Which means, if I learn something negative about him, I won't blind myself to it in denial which I tend not to do anyway. I've seen so much in life, nothing surprises me from anyone, especially these days lol.
Plus, there was a time I hung out with famous people, they're not "larger than life," actually, they're pretty much like everyone else (all though some of them are pretty entitled).
The truth is, we don't know any of these people, like we imagine we do.
However, thus far, we got nuttin' but love and admiration for Stephen Colbert :)
So, all of the other late-night talk show hosts continue with their sports-hero-worship "I got to hang out with Kobe Bryant" personal stories.
However, Stephen Colbert was lucky - he was actually off, Monday night, which gave him time to observe and reflect on all the reactions people had before he spoke.
Considering we ladies love our Stephen Colbert, we were kind of holding our breath/biting our nails to see what he'd say, like, "Please, Stephen - at least don't say anything to make it worse or make us sit through more hero worship/hanging out with Kobe stories, without a true acknowledgement of that 'other side' to Kobe." lol
Speaking of which - Sorry, Jimmy Kimmel - unlike the others, at least you tried - but that's still a fail.
Because your "imperfect person" mention minimizes the violent crime that is rape.
"Imperfect" is a word we use for behaviors that fall within the broad range of "normal" - not meaning that you or I would ever do them (or even think about ever doing them) - but they unfortunately do fall within the "normal" range, based solely on the sheer percentage of a population who engage in them within a culture.
Normal human-temptation types of things that at least 50% of the population within a culture have done, such as cheating on taxes, cheating on a test, extramarital affairs, spanking children, lying, cursing, drugs, alcohol, low-level physicality during an argument with the same or opposite sex (grabbing, shoving, slapping - even punching, for men), something horrible said out of raw emotion or insensitivity/thoughtlessness - even petty crimes and financial crimes can fall within the "imperfect person" range.
In fact, though it's a stretch, we even apply it when even bigger, more violent crimes have occurred, if a full confession and sincere remorse are expressed, if there were extenuating circumstances (i.e., the action was necessary for survival or they were from a traumatic background), and/or if the behavior truly was out of character for them or they've proven they're completely rehabilitated since the behavior (or are actively working on it).
We typically don't use the word "imperfect" to describe abnormal human behaviors - meaning behaviors that do not occur, nor are even considered - in less than 50% of the population (or even 20% of the population) such as violent or otherwise abusive crime towards another human being - to include rape.
To use "imperfect" to describe a person who has committed such an act, just because you like them or hero worship them, is minimizing the fact that what they did was an abnormal, violent, criminal act, for which there was sufficient evidence to prosecute, but they evaded consequence, and never really confessed/showed remorse.
So, when Stephen returned, he took a different route altogether.
First, he asked his band leader, Jon Batiste (from my favorite city of New Orleans, btw) for his reaction, because they hadn't had a chance to talk.
Batiste said essentially his reaction was primarily that no matter how "larger than life" and immortal a person may seem, or we may think we are, in the end, life is temporary, like a vapor - you're here one minute, then poof - gone the next.
He also said that at the same time we were reminded of his greatness, we were reminded of something unpleasant from his past, but that event is equally important to remember, as they were both a part of him.
Well said, Go Jon!
Turning back to Stephen, instead of focusing on just Kobe, Stephen read the names of ALL of the victims of the crash- reaching out in sympathy to ALL their families, not just Kobe's.
Because for those who don't know, Stephen Colbert's father and two brothers were killed in a plane crash in 1974.
Instead of more "hanging out with Kobe" sports-hero-worship stories, Stephen Colbert responded with his personal reaction about the crash itself - knowing first-hand what the families of ALL the victims were going through, having gone through it himself - as well as raised public awareness about something that needs to change regarding flight safety.
Because he also mentioned that he later learned something he didn't know from a New Zealand (female) helicopter pilot named Louisa "Choppy" Patterson ...
... that helicopters do not have black boxes like airplanes do.
Thus, unlike jets and airplanes, we have no way of knowing what went wrong, other than what we can gather from the wreckage itself.
Stephen said:
Not just liberal politics and his sense of humor and brilliant, brilliant mind - but his big heart, as well as his great faith, despite his own suffering.
Stephen is proof that you can possess both great intellect and great faith - he's the poster child for finding a functional balance between science and faith:)
As a lifelong Catholic (who still teaches Sunday School), Stephen doesn't believe God causes tragedies, but the resulting grief and suffering is actually a gift from God, a blessing in disguise - not only because it makes you appreciate life and the good times more - but because suffering strengthens your empathy for others, builds your character, and brings you closer to God - if you allow it to :)
This is how Stephen is still able to smile and laugh despite so much suffering (but still compassionately handles tragedy).
Just as a bonus about Stephen himself, here's an "after-show" taping of an audience member asking him how he knew his wife, Evie, was "the one."
They are, without a doubt, the cutest couple in the world :)
I especially love the end of the clip - he tears up at the end of that story, but then they show a quick clip of another show, when his guest (Leslie Mann), said she just met his wife backstage, and he didn't know she was back there.
So he drags her out, plants a huge kiss on her, then gives her a playful little butt-grab on the way out, both of them laughing the entire time.
Hey, they're married, it's okay - if he still wants to only grab his wife's bum, after 28 years, I'm okay with that; but more importantly, it looked like she was pretty more than okay with it:)
(BTW, they were both unemployed when they met, and Evie stood by him all those years while an unemployed, broke, struggling actor/comedian/writer - because she believed in him :)
He tells the story of their first meeting, above, adding that he was reminded of a passage in Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus was wrecked up on the beach after 10 years at sea, and people disbelieved his stories, until someone sneezed.
You see, there was an old Greek adage, at the time, that if someone sneezed during your story, it was God's blessing.
On the day he met Evie, at an afterparty for a play, they began talking about their favorite poet (Chuck Sullivan), who's work was out of print now and he was a recluse - when this guy turns around and says, "Are you talking about Chuck Sullivan the poet? Hi, I'm Chuck Sullivan's son." LOL. And lots of other little coincidences like that.
So he says meeting Evie, and all the good things that seemed to appear when they were together - was "like God sneezed a blessing on me." LOL.
I feel that :)
Because I was in similar situation and condition when I met my husband, Mark, and though I'm not sure if God is otherwise interested in my insignificant life;, but at least at that moment, he either took mercy on me or accidentally "sneezed a blessing" on me, I'm not sure which lol :)
Regardless ...
Thank you, Stephen, for being the beacon of light that you are to so many, especially at this time. Keep on doing what you do :)
Again, his running personal theme of how suffering is a blessing - and watching him tell this story and the way his brilliant mind works, as well as tearing up in the end for his love for Evie - is more priceless than his political monologues (although they ARE the best/funniest out there).
So, when Stephen returned, he took a different route altogether.
First, he asked his band leader, Jon Batiste (from my favorite city of New Orleans, btw) for his reaction, because they hadn't had a chance to talk.
Batiste said essentially his reaction was primarily that no matter how "larger than life" and immortal a person may seem, or we may think we are, in the end, life is temporary, like a vapor - you're here one minute, then poof - gone the next.
He also said that at the same time we were reminded of his greatness, we were reminded of something unpleasant from his past, but that event is equally important to remember, as they were both a part of him.
Well said, Go Jon!
Turning back to Stephen, instead of focusing on just Kobe, Stephen read the names of ALL of the victims of the crash- reaching out in sympathy to ALL their families, not just Kobe's.
Because for those who don't know, Stephen Colbert's father and two brothers were killed in a plane crash in 1974.
Instead of more "hanging out with Kobe" sports-hero-worship stories, Stephen Colbert responded with his personal reaction about the crash itself - knowing first-hand what the families of ALL the victims were going through, having gone through it himself - as well as raised public awareness about something that needs to change regarding flight safety.
Because he also mentioned that he later learned something he didn't know from a New Zealand (female) helicopter pilot named Louisa "Choppy" Patterson ...
Thus, unlike jets and airplanes, we have no way of knowing what went wrong, other than what we can gather from the wreckage itself.
Stephen said:
“One of the terrible things about that shock and the heartbreaking unreality nightmare quality of someone huge in your life who just disappears—the center of your love just disappearing in that moment—is just not knowing what happened”
Because investigators knew what happened in that cockpit (in Colbert's family's case), new rules were created to save other people’s lives ... (In helicopters), it’s called a 'sterile cockpit rule.' So flight safety could be improved? I think it’s crazy that helicopters don’t have black box recorders. Because as Choppy explained to me, when a helicopter goes down, we don’t know how to improve the helicopter.”
“Why compound their misery with mystery about what happened to their loved ones? It’s better to know than not to know, because if we know, we can possibly stop this from happening to someone else in the future.”Something most of us didn't know that he's bringing awareness to - and this is why we love Stephen Colbert :)
Not just liberal politics and his sense of humor and brilliant, brilliant mind - but his big heart, as well as his great faith, despite his own suffering.
Stephen is proof that you can possess both great intellect and great faith - he's the poster child for finding a functional balance between science and faith:)
As a lifelong Catholic (who still teaches Sunday School), Stephen doesn't believe God causes tragedies, but the resulting grief and suffering is actually a gift from God, a blessing in disguise - not only because it makes you appreciate life and the good times more - but because suffering strengthens your empathy for others, builds your character, and brings you closer to God - if you allow it to :)
This is how Stephen is still able to smile and laugh despite so much suffering (but still compassionately handles tragedy).
Just as a bonus about Stephen himself, here's an "after-show" taping of an audience member asking him how he knew his wife, Evie, was "the one."
They are, without a doubt, the cutest couple in the world :)
I especially love the end of the clip - he tears up at the end of that story, but then they show a quick clip of another show, when his guest (Leslie Mann), said she just met his wife backstage, and he didn't know she was back there.
So he drags her out, plants a huge kiss on her, then gives her a playful little butt-grab on the way out, both of them laughing the entire time.
Hey, they're married, it's okay - if he still wants to only grab his wife's bum, after 28 years, I'm okay with that; but more importantly, it looked like she was pretty more than okay with it:)
(BTW, they were both unemployed when they met, and Evie stood by him all those years while an unemployed, broke, struggling actor/comedian/writer - because she believed in him :)
He tells the story of their first meeting, above, adding that he was reminded of a passage in Homer's Odyssey, when Odysseus was wrecked up on the beach after 10 years at sea, and people disbelieved his stories, until someone sneezed.
You see, there was an old Greek adage, at the time, that if someone sneezed during your story, it was God's blessing.
On the day he met Evie, at an afterparty for a play, they began talking about their favorite poet (Chuck Sullivan), who's work was out of print now and he was a recluse - when this guy turns around and says, "Are you talking about Chuck Sullivan the poet? Hi, I'm Chuck Sullivan's son." LOL. And lots of other little coincidences like that.
So he says meeting Evie, and all the good things that seemed to appear when they were together - was "like God sneezed a blessing on me." LOL.
I feel that :)
Because I was in similar situation and condition when I met my husband, Mark, and though I'm not sure if God is otherwise interested in my insignificant life;, but at least at that moment, he either took mercy on me or accidentally "sneezed a blessing" on me, I'm not sure which lol :)
Regardless ...
Thank you, Stephen, for being the beacon of light that you are to so many, especially at this time. Keep on doing what you do :)
Again, his running personal theme of how suffering is a blessing - and watching him tell this story and the way his brilliant mind works, as well as tearing up in the end for his love for Evie - is more priceless than his political monologues (although they ARE the best/funniest out there).
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