Genos: It’s impressive that you still always arrive on time. ...
Saitama: No, I’m actually always late.
Building on a meme I did earlier, the upshot of which that even being able to intervene briefly is no mean feat, I thought I’d look at what heroes actually do.
The only thing that heroes actually do is that they save the moment. Hopefully, that moment will build into further moments and maybe into the whole day. Hopefully, the impact of their actions will be to defeat the threat or remove people from danger, but they can’t know that.
The other truth is that even if they do save the day, there’s no guarantee that they’re going to save *your* day. Even if they’re not Saitama carelessly dropping a giant on a city, there’s no saying that you’re going to be alright.
So, if there’s no guarantee that a hero will be able to save the day and there’s no guarantee that a hero will be able to save your day in particular, what’s the good of a hero? Same thing as a defibrillator: it’s to turn no chance into some chance. As you live one moment to the next,
So what’s to be done? If you cry for help and someone comes through for you, you have to help yourself in any way that you can. The most supportive thing you can do is not to stick around and cheer them on. It’s to run if there’s any escape available. This guy gets it:
There’s a very nice exchange where Garou impresses on Tareo that his getting between him and the monsters does not mean that the boy gets to sit back and do nothing for himself. He tells Tareo to run and the boy says he can’t move. We understand: he’s terrified.
Does Garou say nice consoling things to Tareo? Tell him he should just try, it’ll all be fine? No, he shouts at him and calls him an idiot. Tells him most harshly that if he won’t help himself, he shouldn’t look to anyone to save him.
Of course, even with doing everything you can, there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to get to safety. That is life. It’s all about maximising chances, not guaranteeing safety.
Simple enough, no? It only takes a room temperature IQ to realise that heroes can’t guarantee outcomes. They can’t reach into the past to rectify any mistakes or problems, nor into the future to predict what will happen. Maybe the hero on scene will be enough, maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll be flawless, maybe they’ll make a fatal error despite being the right person on the scene. Maybe someone else will come in to help, maybe not. Maybe the situation will stay as it is, maybe it’ll escalate in an unexpected way. No one can tell you. If they’re ‘just buying time’ how much time is it? No one knows. The only thing they have control over is what actions they’ll do in the now. Same as anyone else.
believe in your heroes but get the fuck out of Dodge
A surprising number of people volunteer themselves for death because they see a hero as a reason to stick around and be entertained, rather than a lifeline to get out of danger.
not one of these people has to be where they are -- they think they’re here to see an exciting show. Lucky for them, the monster wasn’t hungry for human flesh that day.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t have a look at Amai Mask, the Mac Daddy of encouraging the public to to conflate ‘hero’ with ‘entertainer’. It blew up splendidly in his face: karmic punishments don’t get much more fitting than his disfigurement and banishment. However, had Saitama not come back exactly when he did, it may have precipitated a much greater disaster still.
Edit: Just had a thought. When Saitama bid the crowd to take care of the heroes he uses to look good, he’s not entirely lying. Since Saitama has little sense of urgency and a terrible sense of direction, in situations where it’s solely down to him to take care of a monster, thousands more die in major incidents. Too harsh a world to sit on your hands hoping for the perfect hero to come save you.
So I think I made a non-binary friend. But I am confused and have questions. And like it would be rude to out right ask them, right? I mean, in the end it doesn't matter to me. How they identify is their business. But like, I'm not just confused about their gender identification, also their sexuality. And like I want to know if they're gay or not. Understanding gay in this case to mean attracted to the male gender. To assume that they're gay would also be rude and wrong. But then like I can't just ask them, right? Agh, but I want to know if they'd ever be attracted to me. Me being a male gendered person. I guess they could be pansexual, which would include me too. But again, I wouldn't want to assume. And then also there is the chance that they actually do identify with a certain gender and me asking them about it could be offensive or make them feel not enough whatever they are and I could bring about all their insecurities or something. I don't want that at all!!
Hmmm, sigh. I'm doing my best to understand. Not male, not female, but also not a third gender. Maybe male, maybe female, maybe neither, maybe both. Traits from them both, sometimes more one way, sometimes more the other, sometimes everything at once. It must be so tough with the world the way it is.
Sorry if any of my terms or language wasn't right. I just have some questions for them and I don't know how to go about them without hurting them by mistake I guess...
