5 Best/Worst People of 2013

As 2013 wraps up I decided to do something a little bit different than last year. Sure, there's plenty of shitty people who deserve to be on the "Worst of 2013" list. George Zimmerman, Bashar al-Assad, and Ted Cruz come to mind. But I wanted to talk about some polarizing figures who were the best in some aspects, but also the worst in others. People, who for better and for worse, shaped the outcome of what the year has been.


5.) David Ortiz

The Good: David Ortiz continued to be the heart and soul of the Boston Red Sox this year by posting a heroic .688 (Six eighty eight!!!) batting average in the World Series, leading the Sox to another title, and winning the World Series MVP. During the regular season he was no slouch either, putting up a .309 average with 30 home runs and 103 RBIs. With over a decade in Boston blasting home runs and being a part of three World Series teams, it could be Ortiz who finally stripped the Red Sox of their lamented curse of missing the World Series title for 86 years.

The Bad: Ortiz did steroids just like every body else. Sure he may not have been taking them this year, but when he got caught in 2009 for failing a drug test in 2003 he kind of didn't own up to it at all. Now, I don't really care anymore that he was taking steroids, it's pretty clear every Major League all-star was on them at one point or another in the last few decades. But it sets a bad example when MLB has a vendetta against Alex Rodriguez for steroid use, the same season they give Ortiz a World Series MVP. Let's try to be a bit more objective next World Series...

4.) Jennifer Lawrence

The Good: Well where to begin. Everybody really loves Jennifer Lawrence, including myself. Beautiful, charming, funny, down-to-earth, talented, young, sprightly, etc. I can run the gamut of adjectives to describe how awesome she is. On top of that she's already won an Oscar, been nominated for two, and will probably be nominated for another for her upcoming appearance in "American Hustle"; and she's only 23. Wow.

The Bad: This isn't really any fault of her own but if you search Reddit, Twitter, Tumblr - she's pretty much the only thing anybody is talking about. She's a classic already: Men want her, and women want to be her. But in this day in age, that may not be a good thing. Because she's so down-to-earth, shes' giving a ton of false hope to aspiring actors/actresses, and dudes who think they actually have a shot with her (if you're a dude, and you think you have a shot at dating Jennifer Lawrence - you need psychiatric help immediately). All will be forgiven if Lawrence puts on a press conference and flat out says, "Girls - you'll never be like me. Guys - don't bother, it's not going to happen."

3.) President Obama

"Mehhhhh" - President Obama

The Good: Despite what pundits and Fox News alarmists have been saying - millions of more Americans will have health insurance under Obamacare. So unless you have a fervent hatred for people with low incomes, this is of course a good thing for America. On top of that Obama has stood firm on the belief that the United States needs to assist the middle class before corporate interests.

The Bad: The NSA, civilian casualties in drone strikes, the almost war with Syria. On one hand Obama is working to make social justice more accessible in America, while at the same time diminishing the rights human rights of those abroad. It's sad and disappointing that someone who campaigned on "hope" is destroying the hope of so many international citizens.

2.) Kanye West

Ah.. yeah I don't know either.

The Good: Yeezus turned out to be a fantastic album. Critics loved it, and it even received a rave review from the recently deceased Lou Reed. So here's the thing: If you didn't like Yeezus, you don't know shit. Universally praised by critics and Lou Reed, the person who influenced every album you ever bought, I'd say Yeezus puts Kanye up there with some of the greatest MCs and producers in hip-hop history.

The Bad: My biggest problem with Kanye isn't the Kimye nonense or skirt wearing or generally douche-baggery. My biggest issue is Kanye's insistence that he is a "genius." Look - I love Kanye West's music. College Dropout was the first hip-hop album that I listened to religiously. I always give Kanye the benefit of the doubt when people jump on to attack him. But it's real hard to defend arrogance.

For example, I think Matt Stone and Trey Parker (two dudes who love to dig at Kanye) are actual creative geniuses. From South Park to Team America to Book of Mormon - all their work reflects comedic brilliance. However, if they came out and said "WE ARE CREATIVE GENIUSES" - I'd be so turned off that it'd be hard for me to follow their work. And this is the case with Kanye. I love his music, but it's hard for me to be a big fan because of how much he talks himself up. True, he may be a creative musical genius. He just needs to shut the fuck about about - because nobody wants to hear it.

1.) Pope Francis

 

The Good: The newly elected Pope Francis has won Time's Person of the Year  for his commitment to the true tenets of Christianity: helping those in need, tolerance, and peace. He's gone as far as showing compassion for the LGBT community, assuring that there's a place in heaven for non-believers, and finally, and most importantly condemning trickle-down economics as hopeless for the non-wealthy. What a badass!

 

The Bad: Despite his best efforts at being Christ-like Pope Francis is still head of one of the most evil entity's of all time - The Catholic Church. While he has been supportive of practical solutions to combat sexual abuse within the Catholic Church, he still hasn't done enough.

While I support this Pope and am pleased with what he's done so far, he still needs to make up for centuries of abuse, neglect, corruption, oppression, etc.

Essentially, he won't be able to do that, but I'd like to see him try harder. Basically he'll have my stamp of approval when every living Catholic Priest child molester is rotting in jail for the rest of their sorry lives. You can start now, Pope. Good luck!