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Real Life Super Hero Arrested
First time accepted submitter Pat Attack writes "In an ironic twist of fate, Phoenix Jones, a self-styled super hero from Seattle, has landed in jail. Jones happened upon a group of people fighting in the street and tried to stop the fight using pepper spray. He was arrested by police on four counts of assault. The New York Daily News quotes Jones: 'I've been shot once and I don't really want it to happen again. I've been stabbed twice, hit with a baseball bat and had my nose broken,' he says. 'But in all those incidents I helped someone who was in danger. If someone is going to take that punishment it should be the guy in body armor,' he said."
Phoenix, his eyes closed. Phoenix, when the walls fell.
When the foot seeks the place of the head, the line is crossed. Know your place. Keep your place. Be a shoe.
For those wondering about these new "superheroes," it's actually a movement of sorts. There was an excellent HBO documentary on them a while back. They're even forming groups now. When I heard about the documentary, I just expected to laugh at these guys. But it's actually a very interesting portrait of some well-meaning, though often a little deluded, guys who really do want to make the world a better place. I ended up feeling both sorry for them and a little envious of them at the same time.
One of the best points they made was that they are "patrolling" areas where the cops really don't give a shit. For example, at one point in the documentary a homeless guy gets run over by a car during one of the superhero group patrols. It's the "superheroes" who stop to help him. But when they call the cops to report it, they don't even show up. Even when they try to flag down a cop car as the guy is still laying on the ground bleeding, the cops just keep driving. It's the "superheroes" who take him to the hospital and then even track down the car that hit him (driven by an obviously intoxicated driver). But, again, when they call the cops on the drunk driver, they're basically told to fuck off.
As crazy as these guys are, I can't say that I don't understand why they do what they do. It's not just a bunch of losers wanting to be the comic book heroes of their fantasies. Some of them really do look around and say that the world NEEDS superheroes, especially the neighborhoods where no one else (including the cops) seems to give a shit. Part of me wishes I could have their faith in humanity. They may be deluded, but they're certainly not do-nothing cynics.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
[*] Desi is a better term than Indian. Thanks to Columbus' misnaming, native Americans are also called Indians. Desi is not a derogatory reference. Use if freely and get it into OED.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Ironically or maybe sadly he got more of a punishment than that NYC cop who maced those protesting girls, for no reason.
Dog carcass in alley this morning, tire tread on burst stomach. This city is afraid of me. I have seen its true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over, all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No." They had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the footsteps of good men like my father or President Truman. Decent men who believed in a day's work for a day's pay. Instead they followed the droppings of lechers and communists and didn't realize that the trail led over a precipice until it was too late. Don't tell me they didn't have a choice. Now the whole world stands on the brink, staring down into bloody Hell, all those liberals and intellectuals and smooth-talkers... and all of a sudden nobody can think of anything to say.
Seriously. I understand what he's trying to do and "say".
In the society we currently inhabit, people are encouraged to be complete assholes to one another. As such, he was going to get arrested sooner or later for something like this.
Jumping on someone to stop battery is, itself, battery. So all one of these drunk little hooligans needed to do was tell the cop they wanted to press charges.
Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
Well, in the U.S. at least, the Guardian Angels have been around for decades.
SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
Your response seems odd to me.
Must have missed it.
Who watches the Watchmen?
No brain, no pain.
Why would the cops want to stifle someone who is doing their jobs better than they are without pay? There is certainly no conflict of interest there.
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Phoenix Jones does NOT represent the typical "real life superhero". He is sponsored and equipped by media companies, he "patrols" with reporters and cameramen in tow, and he is a professed "outsider" who claims to be "better" than the rest of us, even thought he is among the newest of us - he's only been around for a year or so.
SOME of us don't go for the publicity, don't dress up, and don't wear masks, but we still patrol our neighborhoods and help people when we can. Some of us don't even call ourselves "heroes", just concerned citizen patrolmen, extreme altruists (X-Alts), and other less-lofty titles. Some of us have been doing this under your collective noses for as long as 20 years, and have never been in jail, or had any complaints. Especially from those we help. Some of us dress in colorful costumes and do nothing but homeless outreach, keeping people alive on the streets (like Thanatos in Vancouver, look HIM up!). The costume is used to draw attention to the cause. Some of us simply do outreach or neighborhood crime fighting without costumes. Some of us are animal right activists, some are environmentalists, some just help by shoveling snow off of people's drives.
A great many of us are trained in relevant fields - we have tons of soldiers, cops, EMT/Paramedics, nurses, security guards, firefighters, private investigators, high-level computer geeks, etc. Sure, we have our share of basement-dwelling kids and thrill-seekers, but those tend to get weeded out pretty quickly if their heads and hearts aren't in the right place. Phoenix stands apart, both by choice and consensus. Most of us predicted he'd end up in jail, and unfortunately, he has.
Point is, we come in all flavors, from quiet and in the background, to media-hounding insanity.
So while you guys are yukking it up, try to remember that this man is NOT typical in our group.
Find out the real truth for yourselves.
Officer at scene says there was no fight. Friends involved said there was no fight. This "super hero" in fact is just a self-filled Super Pest, who is becoming obnoxious and running up to people being boisterous and having a good time and spraying them with pepper spray. This character did some good in the past but now he's delusional and a nuisance. Police have warned him before that if he continues to jump into situations of which he has no understanding, he'll be arrested for assaulting people with pepper spray. Add to this that this "super hero" is a mixed martial artist, that makes him dangerous to the public. He should be locked up, he's crossed the line.
Nobody gets hurt, unless they're asthmatic, or have an allergy to oleoresin or capsaicin, in which case you're probably fucked because the stuff causes airway constriction by default and allergic reactions can cause anaphylactic shock. It's not like giving your cat a spritz of water for trying to eat the houseplants.
Phoenix used to do some good, but now runs up to innocent people horsing around and douses them with pepper spray, as in this case. His fantasy has run away with himself, he is now a public nuisance. Being charged with assault and battery might wake him back into reality.
Where is the line between hero and vigilante? I want to believe that people like this are a good idea, but having seen human nature, I simply cannot.
Human nature + anonymity + enough time = unpardonable act of vigilante "justice"
Watch and wait.
In Soviet Russia jokes are formulaic and decidedly non-humorous.
I know, sounds as cheesy as it can get.
Still - I, for one, already got into a fight with bad people. 6v1 with knifes kind of bad people, who just wanted my belongings and more likely, just something to hit, because I'd gladly leave my belongings and keep on living like anybody else.
As it was inside a moving train, I "resisted" for a few minutes, and people just went away (mind you, no one called for help, police, guards, etc), leaving me with my problems. It became bad when they took out the knifes.
Well, lucky day, that's when a super hero came in and kicked them out. An ex military, and the kind you just see in movies. It was easily won 2v6 (and I'm no fighter).
I'm glad he was there. Next time he'll call 911 instead and watch me die, right? Thanks for the tip police it sounds like the right thing to do!
I'm telling you, in any situation like that where you know you're actually able to help (obviously this guy was) - fucking do it. If you're not, then do call 911.
Coward cops need to use pepper spray, or physical restraints on unarmed, non-vilolent women? You volunteered to have military grade OC sprayed in your face, they did not.
As was pointed out above, you have a pretty twisted sense of justice. It would be the same ass me going to your house and pepperspraying you in the face for disagreeiing with me, then justifying it because at least I didnt physically restrain you. Police have no more right to violate the law or human rights than I do.
while(1) attack(People.Sandy);
a) There was no reason for him to do that.
b) You are telling me it didn't hurt when you got sprayed? if you are, you are a fucking liar, and a disgrace. Pepper spray hurts, a lot. You had to undergo special training to deal with it, civilians do not. I also have undergone training, and have been maced, and tear gassed. It hurts and takes someone right there telling you not to touch your eyes.
c) There was no situation to pacify.
There is nothing wrong with proper use of pepper spray, that is NOT the issue. Abuse is the issue.
You are basically saying "Hey, he abuses people in the least abuses way possible, so no big deal."
This particular person has a recorded history of abuse.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
ok, let's get the facts straight, these uppity women were out disturbing the peace. And even worse, they were out in public not escorted by a older male relative. And they were dressed like sluts.
the preceding comment is my own and in no way reflects the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
"Some of them really do look around and say that the world NEEDS superheroes"
They may even be right, but they seem to have forgotten a core tenant of super-heroing: the secret identity. Spider-Man and Daredevil and Batman don't go on TV shows, use their real names, or wait for cops to arrive. They wear a mask, keep their identity secret, kick the crap out of bad guys, and then get out of dodge before the police arrive (a heavy subplot of the early days of Batman is that the cops were trying to nab him as hard as the criminals, remember?)
If you're going to be a costumed vigilante... a risky thing, no matter what, perhaps even dangerous to the point of stupid... then wear a mask, hang out in the shadows, and when you beat up the bad guys (or in this case, pepper sprayed them), leave, stat. Because with all of the red tape in the legal system, you're as likely to be arrested or locked up as a looney or as the bad guys you're trying to protect people from. That's life. There's no place where lawyers and red tape don't reach. If you can be arrested for using force for defending your own property (and in many places, yes, you can), then you're certainly going to get no slack when you wade into a bunch of punks. The law is going to see you as just another guy making trouble, arrest you, and charge you.
Life is hard, and the world is cruel
I'm pretty sure that Monsanto has a gigantic skull-shaped hovering fortress hidden in a swamp someplace.
Well there is upward of 500 Lex Luthor wannabes in Congress at the moment, from what I can tell...
Motorcycles, Robots, Space Gossip and More!
Cops have a pretty awful job and I have to say I'm happy someone is trying to do what they do.
Really? Someone is trying to do what they do, but isn't actually bothering to go through the steps to become a cop? All the responsibility and power of being an a arbiter of justice, but without any vetting or checks? Does that really sound like a good idea?
This guy has a record of being pretty level headed and all, but how long before someone with a short fuse and a chip on their shoulder decides to join in and help? The problem with vigilantes is that they are self appointed. Do you really want some random stranger who might be packing a gun roaming the streets at night looking for trouble so he can 'help'?
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
Yes, and the police have hated them every minute of their existence. Of course they have plenty of reason to. Imagine that someone was willing to do your job, do it better than you, do it in areas that you were afraid to go, and do it for free. You might hate them too, then.
"Think about how stupid the average person is. Now, realise that half of them are dumber than that." - George Carlin