{"id":16094,"date":"2011-09-22T17:01:57","date_gmt":"2011-09-23T00:01:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reallifesuperheroes.org\/?p=16094"},"modified":"2011-09-22T17:01:57","modified_gmt":"2011-09-23T00:01:57","slug":"the-world-could-use-a-few-more-real-life-superheroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rlsh.net\/archive\/2011\/09\/22\/the-world-could-use-a-few-more-real-life-superheroes\/","title":{"rendered":"The world could use a few more real-life superheroes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Originally posted: http:\/\/www.phillyburbs.com\/blogs\/reality\/the-world-could-use-a-few-more-real-life-superheroes\/article_5f96cf0a-ed8c-5cdc-89a6-34d33f5d2296.html<\/a>
\nBy Olivia Wright
\nBen Franklin Freshman Academy
\n

\"Photo<\/a>

Photo by Peter Tangen<\/p><\/div>
\nThe world is a dangerous place, not because of those who do evil, but because of those who look on and do nothing.\u201d
\nThere\u2019s an Einstein quote for you. Maybe something you\u2019d find on a daily calendar, or during any basic late-night boredom Google exploration. It\u2019s also how the HBO documentary \u201cSuperheroes\u201d starts out.
\nFor those of you out there who know me on any level, you\u2019re probably thinking something along the lines of \u201cdear mother of God, here she goes with that comic book stuff again.\u201d I promise you, this time, there\u2019s more to it than that.
\nI\u2019m not a huge documentary fan, only when the subject interests me, or if it presses that little \u201cI read psychology journals for fun\u201d button in my head. \u201cSuperheroes\u201d manages to tickle both of those fancies, but I\u2019m not writing this article, suddenly inspired at precisely 1:44 in the morning (Wait! It\u2019s a weekend!), to talk about me. Shocking, I know.
\nGetting to the point, the film\u2019s about real-life superheroes.
\nAnd just like any comic-verse, these guys vary in just about every sense imaginable. Some look like they\u2019d be taken pretty seriously. They\u2019ve got their gear, they\u2019ve got the masks that could make you flinch if you ran into them in a dark alley, not to mention seriously legit training and strategy. Their reasons for fighting the good fight tend toward a chance to redeem their past criminal lifestyles, or as an outlet for rage and violence. Coincidentally, most of those types happen to operate in New York City.
\nMixed in are those whose appearance happens to be, to put it kindly, less than intimidating. Not much threat goin\u2019 on. Motivation ranges from comic-hero inspiration to being wronged themselves. Most of the time, these \u201cnovelty heroes\u201d seem to be more of a photo op for passersby than a scourge to crime.
\nPlease, do not get me wrong here.
\nAll of the superheroes featured in this documentary, every single one of them, could teach us a little something about society.
\nThey aren\u2019t sitting by and letting, for lack of a better term, evil get the best of us all. Refusing to ignore the injustice in the world is a common theme across the board, be it kicking some drug dealer\/mugger\/rapist butt and getting them locked up, or simply helping out those who need it with a donation of food, maybe just being someone to talk to.
\nFurther research shows that Harrisburg even has its own super-team, the Keystone Crusaders, who at one point had lived with next to nothing and still found the will to help out the city.
\nThat\u2019s selflessness at its best.
\nIt kind of makes you wonder how much of a pit humanity has dug itself into that we need to actually have people wearing masks and worrying about getting attacked themselves in order to do what any decent person should.
\nThis is what the Justice League does, guys. In comics. Fiction. But nowadays, people seem to find it necessary to translate it to reality.
\nThat\u2019s sad.
\nThat\u2019s sad that, to some members of planet Earth, that\u2019s what things have come to.
\nI commend these guys. They\u2019re doing what quite a few of us ignore, and that\u2019s something I like a lot.
\nNo, I\u2019m not saying you need to toss on your Six Flags Batman cape and go out to destroy neighborhood crime. There\u2019s serious personal risk to that, and I\u2019m pretty sure it\u2019s illegal to an extent, unless you\u2019re in law enforcement (again, I commend you).
\nReal-life superheroes are trained in self-defense, but just as that. Defense. It\u2019s a matter of being aware of the law, abiding by it, and helping to deter crime, not being the criminal in the first place.
\nBut don\u2019t turn the other way when you see something that could end badly if let go. I\u2019m a girl who would say that\u2019s something Superman would frown upon.
\nSpeaking of the guy . . . is this a job for Superman? I don\u2019t think so. Sadly, he\u2019s not real. But the rest of us . . . we could stand to let ourselves have a superhero moment every now and then. Really, we could. No need for patrols. Or alter egos.
\nJust what society seems to dangerously lack anymore.
\nSimple human decency.
\nCurrently, an organized group of these heroes is helping deliver clean water to Liberia. If you\u2019d like to find out how to donate, or just get more information on these men and women themselves, go to
\nwww.reallifesuperheroes.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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