Category: News

Peyton Manning will make his Monday Night Football debut of sorts, as he and Eli’s new megacast simulcast show on ESPN2 will have its first of 10 episodes for Ravens-Raiders.

The show’s premise is that the two brothers will hang out, watching the game and talking with friends from around the sports world. There was initially going to be a host, but ESPN decided instead to just let the two Mannings run free with the conversation without someone from the network there trying to direct traffic, and it’s going to be rather fascinating to see how it goes on this first episode — and how entertaining it can remain throughout it’s 10 game run.

Part of the formula for the show’s success is going to be the guests that come on, and for this Monday they will bring in two current NFL players, a Hall of Famer, and, who else, but Charles Barkley as the first guest on the show.

After Barkley, Ray Lewis will be on for the second quarter followed by current stars Travis Kelce and Russell Wilson. Barkley’s presence almost always makes for some entertaining TV, Lewis and the Mannings will surely be able to swap some stories from their days playing each other, and the current players will be particularly interesting given their insight into the current teams. It’s a pretty good starting guest list and we’ll see how this grows going forward.

“Shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate,” William Shakespeare once wrote in Sonnet 18. While he was expressing his desire for a woman, the poetry makes me think of a cannabis drink I recently tried and had big feelings for. Hear me out.

Generally speaking, I have conflicted feelings about cannabis drinks. That’s not a knock on the product category on its face — in the last year, in particular, cannabis drinks have become a force of their own in the legal cannabis market, growing into a popular way for people to imbibe, especially those who are not keen on smoking. In that time, cannabis-infused beverages have also significantly increased in quality, thanks to advancements in emulsion technology. No longer are they stratified cocktails with a layer of oil sitting on the top. These days, the science has been narrowed down, the molecules shrunken. When drinking one of the many cannabis drinks on the market today, one could be forgiven for not even noticing there was cannabis in it at all, flavor-wise.

Where my skepticism comes in is the actual popularity of these drinks. I have written elsewhere, particularly on this website, that I’m a flower gal — smoking actual weed is far and away my favorite way to consume cannabis. That said, I’m a regular partaker of almost every ingestion method under the sun, which includes cannabis-infused drinks from time to time. But even though I enjoy them, I will admit that I struggle to find out where the drinks fit in my routine.

Edibles, particularly gummies, are easy for me — I pop one, chew a few times, and I’m on my way, usually to my bed or couch to watch a movie. Smoking precedes just about everything for me, including social activities, while dabbing is something I reserve for particularly taxing days when I just want to shut off completely. The drinks are harder to place in my mind because they are marketed as a social product, often as an alcohol replacement. While that is certainly true for some people, the fact is that, for many, ingesting weed is not the most social activity. Edibles and drinkables heighten all my senses, yes, but they also help me turn inward and focus more on my own thoughts and feelings in my body, rather than engaging with anyone else. I prefer the quick pop-in-my-mouth, sit back, and relax fix that a gummy offers rather than the slow sipping of a drink. In my mind, there are other, better ways to enjoy a beverage, especially drinks with more socially-minded intoxicants in them.

I know I’m not alone in that conundrum, but out in the wider world, the numbers tell a different story. Cannabis consumer data company Headset claims that current 2021 sales for cannabis-infused beverages total $123.9 million, compared with the sales in the same category in 2020, which clocked in at $79.3 million. That’s a year-over-year sales increase of 56.2%. Clearly, the appeal of these drinks is catching on.

Which is all context to write this: Last week, I finally found a cannabis beverage that made me truly, genuinely get it. Cann, which is the largest purveyor of cannabis drinks in California, recently debuted a new drink in partnership with pop star Tove Lo, who is also an investor in Cann. The drink is exclusive to dispensaries Sweet Flower and Airfield Supply Co. Called “Passion Peach Mate,” which leaves little to the imagination, it’s exactly that: a carbonated, naturally caffeinated, cannabis-infused peach-flavored drink.

It’s absolutely perfect. It’s also the first to market for caffeinated cannabis beverages.

Infused with five milligrams of THC, the 12-ounce canned drink offers a lower dose option that is perfect for nighttime socializing, owing to the caffeine, or daytime drinking, also owing to the caffeine. That, in my mind, makes Cann & Tove Lo’s Passion Peach Mate” the tour de force that it is.

My first thought when holding the marquee-bright yellow and pink can in my hands was, “Wait, how did they legally combine THC and caffeine?” As an older millennial, I am a veteran of the unregulated Four Loko days. I asked a friend, who tipped me off to the fact that it was because the caffeine came from mate, a caffeine-rich drink made with dried holly leaves from South America. In California, it’s okay to combine THC with naturally-derived caffeine, it turns out.

The result is, basically, a fully enmeshed version of the hallowed stoner tradition, “wake and bake,” which involves someone smoking weed first thing in the morning, often while drinking coffee. The body high and head change from smoking weed balances the jolts and jitters from caffeine. For many, it is a really comfortable and fun state to be in. Four Loko capitalized on those good vibes and turned them up to 11, which proved to be too high-octane in the end, especially for regulators, who eventually put strict alcohol and caffeine limits on drinks that contained both.

The Passion Peach Mate high and buzz never approaches anything resembling the intensity of a Four Loko bender. It’s much more mellow on both fronts and gives the drinker a euphoric altered state. It’s this gorgeous mind-and-body feeling that reminds me of Shakespeare’s sonnet — drinking the Passion Peach Mate is like tasting a summer day in a can. It also goes down much smoother and is more delicious than other options, on top of it.

Taste-wise, it’s lightly carbonated, and the bitterness that usually accompanies mate, which I generally enjoy, is instead replaced by a not-too-sweet peach flavor. It’s delicious and, unlike many alcoholic beverages or other cannabis-infused drinks, easy to drink to the very end. The flavor isn’t too overpowering, tastes nothing of weed, and is not something the drinker will get sick of.

Case in point: I had three in one sitting!

Crucially, it is also infused using nanoemulsion technology which makes smaller THC molecules so they are absorbed into the bloodstream faster and with more of its bioavailability intact. This means it hits faster but it also fades faster, in some ways mimicking the onset times for alcohol. It costs $20 for a pack of four, which is priced similarly craft beers or canned cocktails.

The bad news is that, at present, it’s a limited release through just Sweet Flower and Airfield Supply Co. I can’t even order it from my home in San Diego, which upsets me. If you’re reading this, anyone at Cann, consider this my plea for your company to make the Passion Peach Mate a regular in your cannabis-infused drinks line-up. You have a winner on your hands.

Blue Run has taken the whiskey world by storm in 2021. The sourced spirit from the mind of former Four Roses Master Distiller Jim Rutledge is all anyone in the bourbon world seems to be talking about right now. The whiskey is so hot that the small releases tend to sell out almost instantly when they hit the market, leaving average whiskey drinkers only the secondary market to try this juice… if they’re very lucky.

That’s a shame because Blue Run is sourcing and putting out some of the best bourbons (and one rye) you can find right now. We were lucky enough to get a few samples of the recent releases to try them for ourselves and … yeah, this stuff deserves every bit of hype it’s getting. Maybe a little more.

In short, this is whiskey is pretty much bourbon at its best. It also excites us for what’s to come for this new bourbon brand as more releases drop and new ideas for the brand come to the fore. So, let’s dive into what’s actually in this bottle of bourbon and see what all the fuss is about.

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Blue Run 13.5-Year Barrel #3 “Honey Barrel”

ABV: 63.41%

Average Price: $230

The Whiskey:

The juice in the bottle is hand-selected by Jim Rutledge and barreled as a single barrel at cask strength with less than 150 bottles per release. That makes each release extremely unique… and fleeting. Beyond that, very little is known beyond the age statement.

Where these barrels are coming from will probably remain a mystery for as long as the brand exists.

Tasting Notes:

You get a deep sense of buttery toffee on the nose that leads you down a rocky path through a cherry orchard as soft notes of vanilla, worn leather, and warm, spicy tobacco leaves gently settle in your senses. The taste leans into the dark and bold cherry with a deeper dark berry underbelly that’s accentuated by heavily roasted cacao beans, singed vanilla husks, and a sticky toffee pudding made with rich dates. The end softens the leather as the dark chocolate lingers the longest on your senses with a final touch of almost peppery spice.

The Bottle:

The bottles are nice and hefty with a unique shape. They aren’t too far off from the new Equiano Rum bottles in shape and weight. The label is very understated and embossed on the glass, allowing you to see the juice in all its dark amber and caramel glory.

The Bottom Line:

This is a real eye-opener when it comes to what great bourbon can be and what’s waiting out there in orphan barrels across the industry’s warehouses. Although this is going to be impossible to find anywhere near suggested retail (or at all), it’s worth the hunt to both expand your bourbon palate and really enriched your collection.

Ranking:

99/100 — This is a masterpiece with a wow factor to boot. The only reason it loses one point is that I can’t help but think “what’s next???” while sipping this one. It feels a little more like a stop along a gilded road rather than a final destination.

One of the highest forms of respect in simulation games is a player’s overall rating. While it’s not the end all be all, a fine player can have a lower overall rating and still be good, it is something of a status symbol. We see it all across sports games like Madden and NBA 2K, the week ratings drop is always a big deal.

Well, we’re in luck because the ratings for the top 22 players in FIFA 22 dropped on Monday and now we know where some of the world’s greatest athletes stand toe to toe with each other. We’re going to see some obvious names on it, such as Lionel Messi, but it’s the placement of everyone where the real debates come in.

Top 10

• Lionel Messi – 93
• Robert Lewandowski – 92
• Cristiano Ronaldo – 91
• Kevin De Bruyne – 91
• Kylian Mbappé – 91
• Neymar Jr. – 91
• Jan Oblak – 91
• N’Golo Kanté – 90
• Harry Kane – 90
• Manuel Neuer – 90

Messi might be 34, but unsurprisingly the worldwide legend sits at the top all alone with a 93. One thing of note is that Cristiano Ronaldo, typically holding one of the top two ratings, finds himself tied for No. 3 overall with a crowd of stars. Obviously, his 91 still puts him in an elite class, but it says a lot about Robert Lewandowski that he has managed to push his way into an exclusive tier as the top two.

FIFA’s ratings are always interesting compared to other sports because these are comparing athletes across the entire world in different leagues. While something like 2K or Madden only has to focus on the major teams, FIFA has to put time and consideration into multiple leagues, rosters, and even tiers, which is an incredible effortm so it’s always exciting to see these drop.

There are few cocktails I drink more than a Negroni. It’s my go-to. I love the huge botanical and bitter notes that come from the Campari and gin with that sweet vermouth edge. It’s like a flavor-bomb in a glass that helps open up your palate before a big meal, night out, or long brunch. It’s perfect any time, any season, any day.

The classic Negroni is a simple equal-parts-mix of Campari Bitters, sweet vermouth, and gin. Add a little orange and you’re done. You can make them down and dirty — as you get on the streets of Bologna, Milan, Rome — by simply filling a rocks glass with ice, adding the gin, vermouth, and Campari, and then topping it with a slice of orange. Stir with the straw and serve. Done.

And if I’m being 100 percent honest, that’s how I make this cocktail at home.

Today, I’m going to step it up a little bit and mix mine like a fancy cocktail with a cocktail jug and spoon and all that jazz. Is it better? A little. The pre-chilling of the drink with a little ice (which waters it down a touch) does create a little bit smoother experience. Overall, it’s worth the extra effort and it only really takes 15 more seconds to make.

I’m also making the soon-to-be classic White Negroni. In this case, you’re making a gin martini with white Italian bitters in place of the classic red Campari bitters. It’s a little sweeter and lighter but still packs a decent botanical punch.

Okay, let’s get mixing!

Classic Negroni

Ingredients:

• 1.5-oz. gin
• 1.5-oz. sweet vermouth
• 1.5-oz. Campari Bitters
• Orange peel
• Ice

I’m using Paul Fieg’s Artingsall’s Gin because it’s really a fantastic mixing gin. It’s light but vibrant and really brings a unique (read: not overly juniper-heavy) vibe to any cocktail.

For the vermouth, I have some Antica Formula in my fridge so that’s what I’m using. If you have Martini Rosso on hand, that’s good too.

Lastly, you need some Campari to finish this recipe. There are other red bitters from Italy but none of them quite hit the same vibe as Campari. It’s a legendary bitter for a reason and its taste and feel are unparalleled.

What You’ll Need:

• Rocks glass
• Cocktail jug
• Cocktail strainer
• Barspoon
• Jigger
• Fruit peeler/pairing knife

Method:

• Pre-chill the rocks glass in the freezer (preferably overnight)
• Add the gin, vermouth, and Campari to the cocktail jug.
• Add a large handful of ice (filling the jug about halfway) and stir well but gently for about 20 seconds or until the jug is frosted over and ice-cold to touch.
• Remove the glass from the freezer.
• Fill the glass with fresh ice.
• Strain the cocktail into the glass.
• Spritz the orange oils from the peel onto the cocktail and rub the peel around the glass and rim. Drop the peel into the cocktail.
• Serve.

Bottom Line:

I missed these. I’ve been drinking a lot of bourbon highballs lately and this reminded me that I don’t have to. The depth of the botanical bitters and gin is like fireworks on my palate with wood, spicy, and sweet flavors popping off from the first sip to last.

The orange oils add that x-factor that really ties this drink together with the woodier spices and florals. It creates a mild holiday vibe that’s also bright and summery. It is, indeed, magic in a glass.

I’ve never had a White Negroni that I’ve really been blown away by. That said, I’ve never drunk them side-by-side before either. So, let’s see what happens!

White Negroni

Ingredients:

• 1.5-oz. gin
• 0.75-oz. dry vermouth
• 0.75-oz. Italicus white bitters
• Lemon peel
• Ice

We’re using the same gin as above, again, because it’s great. I’m using standard Martini Extra Dry Vermouth. I usually use Noilly Prat but this is what was open in the fridge (always refrigerate your fortified wines).

The real ripple here is the use of Italicus Rosolio di Bergmotto white bitters. It’s a bit sweeter and has a floral bitter note that’s made to pair with dry gins and vermouths, making it the perfect candidate for this drink.

What You’ll Need:

• Coupe, Nick and Nora, or martini glass
• Cocktail jug
• Cocktail strainer
• Barspoon
• Jigger
• Fruit peeler/pairing knife

Method:

• Pre-chill the cocktail glass in the freezer (preferably overnight)
• Add the gin, vermouth, and Italicus to the cocktail jug.
• Add a large handful of ice (filling the jug about halfway) and stir well but gently for about 20 seconds or until the jug is frosted over and ice-cold to touch.
• Remove the glass from the freezer.
• Strain the cocktail into the glass.
• Spritz the lemon oils from the peel onto the cocktail and rub the peel around the glass and rim. Drop the peel into the cocktail.
• Serve.

Bottom Line:

First, let’s break down the White Negroni. I love a good dry gin martini and this is close. The Italicus add a bit more of a sweet and dry floral bitter edge but kind of get lost in the vermouth and gin, creating a sort of sweeter gin martini.

All of that being said, I didn’t hate this. It’s light, vibrant, and refreshing. The lemon oils go a long way to making this bright and breezy while highlighting the botanicals and booze. This would be a really easy sipper on a hot summer’s day.

Compared to the classic Negroni — there’s no comparison. Maybe my palate is programmed for pleasure after drinking these for over 20 years. Not much is going to change that. But I can’t overstate how bold and flavorful yet delicate and sweet a well-made Negroni can be. It’s just … delicious. That said, I wouldn’t turn down another one of these White Negronis either. It’s Negroni Week, after all!

One of the chief complaints about NBA games recently has been the number of late game plays that get reviewed, as seemingly every ball that goes out of bounds gets looked at to determine who it went off of (sometimes to a ridiculous degree). Those who think the ends of NBA games take too long are in for a treat this next year, but they also should be wary of what changes they have wrought.

On Monday, the NBA’s Competition Committee met and will suggest to the Board of Governors that they get rid of automatic reviews inside the last two minutes and make the only reviews that happen be via a coaches challenge, according to Shams Charania.

That will certainly speed things along, but now that Pandora’s box has been opened with regard to replay and TV broadcasts certainly aren’t going to stop showing slow-motion replays of controversial calls, it’s a guarantee that this just causes a different frustration for fans about missed calls that now don’t get reviewed. This has always been the issue with rolling back anything related to replay review, because for all the complaints about how long it takes and how the game gets interrupted, it’s typically the players themselves yelling for reviews and twirling their fingers begging for a second look.

Now, they will only have their coaches to look to for one chance at overturning a wrong call and I’m sure the coaches won’t be thrilled to suddenly have an even harder decision about when to use (and when to hold onto) their challenge. It will make games go faster and if the general public is willing to accept that some of those human errors are going to return in exchange for quicker, smoother final minutes then this will go over great, I’d just be skeptical the league is going to get glowing reviews for this one.

Over the course of the pandemic, two major threads of hip-hop artists have emerged: Those who have supported common-sense safety measures and efforts to combat the COVID-19 coronavirus’ spread, and those who have made light of its impacts and the efforts to slow its movement throwout vulnerable populations. Unfortunately, many of those who have cast aspersions on things like vaccines have massive platforms — which makes their reticence both disappointing and incredibly dangerous.

This afternoon, “Seeing Green” rapper Nicki Minaj addressed a fan account that noted that she hadn’t made a public appearance in over a year. “I have an infant with no nannies during COVID,” she explained. “Not risking his health to be seen.” Reasonable enough. However, the longer she addressed the conversation, the closer she toed the line, eventually revealing that she had caught COVID herself while preparing for the VMAs.

“I was prepping for vmas then i shot a video & guess who got COVID?” she wrote. “Do u know what it is not to be able to kiss or hold your tiny baby for over a week? A baby who is only used to his mama?” But then, she overshared, questioning the efficacy of the vaccine, saying Drake told her he caught the virus despite being vaccinated (which, is, you know, how vaccines work). She also claimed that she had the “exact same symptoms” as people who were vaccinated.

She then started sharing vaccine horror stories from fans and ones from her family. While stories of this kind have circulated since the three different vaccines were introduced, statistically, they are rarer than people actually dying from the vaccine, which is a number in the high six figures in the US alone. Nicki said that she was “doing her own research” and well… we all know what that means.

At least she told fans to continue to wear masks — unlike another rap veteran, Busta Rhymes, who went on an anti-mask rant a few months ago. Still, it’s pretty easy to interpret her reluctance as just another extension of the hesitation lots of Black folks have unfortunately had over the past year — a hesitation that’s getting 1,000 people a day killed. Just get the damn shot, y’all. Check out some reactions as well.

The hype about the upcoming DC film The Batman is all about Robert Pattinson’s debut as the caped crusader, but his arch nemisis has already been set up for some post-film screentime. As Variety detailed on Monday, HBO Max has a spinoff series in the works featuring The Penguin, the bad guy played in the upcoming Matt Reeves film by Collin Farrell.

Colin Farrell is set to play the notorious supervillain in “The Batman.” According to sources, Farrell has been approached to star in the spinoff series but no deal is currently in place. Sources also say that Lauren LeFranc is attached to write the script for the project, which is in its very early stages.

The show would supposedly delve into The Penguin’s rise to power in the Gotham criminal underworld.

HBO Max has become a landing spot of sorts for alt-hero DC projects. But a gritty Penguin-themed project featuring the origin story of Oswald Cobblepot would be a departure from the more comedic standouts, like the animated Harley Quinn.

Though the report notes that the development is still in the early stages, it does seem to indicate that Warners is intent on a Marvel-like expansion between their DC movie and TV worlds. Whether The Batman will have enough juice to make Farrell’s Penguin worth investing in for fans, well, we’ll all just have to wait and see.

[via Variety]

Our collective childhoods have been forever influenced by the imaginative, heartwarming stories of Roald Dahl. Classics like Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, Matilda, and Fantastic Mr. Fox continue to grace bookshelves, movie screens, and even the stages of Broadway.

But today, on what would have been Dahl’s 104th birthday, we’re going to share one of his lesser known- yet arguably most provocative-works of literature.

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Despite the whimsical nature of his fictional worlds, Roald Dahl took the importance of immunization seriously, after losing his seven year old daughter Olivia to measles in 1962. Once the measles outbreak made a resurgence in 1986, Dahl wrote his own gut-wrenching call-to-action in the Sandwell Health Authority. His stance on vaccinations is made quite clear:

Measles: A Dangerous Illness

Olivia, my eldest daughter, caught measles when she was seven years old. As the illness took its usual course I can remember reading to her often in bed and not feeling particularly alarmed about it. Then one morning, when she was well on the road to recovery, I was sitting on her bed showing her how to fashion little animals out of coloured pipe-cleaners, and when it came to her turn to make one herself, I noticed that her fingers and her mind were not working together and she couldn’t do anything.

“Are you feeling all right?” I asked her.

“I feel all sleepy,” she said.

In an hour, she was unconscious. In twelve hours she was dead.

The measles had turned into a terrible thing called measles encephalitis and there was nothing the doctors could do to save her. That was twenty-four years ago in 1962, but even now, if a child with measles happens to develop the same deadly reaction from measles as Olivia did, there would still be nothing the doctors could do to help her.

On the other hand, there is today something that parents can do to make sure that this sort of tragedy does not happen to a child of theirs. They can insist that their child is immunised against measles. I was unable to do that for Olivia in 1962 because in those days a reliable measles vaccine had not been discovered. Today a good and safe vaccine is available to every family and all you have to do is to ask your doctor to administer it.

It is not yet generally accepted that measles can be a dangerous illness. Believe me, it is. In my opinion parents who now refuse to have their children immunised are putting the lives of those children at risk. In America, where measles immunisation is compulsory, measles like smallpox, has been virtually wiped out.

Here in Britain, because so many parents refuse, either out of obstinacy or ignorance or fear, to allow their children to be immunised, we still have a hundred thousand cases of measles every year. Out of those, more than 10,000 will suffer side effects of one kind or another. At least 10,000 will develop ear or chest infections. About 20 will die.

LET THAT SINK IN.

Every year around 20 children will die in Britain from measles.

So what about the risks that your children will run from being immunised?

They are almost non-existent. Listen to this. In a district of around 300,000 people, there will be only one child every 250 years who will develop serious side effects from measles immunisation! That is about a million to one chance. I should think there would be more chance of your child choking to death on a chocolate bar than of becoming seriously ill from a measles immunisation.

So what on earth are you worrying about? It really is almost a crime to allow your child to go unimmunised.

The ideal time to have it done is at 13 months, but it is never too late. All school-children who have not yet had a measles immunisation should beg their parents to arrange for them to have one as soon as possible.

Incidentally, I dedicated two of my books to Olivia, the first was ‘James and the Giant Peach’. That was when she was still alive. The second was ‘The BFG’, dedicated to her memory after she had died from measles. You will see her name at the beginning of each of these books. And I know how happy she would be if only she could know that her death had helped to save a good deal of illness and death among other children.

It almost goes without saying: the subject matter of Dahl’s letter is eerily relevant even in our modern era. A proven solution to a seemingly unending health crisis is available, and yet that solution is no match for senseless and unfounded rebellion.

In a time of continued dissonance and confusion, perhaps Roald’s words can teach us to think critically, act bravely, and not succumb to fear, just as they have in his beloved creative works.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a disturbing rise in anti-Chinese sentiment in Australia where people of Chinese heritage account for 5% of the country’s 25 million residents.

A poll found that one in five Chinese Australians have been physically threatened or attacked over the past year. The problem has become so bad that the Chinese government had to issue a travel advisory for students going to Australia, warning them to take precautions.

Australians aren’t denying the issue, either.

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A study published by The Guardian found that 44% of Australians say they have “very negative” or “somewhat negative” feelings towards Chinese Australians – a nearly three-fold increase from 13% in 2013. They claim their negative feelings stem from the pandemic, the political rhetoric of Donald Trump, and a media atmosphere that encourages “creeping distrust” of Australians of Chinese heritage. Relationships between both countries were also strained when Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an inquiry into the origins of the virus.

While it was originally believed that it emerged from wet markets in Wuhan, there is reason to believe it may have escaped from a virology lab in the area.

“For quite some time, there has been continuous discrimination in Australia against people of Asian origins, including overseas Chinese, which poses serious threats to the safety and legitimate rights and interests of Chinese citizens in Australia,” Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin said.

One brave Australian of Chinese descent made a dramatic display of defiance against the rising tide of racism in the country by destroying a racist sign posed in a Melbourne suburb. The sign read “Made in China – Covid-19,” a reference to the virus’s emergence from that part of the world in late 2019.

The video was shared with a caption that read: “Say no to racism.”

“A friend told me someone posted a sign insulting Chinese people — saying coronavirus is from China,” the man told the camera.

“We have to remove it,” he said. The man then sliced it up with an electric saw and pounded it off the post with a hammer. He then took the saw and cut the sign into even smaller pieces.

The video received widespread praise when it first appeared on TikTok.

“Can’t believe this is happening in 2021. Hope the cowards responsible for this are held accountable,” one commenter said.

“No matter where [the virus] is from, it shouldn’t lead to racism – that’s never forgivable,” another wrote.

Racial prejudice in any form is completely unacceptable. But it’s bewildering that people would lash out against a group of people just because a virus emerged from the country of their heritage. An Australian of Chinese decent living in Melbourne has as much to do with the spread of the virus as a person of any other ethnic background.

The situation in Australia goes to show that when things get tough, there are always those who will look for a scapegoat. The man with the saw and hammer deserves a lot of love for taking an aggressive stand against racism. Hopefully, his act of defiance inspires others to do the same.