h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Those foul-mouthed Clangers - every single thing they ever said was bleeped out by the BBC!

Not at all - they were just speaking a foreign language and didn't realise it had been banned.

"Man is born free, yet everywhere he is subject to terms and conditions"

The problem with heroes is what you see and what you don´t see. Imagine seeing a guy jump in front of a car and save a little girl. He seems like a hero. But what if he was in fact a neo-nazi, and only saved the girl because she was white. Had she been black he might have driven the car instead. So saying somebody´s a hero, judging by one heroic deed is a bit rushing it.

Woe... I see the concept of heroism needs a lot of work here.
Anyway, too tired to rant about most of the above, so let me just point out the guy who refused to move out of the way of the French Atomic Test site back in 1978.
French marines eventually boarded his boat, kidnapped him, beat him... but pictures of what happened hit the media and the French had to back down. I would say a hero was someone who could singlehandedly bring an end to nuclear testing in the atmosphere.
He then used his fame and notoriety to bring together all the 'green' groups in the world under the international banner of 'Greenpeace'.
He died the other day. But sadly, I didn't see one word about him anywhere in h2g2.
And, somewhere around here, someone noted that William Hanna (of Hanna/Barberra - the creators of Scooby Doo) had also died.
They were both heroes.
But it's a shame only the cartoonist was eulogised by this community.

~ jwf ~

Just two:

Socrates, who never permitted anyone else to do his thinking for him,
and my Beloved for the same reason.

The Clangers could, apparently, speak German. Come to think of it, with all the fun and pleasure he gave children, how about Oliver Postgate being a hero? Could at least get a knighthood.

Hero is a relative term, isn't it. A bit like the terrorist/freedom fighter thing. I'm pretty sure that there are still a fair few whites in South Africa who regard Nelson Mandela as... well, not as a hero anyway.

I'll give you heroes: firemen, lifeboatmen.......... need I go on?

Well, that is again a matter of what a hero is. I mean, there might be a lot of firemen just in it for the money. Who knows. And what about doctors who will let a man die on the doorstep if he can´t pay for treatment, not very heroic.

My definition of freedom fighter vs terrorist is based on their methods. Someone like the IRA are terrorists, because they kill innocent people. I think there´s no reason why Northern Ireland shouldn´t be Irish, but I´d never support either side in the war, because of their methods. A freedom fighter is someone who only hurts material things, or only hurts humans in (direct) self-defence.

That Mandela kept his belief while in jail is amazing. But to me he seems to have been more of a symbol/martyr than a hero. It wasn´t so much what he did, but what he stood for that helped South Africa. And in fact if he had died, it would probably have been better. Then he would have been a real martyr.

Surely if heroes have to die and become martyrs to have 'impact' then the 'calling' to be a hero will be largely ignored.

Dian Fossey - murdered by poachers because she was trying to save the great apes of Africa.

Any firefighter in it for the money is dumber than s/he looks! And I've never actually with my own eyes seen evidence of doctors turning anyone away because they couldn't pay. People not getting to treatment because the health insurance says so, maybe, but that's another matter.

But there is a fine line, surely, between a Martyr and a Hero? My impression of a Martyr is someone who dies for their beliefs, without necessarily having an impact on anything at all and not changing things. My impression of a Hero is someone who makes a difference and doesn't necessarily die. But I'm too lazy to get the dictionary definitions. No I'm not:

he·ro (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.
3.A person noted for special achievement in a particular field: the heroes of medicine.
4.The principal male character in a novel, poem, or dramatic presentation.

mar·tyr (märtr)
n.
1.One who chooses to suffer death rather than renounce religious principles.
2.One who makes great sacrifices or suffers much in order to further a belief, cause, or principle.
3.
a.One who endures great suffering: a martyr to arthritis.
b.One who makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy.

So there we have it.

I didn´t mean that heroes have to die. I was just talking about Mandela. To me it seems he was more of a symbol than a real hero. And if he had died he would have been an even better symbol, and apartheid would probably have ended earlier.

No, I realised that, just that we (me probably) seemed to be getting a bit tangled up with what a hero actually is.
I'm sticking with the Lifeboatpersons and Firefighters.

I agree with the staff of the lifeboats especially as most of them are volunteers, there's also the Mountain Rescue Teams, they're another voluntary organisation.

It might be sacriligeous to say Mandela is not a real hero because of the deprivations he went through. But when the ANC finally came to power (after they'd be rehabilitated and lost the terrorist tag) South Africa simply swapped racial segregation for financial segregation. I don't think life has changed radically for the poor people of Soweto, but South Africa is now more business-friendly and, as a consequence, more and more money is being made by fewer and fewer people.

Heroism is all about context.

One of the primary 'context's of Heroism (with a capital H) is doing the 'right' thing against 'impossible' odds with no concern for public adulation, in fact often the contray.

In that context, Eco-warriors may be the greatest heroes our species ever has.

They are labelled as odd-balls and misfits and they put their lives on the line for the planet. But can you name three? Did no one notice that the founder of Greenpeace just died?

It seems to me that 90% of enviromentalist has good intentions, but thanks to little knowledge and naitivity, they screw up more than they do good. I personally wouldn´t call them heroes.

My votes goes to Chris Moon. He's the guy who got his hand and leg blown off while clearing mines in Mozambique. He was doing it voluntarily. He now runs the London Marathon and ultra-marathons to raise money for charity. He doesn't sit around moaning about his misfortune, just accepts it and gets on with his life to the best of his ability. He is truly a man of courage and to me that is a hero.

BBS

I didn't want to taint my previous entry with this rant, but I think that talk of courage/bravery/heroism can be so overused. Especially in sporting contexts.

You often here commentaries about such and such a player is so brave, to be playing on with an injured head that he's had bandaged or stitches put in. Big deal. He just enjoys the game and wants to give it everything. It's not being a hero though.

Xanatic:
If the founder of Greenpeace had not parked his boat in the middle of the French Nuclear test site back in 1978 we might not now be having this conversation. I cite again this one 'extreme' example of an effective protest because I am agog that he is not being mourned and honoured globally as a true hero of the planet.

Personal confession:
I am not an eco-warrior but I admire any fool who will live 150 feet up a tree for two years to save that 2000 year old tree from becoming yesterdays newsprint. In fact my talents as a writer and TV producer were employed by public relations/anti-propoganda consulting firms who often asked me to discredit persons and groups hassling our multi-national corporate clients. You would recognise several names or logos if I dared to name them here.
My job was to 'control and spin' conservationist and other 'special interest' groups including 'radical' tree huggers and victims of defoliant agents and insectide posioning. When it was officially determined that our best corporate strategy would be to simply outlive the ones who were complaining of cancer and make fools of the rest - I quit.

The crimes, which man ravishes on the eco-system, are always justifiable to anyone who depends on exploitation of the earths natural resources for employment, transport or personal pleasure. So I guess I'll get in my car, go buy a paper and look for a job. Maybe then I too can again casually say, it is naive to try and save the planet. And only geeky goofy people would try. Funny, I used to get paid to say that.

I´m not saying that it´s goofy or naive to save the planet. I also want to do it. But first you need to know what you are doing, or else you´ll do more damage. But let´s take a simple example, the White Shark is an endangered species. How come you hardly ever hear of anyone trying to save that one? Instead all energy is directed towards fluffy baby seals with big brown eyes. There´s too many treehuggers in the world. I can´t say that I´ve really done something for the enviroment, but at the same time I won´t admire those that try to, but end up doing more damage. All in all, this requires another entry doesn´t it?

Yes, the Baby seals are highly over-rated.
The accellerated growth of the seal population since Brigitte Bardot stopped wearing fur has decimated the north atlantic fishery, especially the cod stocks. Thousands of people unemployed. Billions in equipment, processing plants, boats ...lie abandoned, reminding those who've lost a way of life of just how cruel reality can be when spin doctors show one bloody photo of one cuddly sea maggot.
Your point is well taken that we (humans) tend to see ourselves in certain creatures and treat them better than the supposedly dumb, vicious or ugly ones. If we were honest with ourselves we'd save the ones we say we don't like, because they are the ones we ARE most like.
I mean have you ever really meant a person as cuddly as a baby seal? Besides Brigitte Bardot, I mean.
"Endangered species" is a badly abused concept. There are millions and millions of species, most are mere variants of a larger genus. The cuddly Giant Pandas (who lack the mobility and aggression necessary to relocate to better food supplies) are but one of several 'panda' bears. The Yellow Panda is thriving much like the Polar Bear by feeding on wastes from human dumpsites.
And yes a separate thread for endangered species and animal rights might be a good idea. You start it and call it what you like. Maybe start with the baby seals bit. I'll join in with my flamethrower later. But here, I'd like to try and do something about the appalling condition of the notion of 'hero'. I can't begin to express my horror at we have found here. Without heroes and role models, our culture is lost.