I'm not sure how I feel about that. On the one hand, I like Reynolds as an actor and have enjoyed most of his movies. However, in his first post, he shows that HuffPo is his kind of place. How? By perpetrating one of my biggest pet peeves about the Left - that whole "wringing of hands, gnashing of teeth, oh how can we enjoy one iota of our lives while there are others who have nothing" thing they always do.
In his post, Reynolds compares a celebrated contestant in an annual July 4th eating contest with a young, starving child in Sudan:
Young Mustafat, who maintains a strict diet of inner turmoil and bleached hope, looks forward to watching the ESPN-televised event to better understand what gigantically wasteful, fucking super-retards we all are.
Okay, so food eating contests are pretty silly and more than a little disgusting, but come on - "gigantically wasteful, fucking super-retards"? That's a bit harsh, isn't it? I mean, let's be honest. You'd probably have the same attitude if it was some guy filling up at a McDonalds. Surely you would shed bitter tears for little Mustafat, who will never know the joys of super-sizing or having it his way. In closing, Reynolds says:
While it may be impossible to understand the mental temerity and physical excellence it takes to master these dazzling sports, we can expect great things in the future from exciting athletes like Don Lerman and Mustafat Osmana. And although oceans and even the most basic human rights may separate these two great peoples, we are ALL bound together by the vibrant spirit of competition and grotesque displays of boundless, unapologetic shitheadery.
Okay, I'll admit, it's tough to argue against feeling sympathy for millions of people who are starving. It's also natural and right that those who can (and are so inclined) should do what they can to help. Notice I said help. Not "solve the problems for them" (or even better, despite them). Not "make it our personal responsibility". And certainly not going through life feeling guilty or apologizing for living in a country where we can afford to indulge in such "shitheadery" as an eating contest.
In the end, that's one of the things which really causes the Left to lose me - this constant refrain of "if one does without we must all do without".
Besides, as an successful actor, I'm sure Reynolds knows a lot more about boundless, unapologetic and indulgent activities than I ever will.
Although I wouldn't necessarily call dating Scarlett Johansson "shitheadery".
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