Respect

Fusion had a piece today about Stan Lee promoting a new lapel pin designed to encourage "cross-cultural respect." Its design is a simple image of two hands shaking, one black, one white, with the word "Respect" emblazoned across the top.

With the profusion of so many lapel pins promoting every message imaginable, this is one of the more admirable. And it reminded me of something the legendary comics creator wrote in his famous "Soapbox" editorial back in 1970. Here's a link to a scan via Boing Boing. In it, he quite simply states that "Bigotry and racism are among the deadliest social ills plaguing the world today." Trolling fanboys should take note. He's been interested in spreading this message to people through many different media for years and years. And while his message today might seem too Pollyanna-ish for those who feel social justice requires a more aggressive stance, it's a message I can respect.

And I'll try to forget about Stripperella.