Why I Love Omar

Omar is my favorite character in The Wire, hands down. Of all the people in the show, Omar isn't trying to be anyone he's not. On the cop side, a lot of people are ass-kissing, or just going along with what their higher-up told them, regardless of wether or not they agree with it. On the gang side, you have kids pretending they're okay with shooting their best friend, acting all hard ass about "sending a message". Omar is really honest about who he is. When Brandon gets shot, he openly grieves, and admits to Kima that he might lose his temper and retaliate against Bird. In Season 2 (SPOILER) he goes into court and testifies against Bird, my whole scene of the show so far. He isn't a typical witness, his testimony is hilarious, and his outfit is great. When the prosecutor asks him to state his occupation, he tells the whole truth and nothing but the truth. Also in court, he manages to push Bird's buttons as well as the slimy lawyer for the Barksdale crew. This is due to another of Omar's great qualities, he sees people for who they really are. When Kima and McNulty first bring him to the office and McNulty starts bitching about something or other, he candidly asks "Bad time for ya'll?" He doesn't try to gloss things over, he's just upfront about it. Omar also knows a lot about the rules of the game, and therefore he knows how to break them. He isn't loyal to any gang but himself. When Bailey (the other dude who robbed the Pits with him and Brandon) goes missing, Omar doesn't pretend like he was all worried about him, like the Barksdale crew might. He doesn't try to figure out who pulled the trigger so he could go blow people up to "send a message." He just says, "eh, that guy's enemies got enemies." By living by his own code (I ain't never put a gun on anyone who wasn't in the game) Omar never has to do anything he doesn't agree with. People on both of the other sides do: D'Angelo, Poot, Lester, Carver, all of them do. Krzys presented the idea in class that Omar may be the show's most ethical character. While that is debatable-because what is ethical is debatable on its own- Omar's upfrontness, sense of humor, moral code and mysterious scar make him an all around badass.