m not leaving because I believe we can’t win the election, but because I believe Labour can and will win it. We need a fresh set of shoulders for the challenges of both this year and the next three. I have given my absolute all. I know what this job takes, and I know that I no longer have enough in the tank to do it justice. It’s that simple.”

I wish her the best and I hope that New Zealand can elect another with her passion and compassion, her humanity.

A rotten person rising up

There is something wrong with this country, my friends.  A young man, a high-school dropout who was not even old enough by law to have a gun in his possession, borrows a gun, crosses state lines, shoots three people, killing two, and just two years later he is being hailed as a hero???????

Yes, you know who I’m talking about … Kyle Rittenhouse.  On August 25th, 2020, he shot three people at a protest against the shooting of a Black man, Jacob Blake, by a police officer in Kenosha, Wisconsin.  He was 17 years old at the time, not old enough to own a gun, but he borrowed one, an AR-15 military-style assault rifle, and had his mother drive him from his home in Illinois to the event in Wisconsin.  At his criminal trial in 2021 he claimed self-defense and the jury bought his bullshit, refusing to convict him.  Perhaps it was the crocodile tears he cried while on the stand that swayed them.

Today, Rittenhouse seems to be the darling of the revised Republican Party … you know, the Republican Party that welcomes insurrectionists into their ranks in Congress and supports liars, conmen, and cheats.  Tucker Carlson of Fox “News” introduced Rittenhouse on his show as “bright, decent, sincere, dutiful, and hardworking… exactly the kind of person you would want many more of in your country.”  Makes me want to throw up.  No, Tuck, I don’t want more like him in any country!  Rittenhouse has been welcomed at Donald Trump’s residence, has held ‘events’ at Turning Point USA, a video game called Acquitted was developed featuring Rittenhouse, and he has even received internship offers from Republican members of Congress!

This week, he got a bit of a slap in the face when an event promoting Rittenhouse at a venue in Las Vegas was cancelled, the owners saying that “this event did not align with our property’s core event guidelines.”  At least somebody’s got a bit of good sense – obviously the Republican Party doesn’t and for sure this young arsehole doesn’t!

25 thoughts on “The Difference Between Good And Evil”

  1. I have no more words about the maniacs steamrolling sanity and democracy. But in this world that seems to be spinning on all cylinders, I don’t blame Jacinda for taking back her life and getting out of the oven of world chaos. ❤

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  4. Pingback: The Difference Between Good And Evil — Filosofa’s Word | Ned Hamson's Second Line View of the News

    • So true. But, you notice, that the truly inspirational leaders, the ones who do the job and do it well, don’t overstay their welcome. They do what they do, then realize when it’s time to go.

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  6. I did not hear the Jacinda Ardern news. That’s too bad. She really is an inspiration. But a true leader also recognizes when it’s time to step aside. So good for her!

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    • Indeed, in my opinion she is one of the best leaders on the globe. But, as you say, she recognized that it was time to step back, catch her breath and hand the reins to others with fresh eyes. She will be missed both in New Zealand and globally, though.

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  7. Jill, like you, I admire Jacinda Ardern and will be sad to see her exit the world stage. Hopefully, she will keep her toes in the water to keep helping the greater good. By the way, as for your other shooting subject, whom I won’t name, along with folks like the opinion entertainer you mention who spoke highly of said subject, are not worth listening to and could not shine Ardern’s shoes. In fact, said opinion entertainer took a page from his idol’s book of argument tactics, and denigrated Ardern for the way she looks. Name calling is no substitute for reasoned debate, which is foreign to said opinion entertainer. Keith

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    • I agree … I don’t think Ms. Ardern is leaving the stage altogether, just stepping back to catch her breath and let someone else have a shot at it all. I fully agree about the other person, and I largely ignore him and those who are foolish enough to give him kudos, but the contrast was such that I couldn’t resist pointing out the opposite ends of the spectrum. Most of us fall somewhere in between those two people.

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  11. Ardern did well for New Zealand, however from people I know she was slowly losing favour and what politician does not over the long term but I think she is leaving as a winner in political terms.

    Rittenhouse at 17 with a military assault rifle would have got a hard dick and wanted to go and show how tough he was and his authority to what he decided were the enemy, but I must ask what state of mind his stupid mother was in to allow her son out into the street with a lethal weapon, did she egg him on, did she have racist motivation or simply hate Democrats? Whatever it was she should have been accountable as the idiot son was under 18. Cannot believe he is seen as a hero for killing 2 people by loving pro-life Christians. These have to ultimately be the mentally sickest people in your country, people you would not want in your neighbourhood or running your country.

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    • Like most every other country, New Zealand is suffering from rising prices — not Ardern’s fault, nor Biden’s, but in part the fault of Russia’s war against Ukraine. But, the nation’s leader always gets the blame for rising prices and inflation, and that has been the case for Ardern, too.

      Rittenhouse’s mother willingly drove him to Kenosha, knowing he had a gun and ammo. If I recall, she was also charged, but I suppose those charges were dropped as well. I’m guessing that yes, the whole family is racist. He is seen as a hero only to the radical right, those who themselves are racists, who believe he was defending the “honour” of the white, Christian people in this country. It’s a sad state of affairs when we treat a killer better than we treat our veterans.

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      • What is mind blowing most of all Jill is that this could be repeated time after time by young fools and their stupid mothers and they will get off scot free because the Republican judges who are obviously also extremist right let him go so he can shoot someone else. Rittenhouse’s feet would not touch the ground on his way to jail in every other civilised country. The US law allows this, I cannot believe it.

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