[Hong Wu]

The west is a collection of heavily heroes-oriented cultures. We even have dichotomies like "great man theory, or nothing" and so-on. But I suspect that in the absence of genuine crisis, those who put all of their energy into looking like heroes (and making sure they get the reward) crowd out those who are actual heroes. If no new crisis emerges to separate the real men from the boys, the civilizations become filled with frauds, virtue signalers and drama queens.

Maybe it's better to not reward heroes with any additional praise. Does a real hero need a medal? Isn't it just a way to try and trick some scum into acting like a hero? Every time we reward the wrong kinds of people because they wanted a medal or a prize, I suspect we've lost some of what's really important.

[Godstud]

Heroes exist in every culture. Kill heroes? Sorry. That sounds really dumb to me.

[ness31]

just so we're clear, you aren't hashing out the idea of killing Superman are you, cos Batman tried that and I still haven't forgiven him

"Men are brave" twat

[Godstud]

I'm Batman.

[anasawad]

Its not heros that are the problem, its the perception about it in my opinion. Heros and great men existed and will always exist.
But its the dependency on such is the problem. If people keeps waiting for a hero, they'll never go anywhere.
A nation that will always rise and survive anything that ever challenge it is a nation with a legacy of greatness that it always seeks to keep it alive.
A nation that follows "heros" too much, and wishes a hero to help in everything will end up in halted progress and inevitable decline if an obstacle significant enough.

[The Immortal Goon]

Relevant.

Also, men that like Batman are repressed homosexuals looking for Prince Charming. Everybody knows that the best superhero is Matter Eater Lad.

[BlackSquare]

The idolization or worship of a hero often comes as as a product of the hero's death at the height of their power or influence. Naming political activists, religious leaders, cultural influences, painters, musicians, and all other types of influencing people. And I think there is a problem with this, as it undermine's the humanity of the hero, having never given the hero the opportunity for their true humanity to be properly expressed. It undermines their flaws and limitations we all, as people, share. Of course these heroes are inspirational and had a significant impact on our culture and history, but the truly inspirational aspect that many people forget, and idolization actively works to undermine, is that these heroes, as heroic as their words and actions may have been, were human whose only separation lay in their philosophy, worldview, and individual will. An attainable prospect to which we can all aspire.

The problem with idolization is in how we attribute the status of hero superficially. We focus on the hero's history, origin, and circumstances and presume that because our's is so ostensibly banal that we couldn't possibly be a great writer, or a great speaker. We focus our attention so heavily on what has made these heroes so different, that we forget to focus on what made these heroes the same — so human.

The problem even extends to our pervasive and unconscious choice to preserve the 'integrity' of the hero. The teaching of a hero's story may purposefully omit many aspects of their character that would defame or bring into question the 'legitimacy' of their hero status. The close friends of Martin Luther King Jr. understood this when they assisted in burying his adultery out of fear of his message being delegitimized by his infidelity. And when the humanity of the hero surfaces into public light, many people do not hesitate to defame or delegitimize their words or actions.

We assume a definition of a hero in our culture which presumes an absence of imperfection — a higher, more ascended member of the human race closer to that of a god than of a human being, and in doing so create an image most of us feel we cannot attain. And in that we fail to ascertain the true value of a hero is in that their accomplishments were produced despite their humanity, despite their flaw, despite their imperfections — not as a product of their absence. We are all flawed, even the most prestigious and respected figures among us. And in recognizing that we offer ourselves inspiration not from an external outside figure, but from within ourselves merely as a product of being, likewise with our heroes, human. And that humanity is the true power behind the false image we project of the human hero that a tragic death often serves to circumvent.

[Godstud]

Not all people see dead people as heroes. There's admiration for what people have done, and I don't think that worship is a necessary ingredient to a person being a hero. Hero worship, and idolization, is a bit silly.

My heroes, for instance are alive and well, and I admire them for(among other things) their courage, passion, and ingenuity: Elon Musk and Chris Hadfield.

I do not consider entertainment people to be heroes.

[MistyTiger]

The title of this thread is stupid. I thought this would be about actually shooting all the heroes dead or annihilating them...

People need heroes as inspiration. Without inspiration, many great creators, artists, builders, and other creative types would not have come out and risked failure to achieve success and change our world as much as they have. Many have been called eccentric or crazy, but they kept trying and they succeeded.

[Hong Wu]

Around when I left America, I was beginning to view the country sort of like a vampire. They say things like "be the change you want to see" but if you are the only person who changes, then other people take advantage of your largess to enable themselves to do bad things, you are only making things worse by trying to play the hero.

America is really good at convincing people to play the hero for them but I think some day, at best, it will have to choose between its frontier spirit and its vampiric bourgeoisie faux-spirit.

[Finfinder]

Around when I left America, I was beginning to view the country sort of like a vampire. They say things like "be the change you want to see" but if you are the only person who changes, then other people take advantage of your largess to enable themselves to do bad things, you are only making things worse by trying to play the hero.

America is really good at convincing people to play the hero for them but I think some day, at best, it will have to choose between its frontier spirit and its vampiric bourgeoisie anti-spirit.

Nothing wrong with having hero's. Sounds like you need some type of faith in your life. Im not exactly sure what you are trying to say in the last paragraph. Seems like people give up too easily its hard work being successful.

[Potemkin]

The west is a collection of heavily heroes-oriented cultures. We even have dichotomies like "great man theory, or nothing" and so-on. But I suspect that in the absence of genuine crisis, those who put all of their energy into looking like heroes (and making sure they get the reward) crowd out those who are actual heroes. If no new crisis emerges to separate the real men from the boys, the civilizations become filled with frauds, virtue signalers and drama queens.

Maybe it's better to not reward heroes with any additional praise. Does a real hero need a medal? Isn't it just a way to try and trick some scum into acting like a hero? Every time we reward the wrong kinds of people because they wanted a medal or a prize, I suspect we've lost some of what's really important.

"If you see the Buddha in the street, kill the Buddha." - Some Japanese Zen guy.

[MistyTiger]

Why think about heroes at all? I think that you are thinking too much. Thinking too much is depressing, actually.

Be your own hero or do your own thing. What does it matter what other people think? Just be you and everything else is irrelevant.

I like self-reliance, which is credited to Ralph Waldo Emerson. A person only needs to rely on himself/herself for strength and sustenance.

Medals and trophies are just about vanity, IMO. The world is so in love with appearances. I try not to think about it too much or I cringe and frown a lot.