Heroes are not only found in action movies or in your favourite comic book but they can be found among us, standing in line while we order coffee or holding the door when your hands are full leaving the grocery store. They are present, walking along the street with us every day. Moreover, we at different times in our lives display forms of heroics that we didn't even think was possible at the time. Heroes are common Joes that act on pure instinct and don't necessarily wear flashy suits or uniforms, your hero can also just be next door.
That was the case on May 6 when Charles Ramsey heard the screams of Amanda Berry next door. Ramsey, acted, he ran to the house, realized her predicament and kicked in the door to free Berry, along with her six year old daughter and two other women, Gina Dejesus and Michelle Knight all women who have been missing for almost a decade. A heroic act, worthy of any government medal as it took great wit and bravery by both parties to accomplish such a feat.
However in light of such a moving and heroic display of the human spirit, the hero is somehow seen as comic relief, according to my Facebook news feeds and edited YouTube videos.
Anyone who frequents the social media sphere will notice that when news worthy incidents makes it to the prime time news hour, it is at times splashed onto social media feeds and shared among friends. This isn't the case of people sharing a tragic story, that would be fine but what's becoming common place are people making a mockery of people interviewed over the internet. It's usually accompanied by the photo and bolded sarcastic words across the image somehow teasing the interviewee. I do admit that some can be quite funny but there has to be point when we draw the line. Charles Ramsey deserves more than becoming and internet meme, so what if he did not speak in the way society deems eloquent. His recount of the story was vivid, captivating and poignant, delivering such news to the masses would overwhelm some but he stood firm.
These women suffered a great ordeal, continuously raped by Ariel Castro, 52, a former school bus driver. The details of their time being held captive was disturbin, Berry, now 27, told officers that she was forced to give birth in a plastic pool in the house so it would be easier to clean up. Berry said she, her baby, now 6, and the two other rescued women had never been to a doctor during their captivity. Knight, now 32, said her five pregnancies ended after Castro starved her for at least two weeks and "repeatedly punched her in the stomach until she miscarried."
All occurrences somehow weaken my faith in humanity and bring to light the evil that man can produce but we are products of our environment. Castro is sick and demented but Ramsey's foot in the door brings hope to what can be achieved when we just help.
Ramsey becoming a comical internet meme is sad, have we been so hungry for a laugh that we sieve for it even in the most tragic and serious times. Saying that we have become desensitized is an understatement; the numbness that's displayed daily can be sickening and speaks to the society we now live in. Yes this all took place in the United States but the internet has developed the world into one society. This has its advantages, an example would be Egypt's recent revolution but society's advancements also come with unending moral decline, sad but true.
We've seen it through the years, Hitler uplifting Germany through the Great Depression but his extreme ideology followed.In one of the final scenes in the 2003 movie "The Matrix Reloaded" Mr. Smith played by Hugo Weaving discussed his new role in the matrix and how he and Neo played by Keanu Reaves were somehow connected. It was summed up to in word "purpose". Several "copies" of Smith then appeared defining purpose."It is purpose that created us. Purpose that connects us. Purpose that pulls us. That guides us. That drives us. It is purpose that defines us. Purpose that binds us," all the Smiths drove their point home. Art imitates life or life imitates art is an age old deliberation but I used this pop culture reference to settle our minds on the purpose of the things we do and how far reaching the results can be. Therefore the mocking of Ramsey through social media will only lessen the greatness of his act and all the good it represents. Let our actions in all that we do define its purpose.
