The real life superheroes official thread!

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

For those of you who don't know, the real life superheroes movement is a large selection of people who dress up like superheroes and basically do some good in their community.

From helping in charity events, to helping with neighborhood patrols. these people are determined to do their part to keep the streets safe.

I for one, respect them. We live in a world where lots of unfair and awful things happen on a daily basis. To have ordinary people try to do what's right, is very selfless.

you can read more here:

http://www.reallifesuperheroes.com/

[snake]

Didn't one of them get arrested for accidentally spraying mace at these guys?

[Discogod]

Do any of these people have super powers? No. In which case, they're not superheroes, they're just attention-seeking nutcases.

[Leo656]

Originally Posted by snakeweed101

Didn't one of them get arrested for accidentally spraying mace at these guys?

Yes, I forget who but he was one of the more well-known ones. He was arrested, his "secret identity" was exposed, and he lost his job working with kids and teenagers.

Thus, why more people don't actually do this; the real world frowns on do-gooders. While I respect them for being fed up with our absolutely broken, no-consequence, for-profit criminal justice system, which only punishes the victims while teaching criminals how to do better next time, the fact is these "Good Guys" have a lot more to lose and "the system" will absolutely make sure they do.

In truth, I'm a firm believer in vigilante justice. I don't believe cops and prisons do anything but provide the illusion of law enforcement, because the enforcement of laws is so selective and people in jail are actually happier there than they are in the "real world". And why not? They get free food, free TV, free weights, lots of access to drugs, and they never have to work or pay a bill for as long as they're in there. WE do, though. We pay for it all, and trust me, they get off on that the most.

So if some guy wants to put on a cape or a mask and wail on some drug dealer, I say more power to 'em. BUT, they'd best be prepared to lose everything they have, because for some reason "the system" will punish them to the fullest extent of the law while letting the real criminals go free. Ass-backwards, but they don't want the competition. After all, if more people did it, then things might actually get *better* for decent, law-abiding people... and we can't have THAT.

[The Stryker]

Oh my lord. What a load of garbage.

Also, real superheroes are dumb. Those people clearly have mental issues.

[Jester]

Or watched/read Kick-Ass one too many times...

[Leo656]

That too. Although I swear people did it before the movie came out, whether the comics it was based on were a direct influence, I can't say for sure, I haven't read 'em.

[Refractive Reflections]

What would impress me even more is if these people did all this charity and self-sacrificing work without having to dress-up or be attention seeking.

Give me the old, lived out a lifetime of benevolent work like Eleanor Roosevelt or those who lived in the military shadows who prevented another World War like Vasili Arkhipov any day, over the glamor of a youthful superhero image, Hollywood celebrities, or wanna-be celebrities.

[Cure]

Originally Posted by JYX

What would impress me even more is if these people did all this charity and self-sacrificing work without having to dress-up or be attention seeking.

This is how I feel, pretty much.

[Slade]

Originally Posted by Leo656

In truth, I'm a firm believer in vigilante justice. I don't believe cops and prisons do anything but provide the illusion of law enforcement, because the enforcement of laws is so selective and people in jail are actually happier there than they are in the "real world". And why not? They get free food, free TV, free weights, lots of access to drugs, and they never have to work or pay a bill for as long as they're in there. WE do, though. We pay for it all, and trust me, they get off on that the most.

Actually, they do have to work(at least where I work). It's not a job like a regular person has, but every inmate has to have a job and report there at whatever time they are supposed to. The minimum they can make is about 4 cents an hour up to 20 cents. Now tv is free, food is hardly good. No weights allowed at mine. The drug part is kind of true. They do get hit for everything they have if they get caught with them, but I can say something more should be done about it. I can say there are some who are happier inside, but a lot are ready to get out, only to end up right back in.

[Leo656]

You're right, a lot of it depends on what part of the country they're in, too.

[BubblyShell22]

I'm all for people doing good in the world as we don't have enough of that or hear stories about it on the news. However, I think they need to stop dressing up as superheroes and just do good without the costumes.

And, Leo, I hear you about the prison system. There are just too many crooks who may spend some time in jail but end up walking free because of overcrowded prisons or for good behavior, which is a load of crap. That's why I believe in the death penalty for murderers. Why should they be allowed to sit around for killing an innocent person?

[Leo656]

Well, from what I've studied in criminal justice class, they have it set up so that in some entirely backwards way, it actually costs the government more to give someone a shot or hang them than it does to keep them alive for 50 or so years. Which is mathematically impossible, but it's how they've set it up to work.

At the same time, I've seen letters that death row inmates have written to the newspapers, laughing about how much better off they are, how easy their life is now, and how they'll gladly live out their sentence in jail; one letter was from a guy who, along with a friend, raped a mother and her two daughters (one was I think 12, the other early 20s or late teens), tied them to their beds, and burned them all alive. One of the killers had a daughter the same age as the youngest victim, which is incredible to me. Both guys are on death row, but they know they'll never really be punished and that's why they're laughing about it. This happened in Connecticut about 4 years ago, it was all over the papers but the names of the people involved escape me now.

If anything ever proved to me that the criminal justice system is a farce, it's that case right there. When a guy on death row, someone convicted of the most horrific crime imaginable, laughs and says he's happy where he is, then it's time to snuff him out. How the father (who survived the attack when the perpetrators left him for dead, allowing him to crawl to a neighbor's house for help) can live each day knowing his family is dead but these guys are laughing is beyond me, his life must be horrible. If anyone deserved to be put down like animals, it's those two guys, and anyone who could argue for the sanctity of human life, or how "morally wrong" it would be to execute someone who can laugh about doing what they did, is simply wrong.

Some people just don't deserve air anymore.

[BubblyShell22]

I hear you there. I feel the same way about Jodi Arias, though they never resolved the penalty phase because the jury couldn't agree on the death penalty. They're supposed to go through it again this month or at least have a hearing about when it will happen again, and I hope it's soon so I can see what the jury says. I really hope they give her death. If I was on the jury, I sure as hell would sentence her to death. She stabbed her boyfriend 29 times, slashed his throat, and shot him in the head. So, yeah, she definitely deserves to die for that.