The Defuser is a bit upset
I don’t blog as much as I’m told I should. I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because I don’t want to just go on and on about what I consider to be boring everyday stuff. Then I’m reminded that being attacked by a 350lb woman in the interrogation room isn’t exactly everyday kinda stuff. To me…a lot of it is. Facebook usually gives me my “keep everyone updated” fix and in keeping with my ADD self, it’s short and sweet.
Today however, something has been bugging me that I wanted to get off my chest.
Most of my life I’ve been considered a nerd, geeky, weird. I’ve never been part of the IN crowd. I hung around other self-proclaimed nerds and geeks. I spent many a late night playing D&D with Thomas, Darren and other friends. I spent lunches in the library playing chess with Paul and Andrew. My hobbies were not always what you would consider ‘main stream’.
I simply had the benefit of being larger than most of my locker stuffed friends and no one ever really messed with me too much.
But today, like back then, someone is messing with one of my friends. And while he is more than capable of taking care of himself…in more ways than one, I find myself wanting to come to his rescue, to knock the crap out of the guy(s) that are messing with him. But today, you can slander someone, screw with someone from a 1000 miles away with little or no retribution. It’s called the internet. The same way I’m reaching out to you, someone else can reach out and run someone’s reputation through the mud with no facts or evidence. There is very little recourse.
This slander stems from something very near and dear to my heart; superheroes.
Yep, those living souls that for a variety of reasons put on a costume and moves about in public much to the chagrin of average everyday mortals.
I, like many folks got into costumes when I was a very young man. Perhaps 6 when my mom let me tie a pillow case around my neck and jump off the couch. Then Anthony (God rest his soul) and I progressed to using bed sheets and jumping off the roof of the house. We caught many an imaginary crook back in those days.
Later in life I regressed to only dressing up on “approved” dates, such as Halloween and for various parties or for theater.
Then I was asked to appear as Batman for a friend’s son’s 6th birthday party, and then another…and another.
Until finally, I appeared on “Who Want’s to be a Superhero” in 2007 and found that I could raise a lot of money for charity, make a lot of kids happy and generally bring some fun to darn near any event I showed up. (in spandex of course)
During the prep and in the aftermath of the show I met a great many people who also, for different reasons also liked dressing up as some very well known heroes or as the case often is, in creations of their own.
Most of these people had one thing in common; a big heart. They showed up at children’s hospitals, old folks homes, elementary schools…anywhere they thought they could bring a smile to someone’s face.
There are other types of people who wear superhero costumes. They call themselves Real Life Super Heroes (RLSH). This is often a different type of person. And while some do the exact same things that the previous mentioned heroes do, RLSH are often more known as people who put on the costume and head out into the real world and try to fight crime in some fashion.
Local news shows often poke fun at this type of costume wearer and even though they have the best of intentions, I’ve not met one yet that I could approve of to go out and fight crime. (just my opinion) Nothing against RLSHs but being a law enforcement officer myself, I can think of many other ways these folks could better their communities. As I said, they may very well be out entertaining children, visiting hospitals and the like but when they go out in public, with little or no training in an attempt to fight crime in the real world, I only see the potential for problems. If you really want to fight crime, go to school, join a police academy or volunteer with a police department. We ALWAYS need volunteers. In ....Austin.... we have a ....Civilian.. ..Police.. ..Academy...., a Police Explorers Program and a Civilian Battalion that aid us as eyes and ears in the community.
Back to my friend who was getting bashed…
This man was being compared to the worst kind of individual, the kind that puts on a costume to lure children into his vicinity for unspeakable crimes.
This comparison was made simply as a joke in poor taste but has had a devastating effect on him, his family and his friends.
He was also compared as a RLSH going out in public fighting crime in costume, which this man has never done, he doesn’t have to, his job is to literally keep this country safe. He was associated with RLSH in the most negative of terms with which I also disagree. The RLSHs I’ve met were all very nice and respectful people, I simply disagree with their methods, not them as people. Hell, one RLSH brought me Pop-Tarts...how can you not like someone who brings you Pop-Tarts?
I won’t comment on what website this man slandered my friend; I don’t want him to boast about the increase in his sites traffic. But I will say that before you head out to make fun of someone, to bash them for being different than yourself, do a little research. The person you are bashing may be odd in your eyes but then again he or she may be out there helping someone close to you. Someone you don’t have the time for, someone that simply needs a smile.
End of rant.
-TD
Today however, something has been bugging me that I wanted to get off my chest.
Most of my life I’ve been considered a nerd, geeky, weird. I’ve never been part of the IN crowd. I hung around other self-proclaimed nerds and geeks. I spent many a late night playing D&D with Thomas, Darren and other friends. I spent lunches in the library playing chess with Paul and Andrew. My hobbies were not always what you would consider ‘main stream’.
I simply had the benefit of being larger than most of my locker stuffed friends and no one ever really messed with me too much.
But today, like back then, someone is messing with one of my friends. And while he is more than capable of taking care of himself…in more ways than one, I find myself wanting to come to his rescue, to knock the crap out of the guy(s) that are messing with him. But today, you can slander someone, screw with someone from a 1000 miles away with little or no retribution. It’s called the internet. The same way I’m reaching out to you, someone else can reach out and run someone’s reputation through the mud with no facts or evidence. There is very little recourse.
This slander stems from something very near and dear to my heart; superheroes.
Yep, those living souls that for a variety of reasons put on a costume and moves about in public much to the chagrin of average everyday mortals.
I, like many folks got into costumes when I was a very young man. Perhaps 6 when my mom let me tie a pillow case around my neck and jump off the couch. Then Anthony (God rest his soul) and I progressed to using bed sheets and jumping off the roof of the house. We caught many an imaginary crook back in those days.
Later in life I regressed to only dressing up on “approved” dates, such as Halloween and for various parties or for theater.
Then I was asked to appear as Batman for a friend’s son’s 6th birthday party, and then another…and another.
Until finally, I appeared on “Who Want’s to be a Superhero” in 2007 and found that I could raise a lot of money for charity, make a lot of kids happy and generally bring some fun to darn near any event I showed up. (in spandex of course)
During the prep and in the aftermath of the show I met a great many people who also, for different reasons also liked dressing up as some very well known heroes or as the case often is, in creations of their own.
Most of these people had one thing in common; a big heart. They showed up at children’s hospitals, old folks homes, elementary schools…anywhere they thought they could bring a smile to someone’s face.
There are other types of people who wear superhero costumes. They call themselves Real Life Super Heroes (RLSH). This is often a different type of person. And while some do the exact same things that the previous mentioned heroes do, RLSH are often more known as people who put on the costume and head out into the real world and try to fight crime in some fashion.
Local news shows often poke fun at this type of costume wearer and even though they have the best of intentions, I’ve not met one yet that I could approve of to go out and fight crime. (just my opinion) Nothing against RLSHs but being a law enforcement officer myself, I can think of many other ways these folks could better their communities. As I said, they may very well be out entertaining children, visiting hospitals and the like but when they go out in public, with little or no training in an attempt to fight crime in the real world, I only see the potential for problems. If you really want to fight crime, go to school, join a police academy or volunteer with a police department. We ALWAYS need volunteers. In ....Austin.... we have a ....Civilian.. ..Police.. ..Academy...., a Police Explorers Program and a Civilian Battalion that aid us as eyes and ears in the community.
Back to my friend who was getting bashed…
This man was being compared to the worst kind of individual, the kind that puts on a costume to lure children into his vicinity for unspeakable crimes.
This comparison was made simply as a joke in poor taste but has had a devastating effect on him, his family and his friends.
He was also compared as a RLSH going out in public fighting crime in costume, which this man has never done, he doesn’t have to, his job is to literally keep this country safe. He was associated with RLSH in the most negative of terms with which I also disagree. The RLSHs I’ve met were all very nice and respectful people, I simply disagree with their methods, not them as people. Hell, one RLSH brought me Pop-Tarts...how can you not like someone who brings you Pop-Tarts?
I won’t comment on what website this man slandered my friend; I don’t want him to boast about the increase in his sites traffic. But I will say that before you head out to make fun of someone, to bash them for being different than yourself, do a little research. The person you are bashing may be odd in your eyes but then again he or she may be out there helping someone close to you. Someone you don’t have the time for, someone that simply needs a smile.
End of rant.
-TD
posted by The Defuser at
10:09 PM
2 Comments:
When I was doing my ethnographic fan research, I met up with the film crew for Trekkies II. They kept trying to get me to say, from an "expert" point of view, just when is the behavior considered to be "weird". But I kept responding with, "Who am I to say what 'weird' is?"
I mean, heck, as long as they're not harming or endangering themselves or others, why is it of any concern of mine how they want to dress in public? (:
Oh...thought this was gonna be a blog about someone eating your last poptart.
:)
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