A real-life superhero has been patrolling the streets of Seattle, Washington in hopes of stopping crime. Every night an anonymous Seattle man strolls into a comic store, enters a hidden back room, and emerges transformed as "Phoenix Jones".
"Phoenix" says since he started his crime-fighting crusade 9 months ago, he's been stabbed, and had a gun pulled on him a few times, but received no serious injuries. Phoenix carries mace, tear gas and a nightstick equipped with a taser and wears a bulletproof vest and "stab plates" that offer protection from knives.
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"When I walk into a neighbourhood, criminals leave because they see the suit. I symbolize that the average person doesn't have to walk around and see bad things and do nothing," he explained.
Evidently this is a growing trend. Police in Seattle say a group calling themselves the "Rain City Superhero Movement" are part of a nationwide movement of real-life crime-fighters.
5 comments:
"It all started with the gangs..." Nightowl Watchmen.
If the bad guys start suiting up I hope they get equal press coverage.
Stan Lee has a lot to answer for... haha
I'm conflicted (as usual, LOL). On the one hand, this guy has good intentions. On the other hand, he's just a vigilante who gets favourable reception, in part, because he's dressed as a superhero. He's using powerful weapons -- a taser!! -- which are potentially lethal. The police have an unfortunate history or overusing such weapons, leading to serious injury and death. How do I know a band of untrained vigilantes who've decided to take the law into their own hands wouldn't end up doing the same? That said, they're crime-fighters dressed as superheroes, and that's kind of inherently cool, even for an old nitpicker like me...
@Bob, @Steve, LOL
@cath, It doesn't matter if he has potentially dangerous items. Nearly anything is potentially dangerous. You have a good point that I agree with. There are few situations when someone has the right to inflict harm on someone else, and running around as a vigilante is not one of them. I suppose they would have to make sure they are first attacked, without provoking it, before responding in self-defence.
Anonymous, I don't think there's anything potential in the dangerousness of a taser. There's also a huge difference between an actual weapon like taser and a "potentially dangerous" object like a heavy briefcase or a wine bottle that can be used as weapons. Carrying a taser and carrying a briefcase are not the same thing, even if you can kill a man with both. I'm also pretty sure the law sees this the same way all around the world. Otherwise I agree with you.
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