Real-Life Superheroes: Just a Game or Sincere Help?
First off, the Internet headquarters of the Real-Life Superheroes is the World Superhero Registry. According to the Times Online article, there are over 200 men and women in the registry willing to dress up as superheroes and fight crime in their neighborhoods. I had to see for myself.
Upon entering the website, I was met with a rather formidable page-long warning, telling the reader that the website discusses matters of the superheroes and that these things are not the product of role-playing games. It states further that because of the perpetually changing legal system, "some of the activities described herein may be in conflict with local laws in some areas."
When asked if I was a member of law-enforcement attempting to nail down the superheroes with legal action, I calmly clicked no and entered the superheroes' domain. Once inside, I barely believed what I saw. Everything felt like a comic book fan's innermost fantasy.
In order to be considered for Real-Life Superhero status in the registry, a person must wear a costume that will inspire those around you, as well as protect your identity. You must perform Heroic Deeds that are required to be "of sufficient degree as to exceed normal everyday behavior." You must have Personal Motivation, a.k.a. you cannot be fueled by an organization of some kind.
The philosophy of the Real-Life Superheroes (in its shortened form) is:
DO NO HARM (use non-lethal means to apprehend a villain) and FAIRNESS (do not pursue "petty criminals" or "apprehend prostitutes or casual drug users.")
To sum up:
These superheroes run around in costumes, make up their own code names and try to make the world a better place.
I perused through Superhero profiles of people like Angle Grinder Man in England (a man who offers his services to motorists whose cars have been put in wheel clamps) and Terrifica in New York (a girl who peruses the N.Y. party scene in an effort to find drunk women in danger of being taken advantage by men).
It suddenly doesn't seem so funny. Granted, I look at pictures of these two individuals, Angle Grinder in a blue leotard and gold boots and Terrifica in her body-hugging scarlet costume and want to smile. But really, compared to these people, what am I doing? I'm not doing one job by day and protecting others at night. Silly or not, these people are doing good and sacrificing their time for others.
So, I'll just address the superheroes. I could never do what you do, but thank you.
John Harlow, Amateur Crimefighters Are Surging in the US, TimesOnline.co
Published by Sarah F. Sullivan
Graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English, emphasis in Writing. Freelance writer and editor for three years. View profile
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8 Comments
Post a CommentVery cool article! Definitely biased here, as the RLSH community is near and dear to my heart (I run the aforementioned Heroes Network). Thank you for the support.
A very positive article in support of the RLSH community. Thank you...
Ms. Sullivan,
I agree with many others in the RLSH community. This is one of the fairest articles out there.
We're ordinary people with diverse training and maybe a few gadgets trying to do some good in our communities and prepared to step up to problems if we come across them. We patrol to protect our cities. We perform charitable acts to help our citizens. Beneath our costumes we could be you or your neighbor. We hope to inspire others to do what they can.
Geist
Rochester, MN
Great Lakes Heroes Guild member
To Ms.Sullivan,
You're welcome. This is the most positive article I've ever seen on what we do.
Superhero
Clearwater Florida
Thank you for the nice article and the wonderful response from the readers. Its nice to see a well thought out story and to get a warm reception. I personally am a RLSH from Minnesota named RazorHawk and I am a co-founder of the Great Lakes Heroes Guild, which is a team of men and women from all over the country, including my good friend the Watchman.
We do this to make our world better in whatever way we can, some fight crime, and some help charities and raise awareness of good causes. Thats what we do, we love to help fight for kids, whether they are sick, or homeless. We do what we can to put smiles on their faces in an attempt to help them grow to be good men and women.
Thank you again for the kind words!
RazorHawk
I'm a RLSH who opperates out of southeastern Wisconsin and I have to say "Great article." I do have to mention, however, that the World Hero Registry is only a big deal in the media, which is unfortunate as it is pretty outdated. There are a few other sites out.The biggest is Heroes Network and it is updated daily.
Last July, one of my blog entries included my definition of heroes, as follows:
"On the rope of life, heroes climb above their weakest point, putting themselves at risk for the benefit of others. Love, compassion, duty and honor call them forth and they respond. Still, even heroes on a worthwhile quest against evil must search their own hearts for smoldering embers of hate or vengeance that could influence their actions and bring dishonor and disaster. We are only human. Heroes or not, we often fight our deadliest battles against ourselves and the best way to tame our dark, snarling inner desires is to flood those beasts with light."
At that point, I noted we live in the real world, one without superheroes of fantasy fame. How delightful it was this week to hear about the registry of Real-Life Superheroes.
From Laurel Anne Hill, author of "Heroes Arise"
Sounds really cool but incredibly dangerous! Good job on this!