The word "Hero" seems to be thrown around quite liberally these days but what actually defines a hero? From Websters Dictionary: he·ro Pronunciation:\ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\ Function: noun Inflected Form(s): plural heroes Etymology:Latin heros, from Greek hērōs Date:14th century 1 a: a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability b: an illustrious warrior c: a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows great courage 2 a: the principal male character in a literary or dramatic work b: the central figure in an event, period, or movement 3plural usually heros : submarine 2 4: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol in most cases, 1c. or 1d. seems to be the referred meaning (a man admired for his achievements and noble qualities d: one that shows great courage) I think i refer mostly to the incident with US Airways and how the pilot was hailed as a hero. I'm not denying he did a great job landing the plane on the hudson river and he definitely deserves some respect but, he was doing what any other pilot in his position is trained for. I look at the word hero and think of someone going above and beyond to save another's life, even if it means putting his/her life on the line. Although the pilot had his life on the line too, it was not by choice. I hope i don't get reemed for this post
I agree completely. I may even go so far as to say that I don't declare someone in the military as a hero just because they went overseas. The term is used far to loosely and while I certainly feel that many people labeled as a hero, have done something very admirable, and commendable, I don't see them as heroes.
Well you could say what he did was legendary, in general, let alone aviation. He was definitely admired for what he did. Check. Central figure in that event. Check. Submarine? No I guess he's not a submarine...in fact, that's what he prevented from happening? Courage? I guess we could take a look at the definition of courage... "Courage, also known as bravery, will, intrepidity, and fortitude, is the ability to confront fear, pain, risk/danger, uncertainty, or intimidation" Hrmm.. looks like he' courageous as well... Check. Sorry, you're wrong, he's a hero.
I don't know. Its not exactly like he stood up and said "Stand back people! I'll handle this". He did his job. They train for these types of things. Without a doubt what he did was hard, and very unlikely, but I don't see it really as a "selfless act done to save another while putting yourself at risk" which is what I consider a hero.
Courageous or just doing his job? if that's the case, i'm courageous for driving in traffic every day... i should be a hero!
I also agree. What gets me is if some dude does his tour in Iraq or wherever and comes home safe, it's a big "meh" in the bigger picture. ....now, if the same dude gets shot while on his tour - BAM - he is a hero??? I was watching Extreme Home Makeover and they were doing a house for a guy who got shot in the neck in Iraq. He got a Purple Heart (and a new kick-ass house from ABC). The guy who was on the exact same rooftop as him, and was able to avoid getting hit by bullets gets nothing. Being able to avoid bullets = nothing Not being able to avoid bullets = hero Does that makes sense to anyone??
BTW, I agree to an extent with what you are saying, but I also think that using the requirements in your original post, that he meets the criteria, do you disagree?
Flying a plan isn't courageous. Landing isn't courageous. Keeping cool under pressure isn't courageous, and saving your own ass isn't courageous. Its all skillfull as hell and certainly worth of admiration and respect, but its not courageous. Now, had he walked into the passenger area, grabbed a flight attendant, bent her over the drink cart, nailed her, then took a swizzle stick and pair of $3 earphones, walked onto the wing, rebuilt the turbines in both engines, and found the remaining parts off the goose and served them to the passengers as part of a 5 course meal, including arugula salad with goat cheese, roast potatoes, and a delicious mango sorbet, all before getting back to the cockpit and buzzing the tower, THEN I would consider him a hero. Until then, he's just a frigging amazing pilot, with kick ass skills, and a horseshoe up his ass, that I wish could be my pilot anytime I flew.
Well, i agree he does meet some of the criteria but not in the context that we use the term "Hero" Yes he was the central figure in an event but so are millions of people around the world... we don't consider them heroes do we? an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol - this is more of a hero term in the sence of "Wayne Gretzky is my hero" or "my parents are my heroes"... different context of the word
So the criteria you posted is not what you think a hero is? And I am not sure if you are saying Gretzky is a hero, or not..I definitely wouldn't call him a hero. I guess I consider Sullenberger a hero because he could have tried to put the plane down on land, but he decided to ditch it. Sure, saving his own ass too but the fact is, some pilots would have tried and make land. Also everyone says he was just doing what he was trained is a ridiculous statement. For one, they train for it in a sim, you don't practice ditching a plane in real life. Secondly, if you don't consider someone a hero for doing what they are trained to, do we exclude firefighters, police, soldiers from that title as well?
You have to do something heroic to be a hero. Collecting a paycheck is not one of those things. This includes putting yourself in a risky position where most people in the same position wouldn't act in the same selfless way. Any pilot in his position would have tried not to die. He was successful. If standard operating procedure for this was to grab your chutes and leave the passengers to themselves, then what he did would have been heroic. First responders and soldiers are another issue. Again they signed up for doing what they are do, so I don't know. Again, until they do something that someone else in their position would not have done, I don't really think they are heros. Brave yes. Devoted, yes. Hero, nope. Not until they do something heroic. And BTW the simulators they use, are pretty damn realistic. SO much in fact, that the first time most airline pilots fly a commercial airliner is with a plane full of paying passengers. All the training is done in the sims.
