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Heroes Of The Week! (Old School Edition)

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Today Imma take the way-back machine© to the not so way back of times, when the good and the not so good shared this patch of WP grass. Interestingly, none of the plus sides are mine . . which is probably the universe telling me I need to incorporate more fiber into my diet, I’m not sure. All I know is you peeps keep on keeping on with the good stuff, so I ain’t complaining one bit.

And now to this week’s episode . . .

Cardboard cut-outs with portraits of Borussia Moenchegladbach's supporters are seen at the Borussia Park stadium.

We’re starting things off with the beautiful game, and it’s a beautiful story that Peter from over at Cheers, Govanhill brings to us this week. Borussia Monchengladbac (say that one time fast) is a club in the Bundesliga football league, and they got back to work last month inside a new reality: No fans in the stands. So the club went about the task of filling the stands with cardboard cut-outs. The upside is that these faux fans don’t drink copious amounts of alcohol and scream all manner of artful particulars in the doing. This just so happens to he the downside as well, because yanno . . that’s part of what gives the game its soul. So the boys at Borussia came up with a soulful solution by selling the cut-outs to their fans for twenty bucks a pop, with the profits earmarked for local causes.

“When you first come into the stadium, for three or four seconds you don’t realize that it’s not real people,” Borussia player Marcus Thuram says.

And while the stands may not bring the noise, the spirit is alive and kicking. Which makes this idea a game winner.

Image credit: YouTube

Who among us hasn’t crafted a four lettered rebuttal when muscle car owners decide to let everyone hear what’s going on under the hood? But there is such a thing as context, and a Texas woman learned that lesson the hard way recently when she decided to play Sheriff to a caravan of cars in her neighborhood. They had arranged this “cruise” to help celebrate a ten year’s old boy’s birthday, revving their engines in unison as they passed his house. And that’s where the nosy neighbor stepped in to put a stop to the festivities. Which ended up backfiring when word got out that she had stalled the parade and more cars showed up later on, at the request of other neighbors.

Cutting to the chase, the woman’s complaints fell on deaf ears with the local police and now she’s listing her house. So you could say this squeaky wheel got . . replaced?

And speaking of cruising, that’s what Marcus Harvey and Tre’ Jones of Marion, Indiana were doing when they came upon a shroud of smoke. The kids pulled over to find where the source of the smoke was coming from and that’s when they were told that a neighbor’s house was on fire and that a man was still inside. So they went all Superman, breaking down the door and retrieving Guy Tarlton, who was laying unconscious in his living room. Tarlton suffered first and third degree burns and is currently in a medically induced coma, but his chances of survival are entirely the result of Harvey and Jones, who put their lives on the line without a second thought. These young men put the first in responder.

Robert Williams

This next story is what George Orwell warned us about more than three quarters of a century ago. It involves the use of facial recognition in criminal investigation and it speaks to a flawed technology that is more dangerous than it is useful. Forty two year old Robert Williams of Detroit found this out the hard way when police arrested him outside of his home recently. Seems that his drivers license photo matched that of a suspect who stole more than $3,800 worth of watches from a department store.

Williams ended up spending a night in jail before the investigating officers figured out they had made a terrible mistake. Which prompted the ACLU to get involved, claiming “the facts of Mr. Williams’ case prove both that the technology is flawed and that investigators are not competent in making use of such technology.” No. Kidding!

Remember that old saying about being careful what you wish for? We’re there . . .

Malala Yousafzai Celebrates Graduating From Oxford 10 Years After ...

(Thank you to the lovely Dale for providing the capper to her twin bill for this episode).

Most of you know the story of Malala Yousafzai. At fifteen, she was shot in the head by a member of the Taliban. Her crime? Pursuing an education, which is obviously a dangerous proposition in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The group perceived Malala as a threat, since she defied their archaic rule at every turn; first in writing a blog for the BBC and later for being featured in a New York Times documentary. She was an inspiration to young women in a region of the world where the idea of getting an education is often met with threats of violence and worse.

Malala didn’t leave the world on that horrible day. Instead, she has flourished, bringing light to the darkest corners of the world while spreading her message of hope and empowerment. She spoke before the UN a year after the shooting. She’s met with the Queen of England as well as President Barack Obama. And at 17, she became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Almost eight years since being shot in the head and left for dead by the Taliban, she graduated from Oxford with a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics. And so, what do you give the girl who has done so much for so many? A cake bath, of course. She can have the summer too. To sleep in, binge watch some TV shows and to think back on how far she has come in such a young life. Before her journey begins anew.

“It’s like we have done our activism; we have done enough to raise our voice. And I think the next step is now let’s make the change, let’s be the change-makers, let’s get more involved in this”

And to anyone who has a problem with this sentiment? Let ’em eat cake.

 

 

34 thoughts on “Heroes Of The Week! (Old School Edition)”

  1. Lovely B,

    I, for one, am very much pro sharing of the heroes and zeros. All in the name of balance, yanno? Plus, in this wacky world we’ve been living in since March (because that’s when things got REAL) we have lost any sense of normal and this here weekly recap of the good the bad and the ugly reminds us that normal has its place.

    What? Germany didn’t want to use sex dolls? Oh, no… they have way more couth than that, eh? What a great idea though it must be weird to have a silent fan-filled stadium. Great idea to sell them for charity, too.

    I happen to live on a really loud and busy street. Some guy just got a new Lamborghini and loves to try it out. (Yo, asshole! Speed limit is 50 kph (30 mph) – ya might wanna do another mile and get to the highway). That said Hah! Love this story. A quiet street with a parade of muscle cars tells you there is something special going on, no? Doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out. Bye, Karen! No one will miss you!

    I love the story of these two boys just doing the neighbourly thing without stopping to consider their own safety – while not the wisest of moves was definitely the heroic one. And that’s what heroes do, isn’t it? They put someone else before themselves.

    Orwell, eh? One would think you were bingeing him 😉 That said. What a horrible thing to happen to Mr. Williams. These technological advances are not always what they are cracked up to be.

    Yay Malala! How wonderful what this young lady has accomplished despite everything she went through. Something tells me she had no complaints about the cake bath.

    Excellent choice of music, to boot (as per).

    Loved this!

    Q

    Liked by 2 people

    • Q

      We live inside a new abnormal, so the idea that I can bring back the zeroes from time to time only made sense, yanno?

      The silent stadium thing is going to be strange IF it even happens here. Which I still am not convinced will happen but we’ll see. And yes, Germany came through with a gooooooaaaaaalllll!!!!

      I can’t stand the rev riders myself. But every single circumstance possesses context, and when it was apparent these peeps were looking to make some little kid’s birthday, at that point? Karen might have done well to shut up and let things be.

      These two formed a dynamic duo, never minding the danger in order to save a life. That’s the definition of heroism right there.

      Hmmm . . I might have read a tale or two. Too bad we’re living it now. Williams isn’t the first to fall victim to this and he won’t be the last, sad to say.

      The strength of this young woman is beyond remarkable. People toss around the word courage a lot, but she is the embodiment of that word.

      I was in deep with my tunes when this one came calling so gracias!

      B

      Liked by 1 person

      • Now that is a truism, right there. A new abnormal. Absolutely you can and must!

        That’s just weird. Now we’ll find our which players truly love the game (whatever one it is).

        They drive me insane. However! Shut up, Karen.

        They did! And they are true heroes.

        Mmm hmmm. Methinks so. Yeah too bad, for sure. No he’s not and no, sadly, he won’t be.

        She’s amazing. Her courage is remarkable, especially for one so young.

        Always the perfect choice.

        Liked by 1 person

        • That’s life as we know it, and so I’m borrowing from LA. July 1st will heretofore be known as New Years Day.

          I think the players truly love the game. But I also think they have forgotten what perspective is. As in, people are still out of work while others are really struggling. So if you’re going to bitch and moan about prorated salaries? Do so behind closed doors out of respect.

          Where DID that come from? Karen?

          They really are.

          What I didn’t include in my story was how Williams was arrested outside his home, in front of his family. Wow.

          She is an inspiration for women of all ages. For people of all ages. For all of us.

          MUAH!

          Liked by 1 person

          • That it is. Yay! New Year’s falls on Canada Day!

            If no screaming fans don’t affect their enjoyment, then more power to them. They must, however, keep their bitching to the cardboard cutouts. Real peeps ain’t got time for that shit.

            I dunno! It’s all over the Internets. What Karen did to deserve all the memes, is beyond me

            Yeah, I read that ( I always read your links). Poor kids to witness that.

            Truth!

            MWAH!

            Liked by 1 person

          • Woot meets win!

            Amen to that. Even if the truth of the matter is they will keep on living in their bubble. Because sports fans won’t do the right thing and stop going to games for a while. Say, until Bryce Harper is cool with making 55 grand a year instead of 33 million. Fair IS fair, after all.

            I knew a Karen who I do believe deserved this smear. But I don’t wish to make this a personal vendetta on all Karens LOL

            So needless!

            MUAH!

            Liked by 1 person

  3. Another super post, Pilgrim. Loved the selling of the cutouts. It is always good to hear about obnoxious people getting their due. Glad she is moving out. Great story on the fire save. I’m glad some people who think of others first are still around. Facial rec? What the heck. I loved the story about that young woman surviving and excelling. Have a great weekend.

    Liked by 1 person

  4. As is you and your merry band of contributors usual MO, outstanding contributions this week! You never fail to make me smile and renew my dwindling levels of hope. The fellas from Indiana really touched me. With all the chaos going on lately with the BLM demonstrations, they rose to the occasion and showed what young men can be. As for the lady from Texas…I can only shake my head. Some people just have damn little humanity in them and deserve the shame they so easily earn. Happy weekend. Hope your arms are totally intact from piercing little claws. 😺

    Liked by 2 people

    • The truth is I owe every smile to them. And I will take full ownership of any grimaces involved in the reading of this particular edition.

      Yeah, those two Super Men made my day when I read about it. They are the real truths of what the future will look like; strong and fearless.

      Everything is bigger in Texas, including the nerve of this woman to think she had to interject into what would have been a short and sweet parade through the neighborhood.

      My newest additions haven’t laid a single claw on me. They might be young, but they do realize I am their food and water source, LOL.

      Thank you Boss.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. This was full of all the feel-goods thanks for posting this! Please continue posting as it’s been so great getting positives out there in the world and spreading it is so important. Sprinting into Superman mode in Indiana during a fire is so noble and I’m glad they’re being highlighted. Sending you some sunshine and waves my friend. Hope you’re well 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    • Cali,

      The feel goods are in short supply so I’m glad I could bring em . . or should I say, I’m glad my blog neighbors could supply. 😉

      Those kids are proof positive that the next generation is going to change things for the better. As a dude of a certain age, it’s nice to know the world is going to be in good hands.

      Good to see you hermana.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. You know, every time I read these hero posts I want to go out and hug people which is a good thing because there have been times lately when I just want to slap some people. Thank you for rescuing me..:)

    Liked by 1 person

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