Archives June 2012

First, I’d like to say that the vast majority of the following is not my work.  Delta, a fellow RLSH compiled this list and posted it on the message board in an effort to help newcomers answer the question “how do I get started?”  Indeed, more experienced RLSHs have benefited from it as well! I found myself referring back to it while talking with others so often that I begged his permission to put this list on my blog for easier reference.   The list began to grow as more and more people added their ideas (credits noted) and at this point, we have 31 ways to be a Hero Without Using Your Fists!
1. First things first. Take a first aid course. Be ready to help someone in an emergency situation. Don’t assume someone else will be able to do it.
2. Be a hero, donate blood. Better yet bring a friend. Can you imagine the publicity the Red Cross could get out of a photo of a half dozen RLSH at a drive?
3. Look for paint, not pain. Go on a graffiti patrol. You don’t necessarily have to get rid of it yourself. Document it and report it to the town/city officials. Some places, like the City of Boston has a special graffiti phone hotline.
4. Serve up kindness. Volunteer at a local soup kitchen or free community lunch. What could bring a smile to a downtrodden face more than a hot meal … having that meal served by a caped do-gooder of course.
5. Brown-bag it. Put together a meal in a paper bag, write “for the homeless” on it and leave it where a homeless person can find it. (credit to Knight Hood)
6. Get around. Walk around your neighborhood in order to get to know your neighbors. You can find out who needs what kinds of help and meet people who might be able to help in the future.
7. Be a “Super Scout”. Aim to do one good dead every day. It could be as small as holding a door open for someone or returning an empty grocery cart to the store entrance.
8. Curb appeal. Offer a free lawn mow or snow removal for a neighbor who might have trouble doing it. You could also offer to sweep the walk or wash windows. If they want to reward you have them pay it forward.
9. This is a job for … Trash-man? 1. Get a garbage bag. 2. Go outside. 3. Pick up trash until you fill the bag. Picking-up trash is about the least glamorous thing I can think of, but it can still inspire others to be less apathetic.
10. Clean house. Go through your stuff and set aside anything you don’t really need or want anymore. Take it to a Salvation Army or other charity store and donate it. This one gives you a clean room and the feeling that you’ve done something good. Talk about win/win.
11. Cut back on the caffeine. Skip your coffee/soda habit for a week and give the money to a charity you believe in. You could also buy it and give it to someone who can’t afford it.
12. Go back for a second course. Take a CPR class. Go back to number 1 for the reasons.
13. Speak up! The next time you hear someone say something you know is just plain wrong, call them on it. Write a letter to the editor at your local paper to bring attention to a problem you see. You don’t need to wear a cape for this and, somehow, that seems more heroic to me.
14. Be prepared. Put together emergency preparedness packs for home and travel. Put aside a little extra for others. If you are ready for a disaster you can better help those that are not.
15. People watch. Visit these sites to see if you recognize a missing person. www.amw.com; www.namus.gov; www.missingkids.com. There are more sites if you look for them. (Rook’s note:  I like posting these to my Facebook account and asking others to share. The heightened exposure will hopefully increase the chances of someone being found)
16. Get out the vote. If you are old enough to vote, VOTE. Encourage others to vote. Pass out literature showing how to register. Democracy works better if everyone participates.
17. Do the write thing. Everyone loves to get real mail. Write to someone who doesn’t get out much, an old friend or a member of the armed services. Every letter you send will brighten up someone’s day. Don’t forget about postcards.
18. Food, glorious food. Organize a food drive. It could be as small as your classroom or office. If you can go bigger try to get the whole school, company or place of worship involved.
19. Walk the walk. Many charities have walk-a-thons to raise money and awareness for their cause. Put on your best cape and most comfortable shoes and join in. Once again a crowd of RLSH will really get some notice for the cause.
20. Now you’re cooking. Make a meal for someone who can’t get out or has recently suffered a traumatic loss. If you don’t do the cooking at home it might be a nice gesture there too.
21. Will someone think of the children? You may still be young yourself but there is always someone younger. Visit a children’s ward, tutor someone, read stories at the library and/or be a mentor. Spending time with kids is a top way to prevent crime in the future.
22. Make a dog happy – Dig a fire hydrant out of the snow or cut the weeds back around one. The time it take someone to attach a hose in an emergency can make the difference in the loss of life and property. Heck, unclog a storm drain while you’re at it.
23. Go undercover – Join the local neighborhood watch in your secret identity. It’s a great way to get to know the area and its trouble spots. You may also get some training and possibly a recruit or two.
24. Sign up for amber alerts –Every set of eyes count. It doesn’t matter if they are behind a mask or not (Rook’s note:  See #15 regarding Facebook).
25. Go ahead and jump – If you have a car make sure you have a set of jumper cables and know how to use them. (I keep a cheat sheet). Stow a few other emergency supplies in the trunk like a spare blanket, bottled water and some rope. You’d be amazed how many ways they can be useful.
26. Give of yourself – Sign up to be an organ donor. I know it’s a bit morbid to think about, but if the worst should happen you can still save a life or lives.
27. Be a good listener – Sometimes the biggest help we can be to someone is to be someone they can talk to when they are experiencing hardships. You don’t have to be a therapist to let someone open up about the things that are bothering them the most. It’s not necessary to try to “fix” their problems, just be that “hearing ear” that they need. (credit to The Muse at VisualAdjectives)
28. Go in feet first – Take water lifesaving training. You never know when you may have to dive in and save someone from drowning.
29. Say it with Flowers – Take flowers to a critical care or cancer ward. (credits to Kindrid and Rook)
30. Walk for Pennies – “You wouldn’t believe how much change gets dropped on the ground. While on a boring foot patrol I started picking up trash that turned into finding loose change all over. When I started looking I started finding more than I expected. This sparked the idea, once a week at the least, we should all go out and do a Penny Patrol, you can donate this money to The McDonald houses at any McD’s location or donate to any local cause you may have. You’ll be surprised how many quarters and dimes you will find while doing this.” (Credit to SupermanX of the Super Samaritan Society)
31. Oh, Shoot! – Get certified with firearms. It doesn’t matter if you do or don’t want to own or use one. Becoming certified gives you a grasp of what guns can do. It is an excellent idea to know what you are doing if the unthinkable ever happens. Think of it as knowing (and having a healthy respect for) your enemy.
 
I’ll update this as they become available.  Many thanks to Delta for putting this together!
-Rook
 

So follow me on this one… “Bystander effect” where something happens & people stand around and watch…or worse Video a drowning person for their youtube channel.
Sunday I was headed home up McMullen Booth when all the traffic in my lane slows to a dead crawl & gets all swervie up ahead…when I finally get up there there is a Damn BOX SPRING off a King or Queen size bead laying across the lane! No body is doing anything accept trying to get around it. I stop & dive out to grab it, and suddenly the guy behind me does the same thing. We grab it together, toss it in the grass, & take off.
So…did my stopping “Break the spell” of Bystander effect? This is not the first time this has happened to me, just the first time I’ve realized it fully that people act after I do. Has this happened to any of you? does this make what we do actually more important? Opinions? Thoughts?

Mother of Darius Simmons

Trayvon Martin
Darius Simmons is a Milwaukee 13 year shot and killed by his 75 year old White next door neighbor. John H Spooner is the neighbor’s name and whether it will become as infamous as George Zimmerman remains to be seen.
Black observers should be prepared for conservative push back in the form of local Black-on-Black murder stats should they try to cast this internationally as a hate crime. We can debate conservative motives as either benign or malicious but one point remains: our self-hate crime rate eclipses that of hate crimes from elsewhere.
In my opinion every murder could be deemed a hate crime. This new case happened last week and rises to prominence amid the fog of Wisconsin’s heated recall election won by its governor. A racially incendiary case like this shouldn’t be recklessly tossed atop the state’s hot embers.
Past theft allegations from the suspect and a ” castle doctrine ” law on the books are sure to play into this latest episode of my life’s work: the ( sometimes explosive ) interplay between civil rights and public safety.

NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK promotes creative crime prevention.
 

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/attacker-tells-cops-jumped…

Alton L Hayes attacked a White man in a Chicago suburb and told police anger over Trayvon Martin was the reason. He also robbed the victim.
MEMO TO CHOCOLATE KLANSMEN: Please refrain from misusing this murder victim’s name as you plunder and pounce your way through society. This case is too important to be associated with your petty crimes. I know you don’t respect Black nor other lives but for once pretend you do.

“Empty your pockets, white boy ” was his snivel rights slogan as he and an accomplice attacked the victim from behind ( typical chocolate klansman tactic ). I guess he threw poor Trayvon Martin’s name up hoping it would justify his appalling cowardice.
Trayvon Martin supporters must verbally ( and literally where legal ) pimp slap any thug and assorted sub-species of chocolate klansman misusing his name to justify crime. Once again, these fools give aid and comfort to elements considering all Black people criminals.
This case illustrates for the millionth time how out of control a segment of Black America has become. I pray this is an isolated incident but know it probably won’t be.

He is an Emmett Till of the 21st century. His legacy becomes every good Black person’s job to defend, alongside all supporters.
Black criminals in the past have even dared to attack the late Rose Parks in her home http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19940831&a…
We cannot allow them to attack Trayvon Martin by misusing his name to justify their evil. His parents have taken the high road in this case and we who call ourselves their supporters can do no less.
Trayvon Martin shouldn’t be used by chocolate klansmen as an excuse to do what they did before his murder- make life unliveable within the inner city and elsewhere!
Keep his name out of your sorry mouths when arrested and take your punishment like men- for once.
NADRA ENZI AKA CAPT BLACK promotes creative crime prevention. (504) 214-3082

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1323279651/apollo-armband-solar-generator
About This Project:
This project started with a tragedy: while crossing the street, I was clipped by a car’s sideview mirror and my arm was broken. While wearing a plastic, futuristic looking arm brace at a technology conference, many of the other attendees had ideas for tech I could rig up to it for added functionality. Among some blinking red LEDs, a class IIIA laser and an iPhone dock, was my original armband solar generator.
While out wearing the generator, which I named Apollo, out at New York Comic Con, I had many people asking me if I was selling it. The more friends I talked to, the more excitement I saw in having something like this available. I started to see how valuable it would be to have hours of extra energy for mobile devices with you as long as the sun shined. I worked to design a new Apollo, one that would be simple, aesthetically pleasing, light-weight and could be mass produced.
With the new third generation Apollo, that vision is complete. However, I can’t mass produce a large amount of them on my own steam. If you’ve ever wanted an easy way to DOUBLE THE BATTERY LIFE for your iPhone, iPad, Android phone or tablet, this is it. If there’s 25 or more people committed to that reality, I can get these Apollos shipping out by next month. Let’s make it happen!
Voltaic Systems, the company that manufactures the solar panel and battery for my project, have been very helpful in the pursuit of this goal. I use their 2 Watt, 6 Volt Panel, which retails for $25, as well as their USB Battery V11, which retails for $40.
While the solar panel is rugged, I further protect it with a quarter inch layer of clear acrylic sheet, which is laser cut to exactly fit the size and shape of the panel. Costs for the material and laser cutting is roughly $4.38 per acrylic shield.
Additional costs include black Velcro strips, black nylon strapping with plastic buckles, a black cotton armband and some type of super glue. I’ve found Loctite All Temperature Repair Extreme to be the strongest and clearest of glues sampled. Altogether these materials amount to roughly $5.50 per unit.
Tea Krulos has also featured Zimmer’s device on his blog: http://heroesinthenight.blogspot.com/2012/05/zimmer-takes-apollo-armband-to.html