It’s been a while, but the Advocate’s Halos and Horns review of the past year is back!
Last year, the popular series took a hiatus as a new staff came on. And before that the section had been shrinking year after year.
I love Halos and Horns. Growing up, it was my favorite issue of the Valley Advocate. It’s like a lighting round for speaking truth to power.
Often when we create lists or rankings, readers will ask, Who the hell do these people think they are?
Today, we’ll tell you. This year, each full-time member of the editorial staff contributed to Halos and Horns: staff writers Amanda Drane and Hunter Styles, design manager Jennifer Levesque, and editors Kristin Palpini and Jeff Good.
Here’s a little bit about us and what we think it means to earn a halo or a horn:
W e get it — we tick some people off. Critics may think of us as a bunch of smug-faced, laptop-lugging upstart bloggers with too many axes to grind. But if you prick us, do we not bleed? If you slam us in a letter to the editor, do we not make room to print it? If you boast the best food in town, do we not swing by, hungry, to hold you to your word?
We love the Valley, and this Halos and Horns issue is our chance to extol its virtues — and offer our (somewhat) constructive criticism. I’m giving halos this year to those good souls who work hard at something greater than themselves, whether they are national figure like Elizabeth Warren, local groups like Herencia Latina and Gateway City Arts, or the creators of something as simple and life-affirming as a Boston cream cupcake.
My horns, on the other hand, hit wide marks this year. Some recipients of this anti-award are the typical mundane forces of ignorance, ineptness, and bureaucracy. Others are big dogs who don’t know how to play nice (Anheuser Busch; Domenic Sarno). But most are something even worse: hypocrites. They teach free speech while they hunt down dissent (Melissa Chick). They promote equality while displaying prejudice (Daniel McCarthy). And they take on the mantle of protector while acting unsafely (Francis Fox). That’s what we’re here to look back on in 2015 — and why we come ready to judge.
Ever since I was a little girl I’ve been infatuated with the arts and pop culture. I wrote little stories and poems in my notebooks. I learned to draw from my Mémère. I went to a collaborative school and immediately fell in love with graphic design. As a teenager, I would pick up the Advocate and I’d picture myself working there one day.
My knowledge of the arts and politics, after eight years here, has grown on a daily basis. I feel very confident in saying that I agree fully with the Halos and Horns that were selected this year. Halos for Planned Parenthood, simply because I’m a woman and I want a choice with my body and my health. Horns for Donald Trump since, well, he’s just a moron.
I’ve been a journalist in the Valley for 13 years covering everything from small towns to mega scandals. I love news, doing research and being critical — a perfect set of qualities for any judge. When I award a halo, I’m looking for someone or something that has performed above and beyond what anyone could have expected to the benefit of the community. When I award a horn, I’m calling out hypocrisy, haters, liars, cheats, and otherwise ugly characteristics.
Amanda Drane and Jeff Good — both Advo-cats, as we like to call ourselves — were off on vacation when we were writing this Between the Lines and so were unable to contribute to the column. All I can say, as editor, is that I’m glad to have both contributing to the paper.
