Have you done anything heroic???

[amirm]

Interesting article saying 20% of the Americans have performed heroic acts: http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/mind-soul/doing-good/2011-01-14-heroes14_ST_N.htm

New research would seem to support President Obama's observation Wednesday night in Tucson that "heroism is here, all around us."
Philip Zimbardo, a Stanford University professor emeritus and colleagues used a nationally-representative sample of 4,000 adults and found that 20% qualified as heroes — they had helped during a dangerous emergency, taken a stand against injustice, or sacrificed for a stranger.

...

In the study, both blacks and Hispanics were twice as likely as whites to have performed heroic deeds. Zimbardo says they want to do follow-up research on the reasons for the racial/ethnic differences, which he speculates could be attributed to "greater opportunities to respond" or "being discriminated against makes them have more compassion to others in need."

So what heroic experiences do you have?

 

[JackD201]

I wouldn't call it heroic since I wasn't in any personal danger but I have pulled a stranger out of a car wreck. Maybe it could be considered heroic if the car was on fire.

That of course pales hugely in comparison to our friends here in law enforcement, the medical profession and the military that do "heroic" stuff on a daily basis. These guys are my true heroes.

 

[Steve Williams]

does delivering ~10,000 babies over 35 years count as doing something heroic

 

[mep]

Personally, I think the word hero is way over used. “We” (society) tend to call everyone a hero these days. I think the word hero should be reserved for those people who truly risk their lives in order to help someone else. For me, the threshold for calling someone a hero has been set way too low in this country. If you didn’t risk your life in order to help someone else, please don’t bother with any hero stories.

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Personally, I think the word hero is way over used. “We” (society) tend to call everyone a hero these days. I think the word hero should be reserved for those people who truly risk their lives in order to help someone else. For me, the threshold for calling someone a hero has been set way too low in this country. If you didn’t risk your life in order to help someone else, please don’t bother with any hero stories.

And not just in your country....its everywhere!

From Wikipedia

A hero (heroine for females) (Ancient Greek: ????, h?r?s), in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion.[1] Later, hero (male) and heroine (female) came to refer to characters who, in the face of danger and adversity or from a position of weakness, display courage and the will for self sacrifice—that is, heroism—for some greater good of all humanity. This definition originally referred to martial courage or excellence but extended to more general moral excellence.

 

[cjfrbw]

Do Hero sandwiches count?

 

[mep]

Do Hero sandwiches count?

If it's not a hoagie, it doesn't count anyway.

 

[JackD201]

does delivering ~10,000 babies over 35 years count as doing something heroic

I don't know Steve, but one thing for sure, after witnessing my children's births, I can definitely say you've dealt with ~10,000 acts of heroism!

I would consider your saving a mother and/or child's life under instances of grave complications very heroic.

 

[amirm]

I don't consider myself a hero at all. But after I read the article, did remind of something I did that maybe comes close.

Where I used to live, we had a tradition of creating a fire and jumping over it for good luck. So a bunch of us teenagers got together and created the fire and proceeded to jump over it. Soon a bunch more kids from the neighborhood gathered and they all started to do the same thing. Some of these kids were much younger whose parents had brought them over to do the same.

I remember standing by the fire and watching a very young kid (6-7 years old) run toward it, trip and to my horror, fall completely flat over the fire! He squashed the fire where he fell but flames were going around him (3-4 feet at least).

You know how time slows down in accidents? That is what happened to me. I remember seeing the kid in the middle of the fire, face down and not knowing what I was supposed to do. It felt like I was watching the scene unfold for what seemed to be forever.

I don't know how I decided to do what I did but I reached over, grabbed him and lifted him out as if he weighted nothing. I remember putting him on the ground and noticing that not a thing had happened to him. He quick ran off with a smile. I looked around, and noticed that no one was paying attention, including his parents. I couldn't believe that nothing had happened to him or me or the calmness with which I did what I did. It was as if the incident had never happened. It all happened so quickly that neither one of us got burned or got hurt in any way.

I just remembered that I had not told anyone this story 'till now!

 

[mep]

I don't know Steve, but one thing for sure, after witnessing my children's births, I can definitely say you've dealt with ~10,000 acts of heroism!

I would consider your saving a mother and/or child's life under instances of grave complications very heroic.

I disagree and say he would just be doing his job. Steve's life wasn't at risk during the procedures. I have saved my wife's life three times and while she might consider me to be her "hero," I'm damn sure no hero because my life was never at risk.
And for the curious, I had to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her on two separate occasions as she was choking on food she had swallowed too quickly. The other time she mixed a lethal combination of chemicals in the toilet in an attempt to get it extra clean and she inhaled too much of the toxic vapors and could barely breathe. I had to rush her to the emergency room because there was no time to wait for an ambulance to come and get her. She would have been dead before they could get to her. I called 911 and told them to notify the hospital I was on my way to the emergency room. By the time we arrived, her oxygen level was critical. But none of this counts towards being called a hero because again, my life was never at risk.

We as a society have lowered the bar so far on what the word hero really means that we have demeaned the true heroes that deserve the title. If you didn't risk your life to help someone else, you are no hero in my book.

 

[JackD201]

Fair enough Mark I respect your opinion however there's no stopping your wife or your family for thinking you a hero.

Never mind Steve for now and lets talk doctors in general. One look at the darned threats of malpractice and the resulting malpractice insurance they have to pony up just to practice makes ALL of them heroes in my book for even getting into medicine at all! (Well maybe not cosmetic surgeons ) When the day comes that I will need medical attention and yes that day will come, I'm going to be awfully grateful that my doctor had the courage to be one.

To me heroism isn't so much about threat of life but one of sacrifice and what is sacrificed need not be life itself. So yeah, maybe I'm one of the guys that uses the term more loosely. If there were another word that could replace it, I would use it but I know of none.

 

[mep]

I get what your saying Jack. Anytime someone saves your life whether that person is a doctor or not will surely make that person a hero in your book (and mine too). It just doesn't make them a hero in the true sense of what I think the word was intended for. If a doctor doing his job is a hero, what do you call the soldier that runs into a hail of bullets in order to save a fellow soldier? Or what do you call the soldier that falls on a grenade in order to save his fellow soldiers? To me, you have got to have skin in the game before we start throwing the hero word around.

 

[JackD201]

Just out of curiosity, what the heck did your wife choke on????

There's a funny addendum to the kid from the turned turtle car story. Best told over a few beers I think. Until then........

 

[amirm]

Just out of curiosity, what the heck did your wife choke on????

His credit card receipt for his last audio purchase!!

 

[amirm]

I had to rush her to the emergency room because there was no time to wait for an ambulance to come and get her.

OT but I was talking to the fire marshal (?) where our vacation house is located. I was concerned that we were some 30 minutes from nearest hospital and they have scant emergency personnel in that area. I asked if someone gets hurt, should I drive them to the hospital. He said no. I asked why? He said paramedics have drugs and tools to stabilize the patient so it is best to let them come and handle the situation then me driving like mad to the hospital.

 

[JackD201]

His credit card receipt for his last audio purchase!!

Same as my wife!!!!!!

 

[mep]

OT but I was talking to the fire marshal (?) where our vacation house is located. I was concerned that we were some 30 minutes from nearest hospital and they have scant emergency personnel in that area. I asked if someone gets hurt, should I drive them to the hospital. He said no. I asked why? He said paramedics have drugs and tools to stabilize the patient so it is best to let them come and handle the situation then me driving like mad to the hospital.

Amir-in my case, time was of the essence and by time the ambulance would have arrived I already had my wife in the emergency room.

And Jack-she choked on the exact same thing on two different occasions. It was roast beef from the deli. While she was putting the groceries away, she would reach into the bag and pull out a handful of roast beef and eat it. You think she would have learned her lesson the first time but she didn't. Good thing I was home when it happened. And for the curious, my wife is a size 2. I don't want anyone to have visions of my wife as some big blister bag cramming food into her pie-hole.

 

[flez007]

Lifting and carrying my Viva Solista amp by myself in our last home move qualifies?