So, as I wrote my earlier post, I explored how rock stars come into being. Music is a passionate obsession of mine, so I am eternally fascinated by what makes a musician a rock star. Tonight, however, I had the opportunity to watch an HBO documentary that was on the one hand a little disturbing, but on the other very moving and inspiring.
The HBO documentary "Superheroes" follows the lives of some folks who are trying to be real life superheroes, and when I say real life superheroes, I mean exactly that. These are people who have created costumes--many with masks--and who go out on patrol in an attempt to make their city streets safer and a little better.
The most obvious comment that can be made here is that these folks have plenty of personal baggage, and in many ways their own victimization has been the catalyst for their vigilante lifestyle. Their alternate realities are intriguing and baffling, but their belief in what they are doing is phenomenal to see in action. There at once pathetic and inspiring.
Mr. Extreme lives in San Diego. He's a little chunky, he lives out of a van and his parents worry about him when he heads out into the night. He sees his main function as raising awareness within his community, but he's prepared to defend himself if necessary. He posts fliers about recent crimes and holds candle light vigils with his associates. Superheroes from other cities perform similar deeds while training and developing their physical fitness and abilities to defend themselves.
While raising community awareness about crime, and trying to make the neighborhoods around them safer is admirable, one of the superhero groups routinely goes out on sting operations--essentially trying to tempt criminals to act. I found that activity to be anything but heroic. As a survivor of violence and abuse, it's a tempting prospect to be able to go out there and exact my revenge on known perpetrators, but entrapping people in order to do it seems beneath the spirit of what these folks are seeking to do.
A handful of the individuals in this documentary did go out on patrol, but more often than not, their purpose was to aid the homeless in their communities. Zetaman and his wife Apocalypse Meow, and a guy who goes by the moniker "Life," routinely check in with people living on the streets in their cities. Zeta and Meow put together "Zeta Packs" containing essentials like toilet paper, socks, lip balm and small snacks with money out of their own pockets to hand out to people living on the streets. Life checks in on the homeless and gets to know them. He knows where they sleep, if they have eaten or not, and he offers them kindness and anything he has. People like Zeta, Meow and Life aren't giving the bad guys "what for," they're showing what it means to be good guys. Several of the other real life superheroes featured are doing the same kinds of things. I most enjoyed these real life superheroes going out as a team during a Comic Con and visiting with the homeless in the area to offer whatever they could, while other people dressed up like superheroes were blocks away seeking autographs and memorabilia from heroes who don't really exist. It was a striking juxtaposition.
While I know we can't all don capes, masks and armor to go out and patrol our streets every night, I believe we can all be superheroes. There are people in every city, in every state who go to bed hungry every night--if they're lucky enough to have a bed to go to at all. Millions of men, women and children are fleeing the violence of Somalia to refugee camps in Africa, and they are suffering from starvation, disease and violence. There are many other areas of the world where people are suffering in similar situations.
Each of us throws away more food everyday than some people get to eat in a week. We waste water. We throw away items that can be recycled or repurposed. We pay $4 a cup for coffee instead of buying a bag of coffee for $6 that makes many cups, and then using what we save to contribute to decreasing hunger in our communities or someplace else in the world. We talk about things like charity starting at home, and well, that seems to be where it ends for so many of us who are too busy to think like heroes. There are small, easy opportunities to reach out and help others heroically everyday. For example, today, I downloaded a Bob Marley song and the proceeds went to Save the Children. Who doesn't like Bob Marley?
Mr. Extreme lives in a van, yet he is passionate about doing what he can for others. He posted fliers around town in an effort to help catch a guy who was assaulting people within his community. It's up for debate whether his efforts truly resulted in the capture of the assailant, but leaders in his community believe his efforts to raise awareness may have made a difference.
A couple of nights ago, I was watching a story on CNN about a group of teenagers in Mississippi who specifically sought out an African American to beat and ultimately kill. Their actions were captured on a security camera. The parking lot it happened in was well lit, and in the video, there were cars driving by. I think it's great that the video provides the proof necessary to bring these hoodlums to justice, but it's disappointing that nobody made any effort to save this man. The incident did happen in the wee small hours of the morning, but it's hard to believe nobody saw this attack taking place. As I mentioned in a previous blog, a woman who passed out a few blocks from where I live was sexually assaulted while bystanders did nothing.
Many of the individuals featured in this documentary act in the memory of Catherine "Kitty" Genovese, who was brutally murdered on March 13, 1964, while bystanders did nothing in spite of her many cries for help. Now, people didn't have cell phones fifty years ago, but you can't throw a rock today and hit a person who isn't carrying a cell--especially in my neighborhood.
One of the "real life" superheroes said something that really struck me. He said that people might look at what he's doing and say it's not normal, but in his eyes, it isn't normal to watch while your fellow man is suffering or being harmed. Those of us who don't act are the ones who aren't normal.
Raise a flag. Sound the alarm. The world around us is on fire all the time. All you have to do to keep it from burning is have enough heart to speak up or to take just one tiny step. It doesn't take a mask, a cape, or even super powers to be a superhero--it just takes the power of shared superhuman spirit.
http://youtu.be/Tgcc5V9Hu3g
No comments:
Post a Comment