A couple of weeks ago I saw a news story about a guy who dresses up in a makeshift superhero costume and does good deeds under the pseudonym Razorhawk. Goofy? Yes, but my kind of goofy.
It turns out that he and his superhero buddies (Geist, Shadowflare, and others) go out in broad daylight in these costumes in order to be seen doing work for Toys For Tots and the like. Sounds weird, but he has a point about the visibility of it all: If you see a bizarrely-dressed guy delivering toys to an orphanage or volunteering at a homeless shelter, that image is going to be stuck in your head much more firmly than if it were a normally-dressed guy. (Or gal; I'm in favor or superheroines too.) There's a World Superhero Registry where these self-styled heroes make themselves known and organize into local guilds, too.
So I'm thinking, I can do this, but what would my superhero persona be? It would have to reflect some facet of my true persona...
Slide Rule Avenger!
Skillet Man!
The Math Master!
Captain Chopstick!
Super Hippie!
And then I thought, you know, I kind of do that now. I occasionally do some in-person stuff for Hot Dogs & Hope, a feed-the-homeless ministry I'm close to, but mostly I work with the teens in church, and when I do any of this, I am almost always clad in my signature sandals and tie-dye. I recently worked with the teens at Mission Arlington, and an uncle says he saw me (in full hippie mode) on the news; I'm willing to bet that someone thought "hey, look at him" and that was that.
I believe that for Razorhawk and his ilk it's not about narcissism, but about being an example; it's not being Superman, but being a super man.
Now, if you'll excuse me, Captain Chopstick is being summoned, and he's taking the Wasabi Warrior with him.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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