Like you could have a felon convicted of child rape sign up to fight a forest fire and die. Would he be a hero?
He may have just signed up to get some time out of jail, or maybe they are willing to reduce his sentence some for fighting the forest fire. Does the “why” factor in at all? What about the general character of the person?
Edit: there is no “right” answer. Just your opinion. And that is what I am looking for.
There’s no such thing as heroes. There’s just heroic acts.
I, too, am a pedant.
It’s a class you get assigned on reincarnating.
I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero till the end of the nightHe’s gotta be strong, he’s gotta be fast
And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight.I cannot hear this song and not think of Shrek 2
Doing what you believe to be right despite severe personal consequences.
The subjective part is that what you think is right and what others think is right differs. You’re only a hero if most people agree that you did the right thing I guess.
You probably need to be decently upstanding, too. Some might say the child rapist in your example committed a heroic deed by dying fighting a wildfire but people would not call them a hero.
I think sometimes people can be heroes without extreme sacrifice, too. For instance, I would call Fred Rogers a hero solely because of his positive impact on others.
Generally going out of their way to help others despite the risk of personal harm or because the amount of work involved was significant.
Someone who spends their lives making other people’s lives better for no personal benefit is a hero.
Someone who rescues someone despite the possibility of danger to themselves. Not those that do it in a stupid way that makes it more dangerous for everyone, but those who do it when the safest way is still pretty dangerous.
There is no heroism without self-sacrifice, or the potential for your action to involve sacrifice on your part for the benefit of another.
Superpowers are a prerequisite.
This is entirely subjective. IMO it’s self sacrifice for the good of all. Saint Rossman and Saint Luigi are good examples. Rossman is incorruptible and dedicates his life to fighting for us, and makes a point of publicly mocking companies when they try to bribe him.
The why is important. The weapons manufacturer who revolutionised farming with nitrogen fertilizer is not a hero, even though he saved millions.
The general character isn’t. Linus is an asshole, but he gave us freedom.
I know Rossman, watched his content years ago and not much last few.
Is he dead, imprisoned or has he knocked out CEOs? He may be heroic but certainly no reason to put him in the same divinity as Luigi.
He’s still doing the same work, and usually works hand in hand with other like minded folks, at least according to his wikipedia page. He did also make the consumer rights wiki recently which is nice as well.
A definition I heard and considered useful included a few required elements. A hero:
- Acts voluntarily and altruistically
This excludes most military and first responders, such as the prison laborers in your hypothetical. Hero is not a profession. Heroes also can’t have any moral or legal duty to the rescued, such as pulling victims out of the fire you started yourself.
- Leaves a place of safety
You can’t be a hero by saving others incidental to saving yourself. A hero must have had the safe option to merely be a bystander to the emergency.
- Subjects oneself to risk of death of serious injury
Heroes don’t have to die in the act of heroism, but they must have been cognizant of that possibility and chosen to act in spite of the risk.
- To aid an stranger
You can’t be a hero by saving your children, or anyone you have a duty to protect, or anyone you expect to be able to reward you in the future.
There’s a whole book about this. Well, partly about this. Hpmor.com. Have fun.
I think that part might start at chapter 66.No skip most of that, just jump to chapter 75.Its subjective. Theres people that think trump is a hero
A “hero” is a tool for state propaganda
