Stan Lee, the comic book writer and co-creator of nearly every legendary Marvel character, has died, multiple media outlets reported Monday. He was 95.
Lee was rushed to the hospital from his home in Los Angeles early in the morning, Variety reported. His cause of death was not released and his representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
During his eight-decade career, Lee was a pioneer of geek fandom, co-creating a long list of beloved comic book characters in the Marvel Universe, including Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Hulk, Thor, Black Panther, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, and Ant-Man.
Totally absent and ignored among all this talk about historic “firsts” among the Democrats newly elected during the midterm is any mention of the firsts among Republicans such as:
Yvette Herrell, member of the Cherokee Nation and the first Native American woman Representative elected from New Mexico (along with Deb Haaland):
Martha McSally, first woman Senator elected from Arizona:
Anthony Gonzalez, first Hispanic Representative elected from Ohio (Cuban, specifically):
Marsha Blackburn, first woman Senator elected from Tennessee:
Kevin Stitt, member of the Cherokee Nation and the first Native American Governor elected in Oklahoma:
Kristi Noem, first woman Governor elected in South Dakota:
This list was compiled from just a quick search so I am sure there are other such “firsts”.
But do you know why Republicans don’t make hay out of our “firsts” like Democrats do?
Because race, gender, religion, and ancestry all have absolutely zero bearing on how good of an elected official someone will be.
There is literally no reason to make a big deal about any of these Republican or Democrat “firsts”—no reason whatsoever—because at the end of the day a person’s ancestors do not make the decisions, a person’s genitals do not make the decisions, and a person’s priest, imam, or rabbi do not make the decisions.
The substance of a person’s life, experiences, and character is what truly matters because those are ultimately what will compose their guiding principles in the decisions they make in legislation and in governance.
Celebrate your “firsts” if you must, but as you do, ask yourself if you actually know anything about the character or experiences of the people you are so excited about.
chrishemsworth (instagram) RIP my friend. Thank you for the incredible adventures your stories took all of us on. My love and support goes out to all your friends and family #stanlee #legend