Tag irene thomas

By Amy Molloy for Grazia, Issue 314, April 4th
PDF File- A wonder woman among us

With the police facing cuts of 20 per cent, crime rates are expected to soar. Yet when this happened in New York, ordinary people decided to take Neighbourhood Watch to the next level. Here, Irene Thomas, 22 – accountant by day, crimefighter by night – explains why ‘Wonder Woman’ could be coming to a street near you soon…

‘It’s the dead of night, in the roughest part of town and while most of the city sleeps, I’m out looking for trouble. As I pass by an alleyway I hear a woman crying. That’s my cue – I’ve got work to do.
‘If you happen to look out of your window and catch sight of me – dressed all in black, a mask covering my face – you’d never guess by day I’m actually an accountant who likes shopping, movies and sushi. To my colleagues
I’m just Irene from accounts who dyes her hair red, gossips about TV shows and dreams about getting a bigger apartment.
‘Yet for one night a week, after dinner, I transform into NYX, Greek goddess of night – a real-life superhero, fighting crime and helping those in need. To date, I’ve called the police to countless bar fights, provided evidence that helped convict drug dealers and fed hundreds of homeless people on the street of New York – all in costume.
‘I expect you’ve already written me off as someone mad on comics, who’s more likely to be found in Forbidden Planet than American Apparel, but that’s not the case. The “superhero movement” is a growing trend that I’ve been part of for five years. We’re not vigilantes and never endorse violence. Instead, we simply patrol the streets to help vulnerable people and if there’s real danger, we call the emergency services.
‘There are hundreds of us around the world – everyone from bankers to shop assistants – including a dozen in the UK. And with crime rates predicted to rise if funding for police forces is cut, it’s only a matter of time before more people get involved. Indeed, new figures released this month revealed a third more people have already joined Neighbourhood Watch in the UK in the past two years.
‘It’s not the first time civilians have taken it upon themselves to tackle crime. In the early 1980s, a volunteer group called the Guardian Angels patrolled New York in matching crimson uniforms. Their founder Curtis Sliwa was inspired by the film The Magnificent Seven. We’ve been working like this, undisturbed for years, but earlier this month two superheroes were “unmasked” and made headline news.
‘“Phoenix Jones”, a superhero from Washington who dresses in a skintight black and yellow bodystocking, was spotted apprehending a car thief as he tried to break into a vehicle. Meanwhile, a British “superhero” called The Statesman was revealed to be a banker from Birmingham, after giving an interview to a local paper claiming he had foiled a drug dealer.

‘I became involved in the movement six years ago when I was living in Kansas. Surfing the internet when I as 16, I stumbled across the MySpace page of “Doctor DiscorD” – a crime-fighting superhero in Indianapolis, who patrolled his local community in costume, breaking up fights and stopping people drink-driving. While some ridiculed him, I was amazed there were actually people out there dedicating their free time to protecting
others. And it really struck a chord with me. I witnessed my mother being assaulted when I was a child – and
her terror as she realised there was no one there to help her. I don’t think she ever escaped her fear of the man who hurt her. She died when I was 13 of cirrhosis of the liver.
‘That’s when I vowed never to let anyone control or hurt me. My mother’s premature death also gave me a deep sense of urgency. I didn’t want to die unfulfilled, before I could do any good for others.
‘So, aged 17 and still at school, I decided to go on my first “patrol”. I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing – my family were very strict and would have been horrified. Meanwhile, I was worried my friends would think I was crazy. After all, our usual idea of a night out was the cinema! To make sure no one recognised me, I wore a mask over my face. On a student budget, I dressed all in black, with fingerless gloves and a utility belt for my torch and camera.
‘I know it’s our costumes that make a lot of people dismiss us as weird or fantasists. After all, what right-minded 22-year-old would really swap her maxidress and wedges for a black bodysuit and face mask? It’s simple. Donning a uniform is liberating and can make you feel braver. Looking back, I didn’t know what I was hoping to achieve on that first patrol. I suppose I was a bit naive and could have got into real trouble. I walked around my neighbourhood before getting the courage up to head to the rough part of town. Every sound made me jump, but nothing noteworthy happened. When I got home I felt exhilarated though, buoyed that if there had been someone in need, I could have tried to help them.
‘With drugs a real problem in my neighbourhood, I decided to focus on the local dealers. I wasn’t stupid enough to try to tackle them myself. Instead, I would photograph the drug dens from the outside then send the pictures to the police. Looking back, I put myself in some dangerous situations and often felt jittery.
But I felt proud that I was trying to make my community a nicer place to live.
‘Shortly after starting my own patrols, I got in touch with other real-life superheroes online – there are now about 200 around the world. One I met was also an accountant by day, and at night he patrolled the streets feeding the homeless. Phantom Zero, whose real name I won’t reveal to protect his identity, invited me to visit him in New York.
‘On every street corner it seemed there was someone in need of help – children as young as 10, sleeping rough, starving and scared. It was so overwhelming that I realised I had to stay and help. So, I got a job at an accountancy firm in New York and, three years on, Phantom Zero is not only my street partner, but my boyfriend. We live together, though, not as people like to imagine, in some sort of bat cave, with a revolving wall that hides our costumes. I wish! In our modest apartment there are no clues of our secret double life.
‘During daylight hours our lives are no different from our friends. We work 9 to 5, come home, cook dinner and eat it in front of the telly. It’s just that, one night a week, while normal people go to bed, we head into the night and don’t return until dawn.
‘In an ideal world I’d do more, but it has to fit around my day job. We sometimes patrol during the day at weekends, but there are friends to see (who have no idea what we do) and the supermarket shop to do! It can be hard to switch off which is where the costume comes in handy. In our civilian clothes I try to think as Irene and turn off my “danger” radar so I’m not permanently on edge.
‘Some might argue being a have-a-go hero is dangerous. But I’d never get into a fight. We’re more an extra pair of eyes on the streets and our motto is “Help anyone who needs assistance”. That doesn’t necessarily mean tackling muggers or saving people from burning buildings – it could be as simple as giving a homeless
man a sandwich or volunteering at a hospital. Whatever your community needs.
‘There’s one superhero in Liberia who educates local families about the dangers of child traffickers. He has to wear a mask to protect his identity, otherwise the traffickers would come after him. Then there’s “Mr Extreme” – a superhero in San Diego – who learned a sexual predator on the police’s wanted list was last seen in his neighbourhood, so handed out flyers with the culprit’s picture on. The man has since been apprehended and the local government thanked him for his assistance.
‘Most real-life superheroes are extremely protective of their real identities. I don’t publicise what I do to my colleagues. I don’t want to be praised or – at worst – mocked for my work. Instead, I want others to realise that everyone has the capability to make a difference.
‘There’s a superhero in all of us… so what are you waiting for?’
Hair and make-up: Spring Super at Ennis Inc Additional photos: John Frost
Newspapers For more info, visit www.reallifesuperheroes.com

Jill Smolowe and Howard Breuer with reporting by Kathy Ehrich Dowd

Slower than an speeding Bullet, they patrol city streets, hoping to lend a hand, inspire compassion and even thwart crime
She finds her work as an accountant “a boring 9-to-5 job.” But many an evening after Irene Thomas, 21, returns to her cramped 400-sq.-ft attic apartment in a town in Bergen County, N.J., she slips into a black catsuit, accessories with a red belt, red gloves and boots, and sometimes also dons a mask. When she emerges in her Honda Accord on the Manhattan side of the Lincoln Tunnel, she is Nyx, her namesake a Greek goddess of the night. While she might patrol the streets looking for anything out of the ordinary, her immediate mission is distributing food and clothes to the homeless. And she has another goal: to call attention to her actions so that “other people notice and are maybe motivated to help too.”
She is not alone. From New York City to Seattle, scores of costumed crusaders have joined the superhero movement. While their aims aren’t always unified- some cater to the needy while others are bent on thwarting crime- most of them share a desire to stomp out citizen apathy by modeling “superhero” virtues. “I just feel like I’m walking no air after I’ve helped 30 people,” says Chaim “Life” Lazaros, 26, a production manager by day, who wears a mask and fedora (a la Green Hornet) when he takes to New York’s streets at night. The superheroes, who range from dishwashers to Fortune 500 execs, cut across political, religious and age lines and are often comic book geeks, says Tea Krulos, who blogs about the phenomenon. “They don’t want to admit it, [but] it’s fun to dress up.”
Not everyone is impressed by their derring-do. On a recent night in San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district, a teenage homeless girl only smirked when Motor Mouth, a ninja like fixture of the San Francisco Bay Area’s streets, handed her a bag of food. Unfazed, Motor Mouth (who refuses to give his real name) says he doesn’t mind “a million people snickering behind my back as long as there is the possibility to help.”
The costumed do-gooders, who pack nothing more lethal than first-aid kits and benign intentions, get high marks from the police. “Any time a citizen gets involved- great,” says Det. Renee Witt of the Seattle police department. Others, like Seattle superhero Phoenix Jones, 22, have crated a stir by being brazen crime fighters. In recent months Phoenix Jones claims he has interrupted knife fights, helps catch drug dealers and has been stabbed. Certainly he’s sparked discussion among his peers about boundaries. “If we see the police are already there, our philosophy is the matter has been addressed,” says Seattle’s White Baron. Most self-styled superheroes are well aware they can’t fly or outrun speeding bullets. “If you life this kind of life,” says Motor Mouth, 30, “you can’t take yourself entirely seriously.”

Dark Guardian By Day: Martial-arts instructor, 26 Superhero Duty: Chases drug dealers City: New York His efforts to clean Manhattan’s Washing Square Park of drug deales do not always impress local police	Nyx By Day: Accountant, 21 Superhero Target: The homeless City: New York She’s given up on chasing drug dealers “Its just really fun to jump into a costume and help people,” she says.
DC Guardian By Day: Government worker, mid-40s Superhero Virtue: Patriotism City: Washington, D.C. Active in charity work, this Air Force vet also hands out American flags and talks tourist about the U.S. Constitution.	Motor Mouth By Day: Special-education teacher, 30 Superhero Goal: Thwarting crime City: San Francisco Bay Area He says his attempts to “be at the right place at the right time” have included stopping a man from beating his wife.
Life By Day: Production manager, 26 Superhero Inspiration: His parents City: New York “Even something little like a razor blade” for a clean shave before a job interview, he says, “is a big deal” to the homeless	Phantom Zero By Day: Computer technician, 34 Superhero Style: Teamwork City: New York Nyx’s street partner (and live-in boyfriend), he delivers clothes to women’s shelters and feeds feeds people.

Smolowe, Jill, Howard Breuer, and Kathy E. Dowd. “Superheroes Among Us.” People Magazine 75.11 (2011): 92-94. Print.

Originally posted: http://www.opposingviews.com/i/real-life-superheroes-patrol-our-city-streets

By Mark Berman Opposing Views

The next time you need help, you may get it from a real life superhero. A group of people calling themselves, oddly enough, the Real Life Superhero Project takes to the streets of U.S. cities, helping out the needy.
People magazine reports that members want to reduce citizen apathy by exhibiting “superhero” virtues and encourage others to do the same.
The group’s Web site writes:
So who are these modern day heroes? They are our neighbors, our friends, our family members. They are artists, musicians, athletes, and yes, politicians. Their actions serve as reminders that as most giving today has become reactive—digital and removed, temporarily soothing our guilt and feelings of helplessness—we have blinded ourselves to simple principles and practice of compassion and goodwill.
According to a report in the Daily Mail, 21-year-old Irene Thomas is one of them. By day she is a self-described “boring accountant” in New Jersey. At night she is “Nyx,” patrolling the streets of New York City wearing a black catsuit and mask with a red belt, gloves and boots.
She gives food and clothes to the homeless, and hopes “other people notice and are maybe motivated to help too.”
New York production manager Chaim Lazaros’s alter-ego is “Life,” wearing a black hat, mask and waistcoat.
‘I just feel like I’m walking on air after I’ve helped 30 people,’ he told People.
The ninja-like “Motor Mouth” calls San Francisco home. He generally gets a positive response, but one teenage homeless girl smirked when he handed her a bag of food.
“(I don’t mind) if a million people snickering behind my back as long as there is the possibility to help,” he said. He added, “if you live this kind of life, you can’t take yourself entirely seriously.”

Originally posted: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1364664/The-superheroes-patrol-streets-help-needy.html
By Mark Duell
Irene Thomas is part of the Real Life Superhero Project organisation
They aim to bring help, compassion and crime prevention to the streets
By day Irene Thomas says she is a ‘boring’ accountant who lives in a cramped New Jersey flat.
By night she puts on a black catsuit and mask with a red belt, gloves and boots, gets into her Honda Accord car and comes out the other side of the Lincoln Tunnel in Manhattan as ‘Nyx’.
The 21-year-old is just one member of the Real Life Superhero Project, a group of humans who aim to bring a helping hand to people everywhere and thwart crime on city streets.

‘Nyx’: Irene Thomas, 21, of New Jersey, is far from a ‘boring’ accountant when she puts on a black catsuit and mask with a red belt, gloves and boots to become a New York superhero

Mission: The Real Life Superhero Project aims to bring a helping hand to people everywhere and thwart crime

Most superheroes in the project want to cut down citizen apathy by modelling ‘superhero’ virtues and encourage others to do the same, reported People magazine.
Nyx, who shares her name with the Greek goddess of night, gives food and clothes to the homeless of New York. She hopes ‘other people notice and are maybe motivated to help too’.
She said on the Real Life Superheroes website: ‘Like the night, I cannot be proven or disproven to certain degrees – and also much like the night, when morning comes, there will be no trace of me.’
Production manager Chaim Lazaros, 26, dons a black hat, mask and waistcoat to become ‘Life’ when he patrols the New York streets by night.
‘I just feel like I’m walking on air after I’ve helped 30 people,’ he told People magazine.

‘Motor Mouth’: The ninja-like San Francisco superhero, who is known only as a 30-year-old teacher and will not reveal his identity, told People magazine: ‘If you live this kind of life, you can’t take yourself entirely seriously’

Many homeless and vulnerable people are pleased to receive the superheroes’ help, but the reaction is not always positive.
One teenage homeless girl in San Francisco smirked when ninja-like ‘Motor Mouth’ handed her a bag of food, but this did not worry him.
‘(I don’t mind) a million people snickering behind my back as long as there is the possibility to help,’ he said.

Other stars: Samaritan joins New York superheroes Dark Guardian and Phantom Zero on the streets

‘If you live this kind of life, you can’t take yourself entirely seriously,’ he added.
Motor Mouth won’t reveal his true identity but said he is a 30-year-old teacher.
Many of those involved in the project are believed to be comic-book geeks.
Other New York superheroes include martial arts instructor Dark Guardian, 22, 34-year-old computer technician Phantom Zero, and Samaritan, who lives and works in the city.

Phoenix Jones: The 22-year-old from Seattle is one of America’s most famous ‘superheroes’ and claims to have broken up knife fights, caught drug dealers and been stabbed in the line of duty

One of America’s most famous ‘superheroes’ is Seattle-based Phoenix Jones, 22, who claims to have broken up knife fights, caught drug dealers and been stabbed.
He is part of a group called the Rain City Superhero Movement, which tries to keep the streets safe and has received the backing of the Seattle police department.