Michael Brown---wife-beater, humanitarian.
Michael Brown founded Houston’s Brown Hand Center, which specializes in the treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome. He is now on trial for assault, after being arrested last year for attacking his his wife, twisting her arm behind her back and, among other things, hurling his 2010 Joanne King Herring Humanitarian Award at her.
I have often thought that those who give out humanitarian awards for specific instances of good conduct have an ethical obligation to make sure that recipients conform to the definition of “humanitarian” in their overall conduct. One of the definitions of humanitarian is “ethical.” Official pronouncements that an individual is ethical can be very effective false advertising for the character of someone who is anything but. Mr. Brown illustrates my concerns.
By 2010, when Brown received his award, he had already pleaded no-contest in 2002 to aggravated assault for beating then-pregnant wife, Darlina Brown, with a bed post. Call me a stickler, but I think there should be an automatic “Beating a pregnant woman with bedpost” disqualification provision for humanitarian awards. Then, in 2006, Dr. Brown’s medical license was revoked after he tested positive for cocaine use. So to summarize, at the time he was deemed worthy of the honor of being the 2010 humanitarian of the year, Brown was already an admitted wife-beater and an ex-doctor found unfit for the continued practice of medicine.
What a guy!
How about a rule that if you try to kill someone with your humanitarian award, it is automatically revoked?
Too strict?
Ethics Alarms 
It took an excruciatingly long time for them to yank his commercials from the television (he would sit surrounded by his adoring wife and children saying he’d treat you like his own family). If people couldn’t even come up with the idea to stop running his commercials, what makes you think they’re smart enough to revoke his humanitarian award?
Are you sure that wasn’t truth in advertising? He’ll beat you, but he thinks you’ll just sit there and take it.
I find the irony delicious. Though it does cheapen awards. Fortunately, my father has not beaten anyone with his local MLK “Living the Dream Award”
I think you’re approaching this in the wrong way. It’s much easier to adopt a strict rule that all humanitarian award statues, medals, and other paraphernalia must be designed to meet the safety standards applicable to toys for 3-year-olds. Result? No injuries possible. Problem solved.