The Kind-Hearted Smart Aleck

There's been a great deal of controversy swirling around HB2, a bill recently passed in North Carolina and signed by Governor Pat McCrory. The law prevents transgender individuals from using public restrooms of the gender with which they identify. This has led to a series of boycotts, ranging from businesspeople to athletes to musicians and beyond. One musician who cancelled a show in North Carolina due to the controversial bill was "The Boss" Bruce Springsteen. In response to his cancellation, several conservatives criticized the rock star for being hypocritical, as he cancelled a show in the U.S. due to anti-LGBT legislation yet didn't do so in foreign countries which possessed far more extreme anti-LGBT laws. I've heard this line of reasoning on multiple occasions from conservatives, especially with regard to the LGBT community: "Things aren't so bad here. Just be grateful you don't live in Africa or the Middle East" or "Why do you critic...

It's becoming increasingly more common for people to boycott certain companies, products, or even celebrity names. They don't like the thought of their money going to these people with whom they strongly disagree on a matter they feel is important. While I can understand and often respect such financial protests, the following questions immediately fill my head when I hear about such boycotts: 1) At what point do we draw the line?; 2) Are these boycotts at all effective (and if so, how effective are they?)?; 3) With uber-wealthy individuals and companies owning so much, are boycotts of all their products even possible?; and 4) As far as celebrities go, is it really fair to boycott a person's talent due to a mistake in their personal lives, especially since they're afforded much less privacy than the general public? I don't really have answers to these questions. I just find the matter to be interesting and am curious to hear people's stories on their own boyco...

After veteran quarterback Michael Vick was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers a couple weeks ago, I've been slightly surprised to read so many articles protesting the signing. While I've always been and always will be a dog lover, I also believe in second chances, and since Vick reentered the league in 2009 with the Philadelphia Eagles, he's appeared to turn his life around, be a stand-up teammate, and more importantly, a stand-up citizen. He's worked with animal rights organizations to speak out against dogfighting, highlighting his previous involvement in it, and attempted to inspire others to not make the same mistakes he did. While this was mandatory at first, it has since become voluntary. I, and many others, were/are sickened by dogfighting organizations like the one Michael Vick had been previously involved with, but who better to speak out against such cruel and inhumane activities than a big name who had himself been involved with them, like Michael Vick? Who...