|
|
A reply to Miss Teschmacher's Article regarding "Our Superhero Saviours" Thursday, 25-May-2000 17:23:06
Sirs – I’ve had my attention drawn to an article in your periodical by Miss Bernice Teschmacher, outlining her concerns regarding the activities of “superheroes”. While Miss Teschmacher is obviously a well-meaning young lady I maintain that she has overlooked several points of importance in her summary of the contemporary metahuman situation. It is the duty of every right-thinking person to stand up for what’s right. If a chap sees a child in the way of a car, one has an obligation to save the lad. No question. Not to phone for the police, or to watch, or to videotape it all for ‘90 Minutes’ later on, but to get in there and do something to save the child’s life. The law recognises this responsibility of citizenship, and cites charges of contributory negligence against those who had a reasonable opportunity to preserve life or uphold the law but chose not to. In plain language, it is not the role of a superhero to fight injustice and save lives. It is the role of every citizen. With great power comes great responsibility. Some bounders who receive super-powers, or who gain access to advanced weaponry or whatnot, choose to use their abilities for personal gain, to the detriment of society and in breach of legal and moral law. Their peculiar abilities make it difficult if not impossible for conventional law enforcement to be used to either detect, detain, or confine them. Society has therefore recognised that now as though history, brave and dedicated individuals with the capability of containing such villains need to be empowered to do just that. And more power to their elbow, says I. I’ve met a good number of the heroes Miss Teschmacher mentions in her article. I can even see how someone who doesn’t know them could get the wrong end of the stick about them. But frankly they’re a noble, if eccentric, bunch. They do what’s necessary, putting their lives on the line again and again for little reward, from a sense of duty, and care, and justice. Those are qualities we should celebrate, and it’s having and using those qualities, not having the super-powers, that makes these chaps (and chapesses) heroes. Do not forget the great humanitarian works of NTU-150 and the Bautista Foundation, the orphanage support offered by Yo, the patronage of the US Navy by Ms Waltz, or the many other selfless deeds these heroes do when the spotlight of the crisis-hungry news media is off them. Paradopolis may have the highest insurance rates, but it also has the highest crime detection rates in the United States of America. As to the vigilante justice perpetrated on some offender, while I cannot countenance it I do appeal for the same liberal concern to be extended to the vigilantes as to the victims. I have also met Messenger and the so-called Dark Knight, and they too have commendable qualities which do not put them beyond redemption. On the question of the Lair Legion’s ability to provide checks and balances to the metahuman community, I feel Miss Teschmacher demands too high a standard. We do not berate the police for not having stamped out all crime, not our medical men for having failed to cure every disease. We recognise that they struggle in an imperfect world, doing the best they can and using their judgement as to how best to carry out their role. And let us not forget that the Lair Legion has defended the very planet on several occasions against both domestic and alien threats. The very fact we are here to criticise them is tribute to their effectiveness. In short, Miss Teschmacher’s article falls on three counts. She calls for stricter control over superheroes even as she berates them for their lack of results. This is clearly a contradictory position. She confuses the role of the judicial and law enforcement arms of our world governments with the role of every citizen to uphold the law to the best of their ability. And she fails to recognise the intent as well as the fact of superhero activity. I submit that we owe our heroes a debt of thanks. We should be damn glad to have them, a damn fine bunch. Mumphrey Wilton KBE GCB GCMG CGVO FRS Sir Mumphrey Wilton |
| A reply to Miss Teschmacher's Article regarding "Our Superhero Saviours" (Sir Mumphrey Wilton) (25-May-2000 17:23:06) |
|
Copyright © Looksmart, Ltd. 1997-1999.
All rights reserved.
