What makes a hero?

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**reds8n**

mattyrm wrote:

Seriously, how does getting shot make you a hero?

Perhaps by the way that one would deal with said situation.

..for example, when you publicly come out and say you hold no grudge to the perp ( 2000AD FTW

) who has just messed up your entire life and mean it ( thus far anyway) then I don't really see how one can claim that it isn't heroic. Surely staunchly overcoming adversity is pretty much the textbook definition of being a hero.

*huge post to do with "hero with a 1000 faces saved for another day*

**mattyrm**

Thats a very simplistic and clearly flawed argument. Just as it is far easier to be a gracious winner than a gracious loser, so it would be unseemly when you assailant has commited suicide. Whats the point in saying anything else? If you say 'i piss on his grave' your upsetting innocent people who had no dog in the hunt, his daughter for example. Your supposed to be polite when a guy blew his face off, you already won, what would be gained by saying anything else? I fail to see the 'heroism' here.

**notprop**

I think an unarmed copper confronting a known armed suspect could well be classed as a hero (ignorant of the facts as I am). That being the case then yes he is a hero.

The old bill don't really get enough credit when they do this sort of thing and to criticise them on this seems a little purient to me.

As for Moat, I'm not sure why thet wasted 6hrs talking him out of shooting himself, should have slotted him on sight. Of course if they were trying to save a bullet playing the long game, then good arrows constable.

**Thanatos_elNyx**

A hero is a person who puts their wellbeing aside for the sake of others.

This is why it bothers me when you see kids hero-worshiping David Beckham and bad mouth the police.

The world is wrong.

**notprop**

The world is usually alright, its the press that distorts the signal.

Beckham certainly is hero-worshipped, you just have to look at kids reaction to him. They love him as the embodiment of what 99% of British kids want, i.e. to play footy for England/in the premier league and be adored. Not cars, not money & defo not stick insect birds (cos girls smell we all knew this at the time but sme how forgot!).

We all did the same when we woz young, the differance was that it was Keegan or Best (or Kenny Samson for some reason for me?).

So from that point of view I see it as natural for people to look up to some even for quite mundane things. What corupts it is the presses focus on the tertiary aspects of Beckhams life. Facinating for the readers of the red tops but really quite puzzling for us skeptical types.

**Dreadwinter**

mattyrm wrote:
Dreadwinter wrote:I am supposed to go to war because my number got dialed up? Screw that crap, if I don't believe in the war, I'm not in this thing. Don't give me that "Your supposed to do that!" crap. The only thing I am supposed to do is make sure I survive until tomorrow. It does not make people cowards or douchebags. Why would I be considered a douchebag if there was a draft for the Iraq War and I just up and left the US because I think it is a load of crap. I do not believe in it and I am standing by my beliefs. For that, I think I am more of a man than just mindlessly going to war because some guy tells me to.

Now, as far as being heroes goes. I see WW2 Vets as heroes. They fought for a good cause, saving a lot of lives and protecting the US from the Japanese(Pacific Theater) and the Germans who would have eventually come after us if we had not gotten involved in Europe. A lot of men risked their lives for others that really meant nothing to them. That is heroism, and really, pretty much everybody involved in WW2 was doing that.

They didnt have a draft for the Iraq war.

They have a draft when there is dire need, you know, like WW2. The same guys your calling heros, would you have dodged the draft then? If you did, you would be a douche and a coward.

Doesnt make the guys who did serve heros. It makes the guys who didnt dicks. My grandad got one of the top medals in WW2 and he was in a centre spread in the local paper, he crawled half a mile through a mine field to get his mates out of a tank, got there, they were all dead, crawled all the way back. Got a medal and some cash for it, spent the cash in two days on booze and cards.

Doesnt make him a hero. He would just be a dick if he didnt try!

You missed the point. If there was a draft called for the Iraq War, you would expect me to go?

Anybody who puts their life at risk to save anothers life should be a hero. Honestly, if you go to war like in WW2 for instance, you would be a hero because you are fighting to save lives. Now, I would have gone to WW2 if I had been drafted because I thought the reasoning behind it was right. Would I consider a dodger a douche and a coward? No, because they probably don't believe in the war.

You are jumping to conclusions real fast.