This is the last post you can respond to for the second half of November.
Is this one possible solution for making city streets safer? Should ordinary citizens take a more active role in crime fighting when the police seem incapable of making things safe? Or do these people have other motives? Are they making the situation better or worse? Some people think that television news and entertainment programs encourage a fear of crime that is exaggerated and a glorification of a violent response to it. What is your opinion?
This was a really interesting article. I had no idea that some fanatics actually made up their mind and started a carefully thought out organisation for crime fighting. They even have an official website! I must admit that at first, while I’m not a comic book fan, I thought of this as an excellent and creative idea of standing up for all the violated people who need help and whom the police isn’t able to give it. And the costumes…oh the costumes. So cool.
ReplyDeleteBut then I started to reconsider. I thought of all the dangers and unnecessary injuries that can be avoided by not foolishly following one’s hazardous fantasy dream. Sure, you have got to hand it to them, they have it all thought out. Especially whem it comes to their own safety. Nobody is making them do anything, it’s their own choice and they are aware of what they are getting themselves into. It’s a plus that they mastered martial arts, but it is important to mention that ,as some citizen already pointed out bellow the article, mixed arts, tazers and pepper sprays are no match for guns and knives. And what happens if they kill someone? Is it still considered a good deed? Comics and movies might be fun and great, but they don’t even come close to reality.
I think that IF someone really were to consider joining the RLHS (Real Life SuperHeroes) they should definitely be able to defend themselves and others if necessary. Otherwise they’re not helping anybody, they’re just creating more problems for police and for their own safety.
Maria Dudakova
As I was reading the article, I posed myself few questions. Who wants to be a super hero? Is it a normal person or just another individual obsessed with comic books? Honestly, I was more likely to agree with the second part, the obsessed individual. I supported my decision with the fact that a person considering himself a superhero has no super power abilities like superheroes possess in comic books, therefore they extremely endanger not only others but mainly themselves. So reasonably, I liked the fact that all of the superheroes in Seattle have some experience in military or martial arts based on Phoenix’s explanation "Everyone on my team either has a military background or a mixed martial arts background, and we're well aware of what its costs to do what we do." They have control over what they are doing. But on the other hand, this whole superhero affair is really foolish because it gives inspiration for some who might not realize what it takes to defeat a criminal, to have experience. As a result their statement “Everyone can be a superhero, look at those in Seattle, they are common people, like I am” is what was fatal for them.
ReplyDeleteBut apart from danger, I think superheroes want to point out that the not only fighting and saving but also moral values are important in comic books as also said in their website. It is a very good motivation for people as far as they are aware of the danger that might occur. Also it is nice to see that there are still people who care about justice and are even expressing it publicly. In my opinion, more people could act like superheroes to decrease a criminality in their towns but in contradiction it would become cliché after a while and criminals would be prepared for them so I don’t really know whether I would promote this or forbid.
oli
Quite an interesting article. Reminds me of a movie with similar “superheroes” called Kick-ass, which showed how police is unable to fight crime and how citizens can affect the crime level in their neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteI think this really is one solution for the crime in cities, as police usually doesn’t have time or enough police officers available to patrol the streets. Citizens, on the other hand, dressed as superheroes don’t attract attention as much as police cars or police officers and are willing to spend their nights saving people and properties and preventing from crime. Citizens also usually know their neighborhood better than Police, thus can spot crime easier.
I think these “superheroes” want to fight crime, because of lack of action and adrenaline in their lives. As mention in the text, these “superheroes” had a military or martial arts past, which means they had a lot of action during their day. But now, they have to find something else, so they become superheroes. Of course they want to save people and do all the superhero stuff, but I think it also gives them self-satisfaction that they are actually doing something good not only for themselves, but for others.
There are some problems connected with “superheroes” checking on the streets. It happened and might happen in the future, that these guys get not recognized correctly and regular citizens might call the police or even fight them. Therefore it is good that the “superheroes” collaborate with the police and news, presenting themselves to the citizens, but at the same time keeping their identity.
I don’t think that news and media in general cause a violent response of citizens to crime. Media just show the truth and how police is unable to act in some situations, thus gives an impulse to the citizens to act for the safety of their streets and neighborhood. The citizens can choose whether to fight the crime or not. I think it is very important to keep the identity when fighting crime, in order not to get your life or life of relatives in danger. The best way definitely is becoming a “superhero”.
Citizens who take justice into their hands may be in serious danger. The ordinary people are not prepared and not schooled to fight against crime. Moreover they are all alone and without any experience in a world of crime which requires training, experience and support from big organization such as police department. If the ordinary people could bring justice into streets then why would we need police academies and police schooling? We need them since this is not possible, the schooling is necessary. This act of pretending to be a superhero may be just some pathetic try to solve problems on own or some opportunity to show off. In addition, the risk of injury is very high. Also police argues that these people put themselves into danger when they voluntarily face criminals. There is clear evidence that the Phoenix was injured when he faced drug crime. Therefore I think that these superheroes such Phoenix are not prepared to face big criminal issues such as organized crime which involves drug trading, prostitution or even car robberies and their bravery is not sufficient in fight against the crime.
ReplyDeleteWe should not encourage people in becoming superheroes and facing crime in streets. If you see a crime on a street you should help best you can. You can help somebody physically or you can call the police. That is your civil duty. However, intentionally finding crimes is the job of police. These Seattle superheroes argue that they are taking their job seriously and that they have military background. Despite this, it does not mean that they have to go on their own. I suggest that if they want to protect the people of city they should become regular policemen. For a regular citizen it is not important who helps him, whether the policeman or a man in mask.
Prestige can be also intention of these Seattle superheroes. I think that this is a very good way how to put attention on someone or some group. Since we know superheroes from movies and comics they are very popular theme and these people who imitate them or they claim that they are them may become very popular too.
Mojmir
Citizens who take justice into their hands may be in serious danger. The ordinary people are not prepared and not schooled to fight against crime. Moreover they are all alone and without any experience in a world of crime which requires training, experience and support from big organization such as police department. If the ordinary people could bring justice into streets then why would we need police academies and police schooling? We need them since this is not possible, the schooling is necessary. This act of pretending to be a superhero may be just some pathetic try to solve problems on own or some opportunity to show off. In addition, the risk of injury is very high. Also police argues that these people put themselves into danger when they voluntarily face criminals. There is clear evidence that the Phoenix was injured when he faced drug crime. Therefore I think that these superheroes such Phoenix are not prepared to face big criminal issues such as organized crime which involves drug trading, prostitution or even car robberies and their bravery is not sufficient in fight against the crime.
ReplyDeleteWe should not encourage people in becoming superheroes and facing crime in streets. If you see a crime on a street you should help best you can. You can help somebody physically or you can call the police. That is your civil duty. However, intentionally finding crimes is the job of police. These Seattle superheroes argue that they are taking their job seriously and that they have military background. Despite this, it does not mean that they have to go on their own. I suggest that if they want to protect the people of city they should become regular policemen. For a regular citizen it is not important who helps him, whether the policeman or a man in mask.
Prestige can be also intention of these Seattle superheroes. I think that this is a very good way how to put attention on someone or some group. Since we know superheroes from movies and comics they are very popular theme and these people who imitate them or they claim that they are them may become very popular too.
Mojmir
This is a very interesting article. After I have seen the movie “Kick-Ass” my first thought was that it is just a matter of time until someone will try it in real. When I started reading the article I thought: “It’s so cool. They fight the crime, search all night for bad guys and have costumes. And they drive the godmothers KIA.”
ReplyDeleteBut the longer I read the more skeptical my opinion became. I think that these self-described superheroes actually do more harm than good. One of the superheroes, character called Entomo, wrote on their page: "Inspiration plays a major role in this, of course," But this contradicts with another point written in the article: “The "costume-wearing complainants" refused to press charges because they didn't want to identify themselves to officers, Kappel said. So the suspect walked.” They rather let probably dangerous person walk away instead of revealing they own identity. This is definitely not a good example to follow and it is not what some superhero would do. If their aim was to inspire people to getting more involved in justice process they would not let that suspect go away. In addition they give the police officers more work as people report the suspicious behavior of masked superheroes.
I got a feeling from the article that they are just a bunch of teenagers doing crazy stuff and following their comic book idols. One think we have to remember and that is that they are not trained professionals (even if they have some martial arts training) and I think that it is just a matter of time until something terribly wrong happens to them.
This is article is kind of like a part taken out of the movie Kick-ass. However, instead of a teenager that has been reading too much comic books there are grown people with martial arts or military training who decided to change something about the city they life in. This I think is awesome because the police can’t be ever-present when there are lots of things that they must take care of. That’s when people like this step up, to help protect the neighborhood when the police are not around.
ReplyDeleteA main figure in this article is a man who calls himself Phoenix Jones. However, I don’t think the article explained very well why Phoenix decided to dress up in a costume and help people around him. Out of interest in this topic, I read another article about him and found out that he actually helped break up fights and things like that even before he used his costume. Unfortunately, he became known as the guy who breaks up fights which resulted in his car getting trashed and his son hurt. That’s why he took up a costume, to protect himself and his family. Some people might argue that they could get seriously hurt or even killed. I think that the danger is no more than ordinary police officers encounter and personally, if I were to take a bet on who would do more to help someone in peril, either a police officer with a stick at his hip or a guy who has been involved in martial arts for all of his life, I’d bet on the latter.
On the other hand, I would definitely not encourage everyone to take up the mantle of a “superhero”. It is truly dangerous and a person unprepared to stand his ground in a fight would be wheeled into a hospital very quickly. In addition, I think that what Phoenix is doing might be a bit irresponsible because of his family. I read that he has a wife and a son, and if he gets killed in some gunfight with a drug dealing gang, he leaves them behind. It is a personal choice to get involved with this kind of thing, but I think it could definitely help the police and citizens.
Stand up and fight or run if anything harmful seems to happen to you in the nearest seconds. And if you can’t because you’ve just loaded in your pants from fear and shock then you should be extremely glad and thankful to those courageous individuals that appear at the scene to save your load. In some cities I believe that the criminality rate is extremely high and if it is combined with incapable policemen who insufficiently fight against it then catastrophe is created. In such cases I really don’t doubt anyone who feels he/she must act otherwise would go mad. The police happily say that they would more appreciate people being good witnesses than confronting the criminals themselves but how a person can just stand aside and look at all the acts of injustice throughout their whole lives without as much as moving an inch towards the scene. Even more people who are naturally brave in their hearts and who have even a military or martial arts background as Phoenix Jones said about him and his group. Finally some people realized that sometimes you can save ordinary life everyday if you step up and just by passing by in a way “see no evil, hear evil, speak no evil” you basically allow harm to be done. Sometimes a simple shout can help to distract the attention of the criminals and when they see that they are being watched they run away because most of them are cowards like majority of people.
ReplyDeleteHowever I admit that sometimes it’s just foolish to mess around with fully armed robbers who plan to rob a bank or a freak with a gun that randomly shoots at people in the street when you don’t have a gun of your own. The “real life superheroes” should always be aware of the consequences of their actions and also of the capabilities of the ones on the other side of the law. However exactly this Phoenix Jones claims they bear in mind and when combined with their military history his superhero clan looks more serious to the public.
On their website they write that a real life superhero should apart form a costume also act, however I would put it also the other way around. A real life superhero is in my opinion everyone who has ever helped another person in need when attacked by someone or anything else. Those invisible silent heroes who walk around and are not afraid to give a hand to their brother. They do not need the flashes of cameras or interviews though they deserve them most. But I don’t care whether the superheroes from Seattle do it only for fame or not, if they really act against crime and think before acting in order not to get stupidly killed then I admire them and it makes me happy that brave and unselfish people still exist.
I think this is a very good idea. Indeed, it is very dangerous to do such a free-time activity. But it brings safety and peace to the whole city. If there were superheroes in Bratislava, I would feel a lot safer on the streets in the night. But back to the guardians of Seattle. Despite the danger, members of the Rain City Superhero Movement are here to help people in need.
ReplyDeletePolice say they do not want people who are not sworn officers putting themselves in danger. But these superheroes are not just normal people. Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle says that everyone from his team has some sort of military background. I think that few of them are even better fighters than police officers. Also they might have better equipment. Phoenix Jones the Guardian of Seattle told police that he wears full body armor. He is like Batman. He has no super power. He has got just good and cool equipment. It is pity that he lacks the Batmobil.
Some people may be afraid of these superheroes. But I think they are harmless to normal, law-obeying people. As was said in the article, they do not have any firearms. Just pepper sprays and tasers. Also I think that they would never hurt an innocent person. It is just not their style. A real superhero would never do harm to an innocent person. I know that the members of the Rain City Superhero Movement are not real superheroes, but maybe they are more real than the comics ones.
Tomáš Langer 3.IB
@ Tomas
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, I think it is a good idea to have some superheroes on the streets. They are beneficial as they keep the streets safe at night when there is not sufficient number of police officers. But they are helpful only if they do not interfere with the work of the police. I think there is nothing worse than being a police officer solving a big case and having a grown man running around you dressed like a superhero. I believe that these superheroes should not involve in serious crimes like murder, murder attempt, abduction or bank robbery but rather stick to small things like pick pocketing or harassment.
It takes a lot of guts to be able to dress like a superhero and go out at night and watch the streets. I think people of Seattle should appreciate these people as they are protecting people with no reward. They seem to have a lot of protective armor, or at least Phoenix does. But still they should not put their lives on the line helping others just because they think they have super powers. Only things they have are tasers and sprays not super powers like Superman or Spiderman. Just in case, I think they should walk the streets in pairs or three people together so if anything happens they are there to help each other. It is a good idea but superheroes better be careful otherwise they can become victims of their arch-nemeses.
Responding to Tomáš
ReplyDeleteI do not want to say that your idea is wrong, but consider how dangerous the work of these guardians is. They help people, but on the other hand they risk their lives what and their lives are not less important that the other´s.
The idea, that they could be sometimes even more useful than trained police officers could be real, but consider that they do not have any police training even though they have some military background. Their equipment is not better, think about police officers. They use the same arsenal of guns and either it is powerful or they are just not so intelligent to upgrade it. As you, I also propose police deputies to improve their equipment if it is possible. It could be nice to have some Batmen crossing our streets. :-D
Superheroes are not harmful to ordinary law-obeying people. That is right. But how many people like that are around? Not so many, I think. If you are talking about pepper sprays, be careful. Some people could be allergic to pepper, so they are not some harmless as they look. Not harming innocent people is very good advantage, but police officers do not do that, so I do not consider it to be magnificent asset. To sum it up, I like the idea about superheroes. If they do not any harm and they want to help the public peace, let them dedicate their lives to the world peace.
@Tomas Langer
ReplyDeleteYou have there some good ideas, but overall I don’t agree with you. You say that the superheroes are here to help people. The only real situation documented by police that was mentioned in the article is that one when six of the so called superheroes beat up one man. And when police caught him they refused to press charges and probably dangerous person was set free. This is not the action of real superheroes. Other thing I don’t agree with you is that you say these superheroes are prepared to fight the crime because they have some sort of military background and have good equipment. I think that both points are false. You don’t know what the military background means. This term covers large area of many different things. It can mean that they are awarded war heroes or that they have some sort of office job in the logistics department. Their real experience is not specified in the article. Secondly I don’t consider their equipment as cool or good. They use regular sport equipment and pepper spray or Tasers and drive a KIA. This is no match for knifes, shotguns or bazookas that criminals usually use. I think that these superheroes are in danger and they should end their activities until something bad happens to them.
@Oli
ReplyDeleteWhen I was reading your comment, I have to say that I totally agreed with the first paragraph. You are right, that these people don’t have super powers like in the comic books and therefore endanger themselves. There were even some examples to it in the article, “a caped crusader dressed in black was nearly shot when he came running out of a dark park”. There we go. But I don’t know if you really can justify whether or not they know what they are doing. They might, and they seem, they carry a few things to help defend themselves but as we can see the situation might get really dangerous.
One issue that caught my attention in your comment is that you contradict yourself a little bit, at first you say it is foolish to do such things and it engages more people to it, although they might not have the experience, but then in the end, you conclude your comment saying that more people could act like superheroes to decrease criminality.
The last point I’d like to touch on is that when I was reading the article, I was kind of looking at the whole affair in a slightly different way, and that is from the point of view of the police. They say, the “superheroes” should not become involved in such dangerous situation and rather leave it to the police. But why? Well, in my opinion, I think that in case the “superheroes” turn to do better and more effective work in fighting criminals as the police, then the police might lose their credibility. I can’t say this is true, but my suspicion is that they are trying to cover up this “fear” by saying that the superheroes are rather endangering themselves. And it might also add them more work if one of the superheroes gets seriously injured, because they would have to investigate the whole case and things therefore get more complicated.