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Posted by: 5-0

I was home from work today, and watching TV with my son. If you have a toddler, than you may be familiar with the show 'Higglytown Heroes'. On the show, the kids run into problems, and then a Hero shows up. Here is a list of Heroes that I have seen on the show: Pizza Delivery Guy, Plumber, Grocery Store Clerk, Electrician, and Grandmother...

I realize this is a kids show, but I think it begs a question. Do you believe that the term Hero is being watered down by media and society? Are people's hero status determined by their job alone? Or is it specifically by their actions in a given situation. Just some food for thought...

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Posted by: no$.10

Well, most of my 13 year old son's "heroes" (i.e. Idols) are cry baby sports figures. I have never seen the show you are referring to, but as long as the electricians and plumbers are honest, hard-working people, then I have to say I would wholeheartedly accept them as worthwhile heroes. They make lack the panash of Flash Gordon, but they are realistic. Unlike goddam Terrell Owens. or Jason Kidd (can you imagine? I can't bring myself to tell him...)

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Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

I don't know much about kid shows, but from what you described it sounds like these shows are promoting menial jobs (pizza delivery guy?) as being acceptable goals in life. In other words, it's okay to grow up and make a living asking people, "Paper or plastic?"

Sure, go ahead, kiddies! Drop out of school and spend your life in a McDonald's drive-thru! Of course they're heros too! Over 2 million people served everyday!

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Posted by: Mortal knight

"Higgelytown Heros" I've got a six yo who watches it on occasion. I agree Hero is being watered down, but the show does show that anyone CAN be a hero. You don't need a cape to help people. I still believe in the defenition below.he·ro ( P ) Pronunciation Key (hîr)
n. pl. he·roes

1. In mythology and legend, a man, often of divine ancestry, who is endowed with great courage and strength, celebrated for his bold exploits, and favored by the gods.
2. A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life: soldiers and nurses who were heroes in an unpopular war.

I doubt that a pizzaman is a hero, unless he runs into a burning building, saves some lives, and still get me my pizza in 30 minutes.

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Posted by: RPD931

The title "Hero" is very much watered down. Terrell Owens and Jason Kidd are a couple of good examples of poor "Hero's". These sports "hero's" are "idolized" by youth's that are amazed by their skills as athletes. But they don't see that they are only out for themselves. These are players that are not team focused, ball hogs, showboats, and only care about their contract. Another good example would be Manny Ramirez when he's in the "I want to be traded" mood. He just gives up playing for a little while and pouts until he realizes nobody will want his piss attitude.

While "pizza delivery guy" is only a kiddy-toon character, I agree with Dunny. Promoting the Heroic life of being a pizza delivery man is not ideal for children. While some professions like Plumber or electrician are good (nice $$$) they do NOT constitute being dubbed a "Hero". Now if Nicky the pizza boy happens to drive by a house thats in flames and gets the family out safe, then he's a "hero".

"Hero's" are people who save the day. Not people who save the game or the sale. Saving the day comes in many forms. Perhaps a social worker that just helped a homeless family find a new place to live; an EMT, Nurse or Doctor that provides treatment to save or better one's life; that Security Guard that called the Police and intervened when someone was being assaulted in a parking lot; A suicide prevention hotline worker that convinces that 15 year old girl not to kill herself because her boyfriend dumped her; a teacher that helps a student with their studies so they can continue to succeed in the future; and of course Police and Fire personnel for putting other peoples lives first - to save their homes or protect them from harm.

What is a "Hero"? A Hero is someone that does not require media coverage and lucrative long-term contracts. A Hero is someone that just has "it" inside them to help others. That "it" is NOT a burning desire, but rather just a natural trait or instict that many of us cannot explain.
To have "it" you also have to be a little crazy too. Think about it, when people are running away from a scene with bullets flying, we're rushing to it like we can't get there fast enough. Yes, it is our so-called duty, but its a duty we wouldn't hesitate to perform, it' just instict, it's a natural duty for us. The true "Hero" is not something commercialized. A Hero is something from within.

We always say our mission is to go home at the end of every shift, we take care of our safety first. However, there will be a time or times when we throw that mission out the window to protect someone else's life. That's a Hero.

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Posted by: LA Copper

RPD,

Outstanding response! I couldn't have said it any better!

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Posted by: 5-0

I couldn't agree with you more RPD... I teach my kid's that a hero is someone who rises above the calling of the average human being. Thanks for the response.

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Posted by: K9Vinny

I agree, and I must say that I watch that damn show every morning with my little one. I might also add, however, that many of the children who watch this show's parents might be that pizza delivery guy, and for them their parents are heroes. I think there is probably a better word than hero for these people, but I think the gist is that everyone is needed in some capacity or another. Also, there are numerous episodes that show doctors, veterinarians, police, firefighters, nurses, and teachers as heroes too.

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Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

Well said, RPD!

Okay, maybe to some little kid with a struggling parent down on their luck, going through a hard time, hitting a roadblock, etc., despite always being a hard worker, yes, you could say the grocery bagger or pizza delivery person is a hero because that parent is doing what they can to take care of their child. However, in reality, who is your pizza deilvery guy? One of mine is named Jose. He has three gold teeth, wears a do-rag and drives a beat up Toyota with a primed hood (for the past two years) and a blue colored trunk with maroon side panels. I am willing to wager that Jose doesn't have a high school diploma. Sometimes I see him hanging out in front of the local Store 24 scratching tickets with his homies. Jose, to me, is not a hero. He's just the opposite.

I know some people I work with that took extra jobs as pizza delivery guys, or drove busses for mentally ill people or some other equally shitty and unrewarding occupation to make ends meet when the overtime was down. That's cool, you gotta do what you gotta do. But if that is all you ever aspired to do, or if you never meant to end up being a loser but did because you never grew up and took responsibility for yourself to achieve anything better, then I would hardly call you a "role model" and CERTAINLY not a hero.

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Posted by: no$.10

[quote=Officer Dunngeon] ..."I know some people I work with that took extra jobs as pizza delivery guys, or drove busses for mentally ill people or some other equally shitty and unrewarding occupation to make ends meet when the overtime was down. That's cool, you gotta do what you gotta do. But if that is all you ever aspired to do, or if you never meant to end up being a loser but did because you never grew up and took responsibility for yourself to achieve anything better, then I would hardly call you a "role model" and CERTAINLY not a hero."

Not going on the offense of you, Officer Dunngeon; but Wow, that whole paragraph come off just this side of "stuck up". My father pumped gas for a living, in your book that makes him a loser, so I guess that's why I felt compelled to submit a reply. Maybe people came from all over to go to that gas station because he was polite, courteous, and went the extra mile for service. Maybe, just maybe, when he left there the owner had to sell because that was the one reason people went to his station. Maybe I learned to appreciate things because we weren't loaded with extra cash, but we had more motor vehicles (dirt bikes, trikes, go carts) than ANY of our friends, because he was the only guy around who could fix them for next to nothing. Now, do you still say he is a "Loser"? I don't care if you do, honestly. I think he was a hero and a perfect role model.

Point is, you can't tell by looking at someone, and judge them by there occupation. Maybe Jose's parents pushe dhim out at 16. Maybe he is a full time student and that is why he has been driving "a beat up car" for two years.

Maybe you shouldn't be so harsh. There but for the Grace of God...

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Posted by: LA Copper

No$.10,
You are absolutely right about the guy with the "common job." My dad was a warehouseman whose company went bankrupt. Because of that, he had to find a job real quick to help support his family. He ended up working on the back of a BFI rubbish truck in Mattapan. It certainly wasn't the most glamorous job or the most heroic, that's for sure. I knew he didn't like it but it was a paycheck and it was all he could get at that time. Unfortunately, it ended up killing him in a freak accident back in 1981.

So I have to agree, it wasn't what we think of as a heroic profession, but he still did the right thing for his family, which ended up costing him his life.

On the other hand, I think Dunny is a "little right." As officers, I think we can recognize a dirtbag when we see one, whether he be a business man or a pizza delivery guy.

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Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

No$. 10,

I've tried responding to your misunderstanding of what I was trying to convey in my last post on this topic as well as your implication that I am "stuck up," but for some reason my computer keeps freezing up everytime I try to do that. I would appreciate it if you and others could hold off on any fervid and frothing attacks on me until I get a chance to delve further into my prior statement a little later on, since it seems to have been interpreted the wrong way.

P.S. There was never a silver spoon in this mouth. I just have a strong work ethic and believe every person is accountable for his or herself. But as I said before, I'll get into this later.

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Posted by: 2-Delta

I think "hero" is absolutely watered down these days. As for it applying to the pizza guy etc., I've always said it's important to do what you want to do for a job in life. Meaning if the pizza guy had his heart set on that profession then I commend him for becoming what he always wanted to. If someone is doing a job they hate for no reason other then they're lazy then he/she is just an asshole, despite what they do.

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Posted by: no$.10

"...fervid and frothing attacks"

Didn't think I was that harsh. PEACE.

PS- A most admirable use of adjectives, though. Mind if I borrow "fervid"? Of course, I'll have to look it up first.

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Posted by: Officer Dunngeon

Well, it was a little harsh to insinuate that I'm "stuck up." Don't worry though, I didn't spend most of the night crying over it, I only sobbed while curled up in a fetal position for about 10 minutes or so.

Seriously, I assume you are the same age as me or older - I am 30 and counting. I VAGUELY remember as a kid when working at a gas station was a totally different profession than it is today. Back in the 70s (and before that), gas stations were manned by guys who would check your oil, clean your windshield, and give you a handshake and a smile as they sent you off on your way. There was a little bit of mechanical work involved, and the pay wasn't great but for the cost of living back then it was decent, you could do that sort of job without having to apply for transitional assistance (WELFARE) or work 20 other mindless, shitty jobs on top of what you were already doing.

My family came to this country with literally nothing than the clothes they were wearing and a boatload of unimaginable memories of suffering in Europe during WWII. My mother's father got a job as a union carpenter and bought a three family house within years of his arrival on American soil and suppported a wife and three kids. My father's mother got a job as a nurse and supported her own mother and my father both. My parents worked for the City of Boston until the early 80s and both got laid off. My father then started up his own unsuccessful consulting business and my mother could not find a decent job for years, even shitty ones because she was told she was "overqualified."

Despite how hard things were for me growing up with my parents broke most of the time, they NEVER stopped trying and even though I couldn't always have what I wanted, I always got what I needed. I have a VERY strong work ethic because of the role models I had in my environment, and no, I have NO compassion for people that work minimum wage jobs throughout their entire lives because it's their own fault that they are in that position, or that they never got their asses in gear to MAKE a change in their lives for something better.

There is a difference between someone down on their luck and working shithead jobs because it's all they can do for now and someone who is a high-school dropout because they "didn't like it" (LAZY) and thought partying was more important, now they have to wait tables and toss burgers out of drive-thru windows because it's all they're QUALIFIED to do. Or maybe they did graduate from high school or got a GED or what have you, but then for one reason or another made choices that led them down the wrong path and now they can proudly call themselves career cashiers at the local 7-11. Whatever the case may be, I have all the respect in the world for a hard worker. I have none for some loser who stares at you dumbly from behind a counter and then acts like you're incoveniencing them when you ask for $20 on Pump # 5.

My point is that make your own destiny. You are in charge of YOU, no one is going to take you by the hand and walk you through life. If you work loser job to loser job, making a career out of it, then guess what? YOU'RE A LOSER!!! But if it's something that you have to do temporarily until you can get on your feet, and you're not spending all your earnings on scratch tickets and whiskey, then that's a horse of a different color. You gotta do what you gotta do.

I can tell you right now that Jose the pizza guy is NOT a full-time student, he's more like the type that LA COPPER mentioned that you can easily recognize. If Jose's parents never encouraged him to do any better, my take on that is boo-freakin'-hoo, he's old enough to know better and take responsibility for his own life. He can grab that horse by the reins and get crackin' cause no one is going to hold his hand and do it for him.

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Posted by: dcs2244

Bravo, Dunny...well said.

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Posted by: RPD931

Well said Dunny!! I grew up with a single mother, so I know exactly what you're talking about. Having some shit jobs, being broke but always having what you needed. My work ethic stems from that also. Now after 20 some years the Company she worked for sold and closed. And now she too falls into the "overqualified".

I think we all can understand that hardships happen. Granted our father/mother may end up delivering pizza or on the back of a BFI truck to make that paycheck. I wouldn't put working for BFI on the list of shit jobs though... it's hard work but decent pay.

The main arguement of this "Hero" topic though is basically how and what we teach our children to believe a "Hero" is. We also want them to become more than the pizza guy "Jose", a store 24 cashier, and waiter/waitress. No one is saying that all people that work these jobs are worthless pieces of crap (although we know there are quite a few), many are honest hardworking inviduals. But we strive to make our children "better than that". We want them to do better than we did in life. We want them to have a better life. So yes, we frown upon "Pizza Delivery", "Gas station attendant" or "Sanitation Egineering" for the purpose of expecting a better life.

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Posted by: Eamonn Wright

Now here's a real hero: Captain Brian Chontosh. Probably should have received the MOH.

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