Superheroes

My son is making a semi-long drive this evening, and he called me (on speakerphone) to keep him company -- or just to kill time, depending on how you look at it. We talked about many topics that could be good blog fodder: whether Hillary Clinton or Elizabeth Warren was a better Presidential candidate, an elderly Irish gentleman storyteller my son met at the wedding he attended yesterday, and a group of (some would say) vigilantes called Rain City Superheroes. This last subject really interested me, and after our call I looked it up.

The group was formed in 2011 (and, according to Wikipedia, disbanded in 2014 but by other accounts still works hard to keep the streets of Seattle safe), a bunch of men who dress up in bulletproof superhero costumes and intervene in crimes. They arm themselves with non-lethal weapons and wander the city seaching for incidents to avert. Apparently police aren't overly-enthusiastic about these efforts, even though the group claims to have stopped dozens of criminals in their tracks. (I can't speak to the veracity of any of these reports, as they came from less-than-authoritative sources.)

I had a friend who said every night she dreamt she was a superhero, saving citizens from all types of violent crimes. I think most of us have, at some point in our lives, tried to be a hero to someone. Most of us, however, don't go out searching for trouble. I'm not sure whether these superheroes are good or bad for their community -- they may start shennanigans as well as stop them -- but it's an interesting concept. If I were a victim of a crime, I'm sure I'd be glad to see them. But if I were walking down the street, large men in bulletproof superhero costumes might be more than a little scary.