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Lassana Bathily

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Hero

The Resume

    (June 27, 1990- )
    Born in Kayes region, Mali
    Resides in Paris, France, France
    Emigrated from Mali to France in 2006
    Muslim shop assistant at Jewish Hypercacher kosher superette in Paris
    Saved the lives of six people during the Porte de Vincennes hostage crisis (Jan. 9, 2015)

Why he might be annoying:

    He has noticeably large ears.
    He's a French citizen whose first name sounds like an Italian dish.
    He was nicknamed 'the Supermarket Hero' (nifty play on the word 'superhero').
    He was frequently (teasingly) asked by one of the eventual shooting victims at the Kosher Market if he was ever going to 'get a Jewish girlfriend.'
    He was mistaken for one of the terrorists by the French police, shortly after his escape from the market. He was subsequently handcuffed and detained for an hour and a half (leading to predictable cries of racism in some quarters).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He saved the lives of six shoppers, including a baby, by hiding them in a basement storage unit.
    He is a living testament to the absurdity of anti-Muslim hysteria.
    He remained humble and rejected the label of 'hero.'
    He was resourceful, using the store's goods lift to escape from the gunmen.
    His familiarity with the store's layout was invaluable to the police's eventual freeing of the hostages.
    His cooperation with the police also resulted in the capture of the two Charlie Hebdo gunmen (and killing of one).
    A petition was started to grant him the French Legion of Honour (12 Jan. 2015).
    He was awarded French citizenship for his heroism (Jan. 20, 2015).
    He was publicly honored by French President Francois Hollande, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Malian President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta.
    He received praise from the French Chief of Police (RAID), British Prime Minister David Cameron, President Barack Obama, and Secretary of State John Kerry.
    The story of his bravery was one of the few bright spots during the otherwise bleak aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 4 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 78 Votes: 52.56% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 20 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 122 Votes: 45.08% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 8 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 667 Votes: 47.98% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 1583 Votes: 45.93% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 2033 Votes: 41.52% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 63 Votes: 55.56% Annoying