Does the word "hero" still mean anything?

[d1abolic]

The word "hero" has been thrown around far too much since September. This makes me sick. For example, take the plane that crashed in Pannsylvania. Everyone on board is now being called a hero, because they supposedly battled the terrorists and stopped them. There is even a comic strip showing all of the passengers boldly rushing down to the cockpit. What no one seems to remember is that no such thing happened. One of the men onboard called his wife before the plane went down and said that most of the people on board are cowards, and that only two others were willing to take on the terrorists. The other 50-something firmly placed their fails inbetween their legs and ran to hide in dark corners. So there were only 3 heroes on that plane. Another example that makes me even sicker? The relatives of the pilot of that same plane calling him an American Hero and demanding to have him buried in Arlington Park. Ok i don't mean to be insensitive, but knowingly, willingly, giving your life for the good of others is quite different from getting stabbed in the back of the neck by a terrorist who just entered the cockpit. Seeing his relatives on TV makes me wanna barf: instead of morning they are airing their dirty laundry on national TV and trying to prove something. They are comparing him to Mike Spann we spent his last moments battling a small army of Taliban prisoners with only his handgun. Hm, right.

 

[miken]

There is no shortage of people who want attention and glory, as sick as it may be.

 

[PlasticJesus]

Well, someone's finally said it and I agree 100 percent.

Alot of the folks called "heroes" anymore could probably best be described as simply "dead". It's not their fault, of course (either that they're dead or labeled heroes).

It gets a bit old when everybody wants a damn memorial and folks want to start doing things based simply on sentiment. When I say based on sentiment, I mean such things as burying a pilot in Arlington.

A high-school ROTC cadet or student or whatever they're called is killed in a school shooting and her folks bury her in her cadet uniform. I suppose that's their option. When you flag-drape the coffin though, I really feel that's a problem. It's an injustice to quite alot of folks.

Such was the case when Luke Woodham murdered Christina Menefee in Mississippi. She was no hero; she was simply a victim.


-edited to delete one word-

 

[UltraQuiet]

The word is definitley overused, the meaning has become diluted.

As far as the pilot goes I have mixed feelings. We are talking about the pilot that was on the Pentagon plane, right. The familys contention is that he would have 1. Gotten his own grave after he turned 60 as a retired reservists and 2. He died in what Bush is calling a war 9 (and is a war, declared or not, IMO). The Army said he could be buried there next to his father, but if he does that then his wife can't be buried there. Is this how everyone else understands it?

 

[Elledan]

Most Humans have no honor. Far fewer can be considered to be heroes. These are rarely noticed.

You know what's funny? The terrorists who died in that crash are also considered to be heroes by certain people. What we see is that someone can only be a hero for a select group of people.

It's merely a matter of perspective.

 

[d1abolic]

Well if there is a rule that he can't be buried there unless he's over 60, then i don't see what they're arguing about. I'm sure there've been plenty of people in their situation before, and if the government didn't make an exception for them, i don't see why they should make one for him. And he didn't die in a war, he died in a terrorist attack. And not as a soldier, but as a civillian victim.