Charlie Sheen: Douche-Bag, Anti-Semite, and Woman Hater

As we grow older, a lot of what happens in the world of celebrities seems frivolous and unimportant (hello, Kardashians)! Yet, there are times when it's beneficial to look at celebrities who mirror our ever-changing society and question whether these changes are beneficial or harmful. Two celebrities in the news—Charlie Sheen for his HIV diagnosis and Caitlyn Jenner for her "Woman of the Year" honor—have many of us in the mature set shaking our heads in disbelief and wondering if the earth has spun off its axis.

It's as if everything is upside down—left is right, wrong is right, bad is good—and words get manipulated and misused to push a political agenda. In the process, our ability to voice dissenting opinions gets silenced. Martin Sheen has labeled his douche-bag son, Charlie Sheen, courageous for announcing on Today that he's HIV-positive. Caityln Jenner has received yet another award—this time as Glamour's “Woman of the Year”—although she's been female for only a matter of months. What does our adoration of these two celebrities say about the culture? The answer is: nothing good!

Anyone who has followed Charlie Sheen's private life realizes he has gotten away with murder for years—okay, not murder—but just about everything else: abusing drugs and alcohol, partying with porn stars and prostitutes, irresponsible parenting of his young children, brutal treatment of women, unprofessional behavior on his sitcoms, and vicious, vulgar attacks against ex-wives and co-workers. Having set the bar so low, Charlie always seems to get a pass from his fans who think he's just the lovable womanizer he portrayed on Two and Half Men. But the real Charlie Sheen is anything but lovable and anything but honorable. The correct term for Charlie, Martin Sheen, is douche-bag, not courageous.

Those who've looked deeper than his manufactured showbiz image have seen profound evil. Charlie is a true coward (despite his father's attempt to paint him as courageous) who delights in name-calling and bullying via Twitter. One of his frequent victims is ex-wife, Denise Richards, mother of his two young daughters. While trying to shelter her children from their drug-addicted dad, she has also worked valiantly to keep a relationship going between the girls and their father —no matter how hard he has made it. Yet, all she gets is a lot of hate from her ex-husband. On one Twitter rant, Charlie wrote these gems: “Denise Richards is a shake down piece of s—t ...worst mom alive...a despicable charlatan..evil terrorist sack of landfill rash...” and those are the comments fit for print! Brooke Mueller, Sheen's most recent ex-wife and mother of his twin boys, has also experienced Charlie's wrath. In yet another epic Twitter rant, he called her an “evil and pathetic uber loser whore.” Nothing says good parenting like attacking the mothers of your children, right courageous Charlie?

But heaven knows, the exes are not the only victims of Sheen's hate-filled rants. The Anti-Defamation League criticized him for being an anti-Semite when he railed against the co-creator of Two and a Half Men, Chuck Lorre, on a radio show. Sheen strategically called Lorre by his Jewish name—Chaim Levin—in a bitter tirade where he also referred to his boss as a “maggot” and a “clown.” Unlike Mel Gibson who suffered irrevocable harm to his career for making antisemitic remarks, Charlie Sheen was once again able to walk away Scott-free, quickly receiving yet another lucrative sitcom deal.

With his long history of spewing hate and abusing drugs, it's downright laughable and shameful of Martin Sheen to call Charlie courageous. Charlie's admission that he's HIV-positive came about—not to help others in similar circumstances—but to prevent the low-life scum in his inner-circle from extorting any more money from him. In an interview with Matt Lauer on Today, Charlie admitting to paying upwards of 10 million dollars to keep his HIV status a secret during the past four years. Courageous? Not in the least! Magic Johnson and Greg Louganis, both HIV- positive, have shown true courage for years as they educate others about their condition while continuing to lead productive, meaningful lives. That's courage and class, Martin Sheen—two traits your son sorely lacks. Stop misusing the word courageous and reserve it for those who've earned it.

In this day of extreme political correctness, those who question or criticize Caitlyn Jenner are swiftly silenced and dubbed “trans-phobic.” When it comes to Caitlyn, group-think is what seems most important as the media holds her up as the new Goddess of the Ages. Heaven help the person who challenges Caitlin's integrity, wondering if her transition is a grab for even more cash and fame. It's certainly reasonable to wonder given her step-daughter is Kim Kardashian, who gained renown for a “leaked” sex tape. Anyone familiar with Keeping Up With the Kardashians is well aware that Bruce Jenner was present every step of the way as media machinations turned this no-talent bunch into fantastically wealthy superstars famous for being famous. It's no doubt Caitlyn learned a thing or two and is applying that knowledge now as she hops from one media spotlight to another.

When she appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair in a white corset, we read from our politically correct scripts: “She looks so beautiful! She's amazing!” Watching her lauded for her courage (not that word again) at the ESPY awards, we read dutifully from our scripts again: “She's so brave! What a wonderful role model!” Yet, a lot us of wondered if Caitlyn was really an appropriate spokeswoman for this cause. Had she earned the right to speak for the transgender community after having just transitioned?

Due to the confines of political correctness, most of us stayed silent while refusing to jump on the Caityln Jenner bandwagon. However, when she received Glamour's “Woman of the Year,” many could no longer stay quiet. James Smith was one of the angriest and most vocal. His wife, a New York city police officer, died while rescuing thousands of people from one of the Twin Towers on 9/11 and received “Woman of the Year” posthumously. When James Smith heard Caitlyn received the same honor as his heroic wife, he wrote an open letter to Glamour that detailed his outrage:

“I find it insulting to Moira Smith's memory, and the memory of other heroic women who have earned this award...At a time when we have women in the armed forces fighting and dying for our country, heroic doctors fighting deadly diseases, women police officers and firefighters putting their lives on the line for total strangers, brave women overcoming life threatening diseases...the list of possibilities goes on. It this the best you could do?...After discussing this slap in the face to the memory of our Hero with my family, I have decided to return Moira's award to Glamour magazine."

As is quite fitting, some in the transgender community are turning against Caitlyn. Instead of doing the polite thing—phoning in advance to ask for an invitation to their party— Caitlyn just showed up unexpectedly, barged right in, and demanded all the attention. Some transgender people rightfully see her as a phony, an opportunist, and a publicity whore—someone who has led an isolated life of extreme wealth and privilege and has no grasp of the hardships that trans men and women suffer. They object to her serving as a spokeswoman for their cause.

After leaving a speaking engagement in Chicago, Caitlyn faced angry protesters, most of whom were transgender women. Monica James was there and voiced her outrage at Caitlyn: “You are an insult to trans people, you are an insult to women...The $500 you spend at a luncheon is more than most black trans women are able to earn in a month.”

On their Facebook page, the protesters made their objections about Caitlyn quite clear and convincing. They wrote:

“Who, you may ask, did they select to speak on the issues facing trans people and especially trans women in our city? Caitlyn Jenner. Caitlyn Jenner, who lives in a mansion and has a net worth of millions of dollars, while the average trans person has a 41 percent chance of experiencing homelessness and a nearly 50 percent change of living off less than $10K per year.”

When his father dubbed Charlie Sheen courageous for announcing he's HIV-positive and Glamour honored Caitlyn Jenner as “Woman of the Year,” they're misusing and manipulating words to push a political agenda. We can show our courage by thinking for ourselves, choosing our own heroes, and not letting the media decide who deserves our respect.