The Penn is Mightier Than the Sneer

I fully understand the immediate reaction to Sean Penn appearing on the TV show Morning Joe looking wildly and oddly unkempt around 5:30 AM in Los Angeles, three hours earlier than the broadcast time in the East.  Of course it would have been much more presentable if he could have gotten up even earlier, prepare just a bit and at the very least comb his hair.  In fact, if Saturday Night Live was doing a show this weekend, I wouldn't have been surprised if they'd have done a sketch about him.  That said, from my own personal perspective, I would far rather have him look homeless, destitute and bleary while creating a spectacular disaster relief program, CORE than seeing the lovely-coiffed, GQ cover candidate Mike Pence who oversees dealing with the pandemic and said back in April that the country would be over it by May 31.

Just to be clear for those unaware, ​Sean Penn is co-founder of the humanitarian disaster relief non-profit, CORE, which they quickly adapted to dealing with the pandemic and COVID-19 testing when the desperate need arose.  

Several months back, a friend had an immediate need for coronavirus testing when there was a possible outbreak at his kid's school.  There was a CORE center near him, and he was able to get tested for free and then received the results in only 24 hours.  He tested negative.

Yes, it was a bad look.  Funny, even.  And it couldn't help catch people's attention.  Mind you, I have no idea how he spent his night before -- perhaps up until the wee hours drinking or reading or watching movies, perhaps working on CORE activities and logistics -- or when he went to bed and got up.  Or if he was so tired he slept through his alarm.  Or if he'd been dealing with a CORE emergency that got him up even earlier than 5:30 AM.  Or what.  I have absolutely no idea.  And care even less.  Yes, it clearly distracted some people from what he was talking about, which is a shame and on him.  But being distracted by uncombed hair and focusing on that alone rather than humanitarian charitable efforts during a pandemic ultimately says more about those overly distracted than the subject.  Me, what I do care is that, so far, CORE has tested over 3.3 million Americans for free.  With that same 24-hour turnaround.