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City of Heroes Players Honor Christopher Reeve

Posted by Zonk on from the some-mmog-folk-have-social-skills dept.

Thanks to Gamespot for the quick blurb about City of Heroes players honoring Christopher Reeve, who passed away recently. The Superhero Massive Game has been awash in showings of respect. Screens and commentary can be found on CoH Warcry for the past several days.

6 of 40 comments (clear)

  1. Sometimes... by cephyn · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...things like this feel "too little too late" -- I mean sure, its great to memorialize him now. But wouldn't it have been better to do this while he was alive? As a tribute to the work he has done for spinal cord injury patients? So many people are remembered and properly honored after they are dead. A tragedy.

    Does he get to see this? no. Does anyone in his family? I hope so, but I have no idea if they'd understand it.

    It's a great gesture. A great idea. Just misguided if you ask me. We all would be better served if players donated one month of the CoH subscription fee to his charity.

    --
    Moo.
    1. Re:Sometimes... by jeffehobbs · · Score: 3, Insightful

      ...things like this feel "too little too late" -- I mean sure, its great to memorialize him now. But wouldn't it have been better to do this while he was alive?

      I look forward to your upcoming Abe Vigoda tribute.

      A tribute is a tribute. There's plenty of things in this world to second-guess, but not stuff like this. If it makes people feel better about the loss of someone that meant something to them, let it be.

      ~jeff

    2. Re:Sometimes... by cephyn · · Score: 2, Insightful

      feeling better is great. but doing something and making the world better is greater. but you're right -- it's your choice. To me, an empty gesture or weak gesture when an obviously better one is right in front of you is worse than no gesture. Do it right, or not at all. If I did some half-assed war memorial, don't you think some vets would be pissed? Do something to try and better the world (donate) instead of just feeling better -- that's the greatest gesture of all.

      --
      Moo.
    3. Re:Sometimes... by Babbster · · Score: 3, Insightful

      I think it's great that you offered tributes to Christopher Reeve while he was still alive and I'm sure that both he and his family appreciated them. I'm sure that they also appreciated all the money you gave to, and raised for, his cause. Now, why don't you just take quiet pride in your great benevolence and not take pot shots at other people who, for whatever reason, and in whatever fashion, were paying tribute to a guy now taking a dirt nap?

    4. Re:Sometimes... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ...things like this feel "too little too late" -- I mean sure, its great to memorialize him now. But wouldn't it have been better to do this while he was alive?

      Caring too little too late. That sounds like the story of his life: he didn't care about spinal injuries until AFTER he had one himself. He certainly wasn't the first person with one, so why did he suddenly care so much only after he himself got one? So many people only care about something after it becomes their problem too; this is not something special about Reeve. Without that injury, he never would have cared about paralysis victims. He never cared about diseases that he never personally expierenced. If he did, THAT might be a sign of honest charity.
      He spent so much time and money on spinal injury research because he couldn't get over his own injury to move on with his life and because he selfishly wanted a cure for himself.

      Cashing in on the publicity was just a fringe benefit. Publicity that various media corporations helped him cash in on. Media corporations that make money on emotional (as opposed than rational) news.

    5. Re:Sometimes... by SandSpider · · Score: 3, Insightful

      What, you think that the people who played COH didn't, in some way or another, worship him while he was alive? You don't think that millions of movie goers and comic book readers, when asked to imagine superman in real life, didn't think of Christopher Reeve?

      Christopher Reeve was a living legend, and many, many people extended sympathy and support when he had his accident. I've read in several places, including here, that the reason people are hit by Reeve's death more than, say, Rodney Dangerfield was not because of a difference in, er, respect for the two men, but because people were really expecting him to walk again, and it's sad that now we'll never be able to see that.

      I have no doubt that the Christopher Reeve Spinal Injury Foundation has been able to raise tremendous amounts of money both before and after his death in the aid of finding a cure.

      I'm not a religious man, but what if there is an afterlife, and what if he does get to see the respect that people give him, even though he's dead? And do you think that people in his family, if they do find out about this, are in some way going to feel bad or even not feel better to find out that a large group of people want to pay their respects to their recently lost family member? Unless he ended up bitter at having been remembered as Superman, there's no reason why his family shouldn't appreciate this.

      Also, there's no reason why they can't both honor him and donate to his foundation.

      Let the man have his legacy, and let people remember him for both his work to cure spinal cord injuries and for the pleasure he brought them, letting people know that it's okay to be a good guy and a super hero.

      =Brian

      --
      There is nothing so good that someone, somewhere, will not hate it.