I've been a fan of superhero shows for quite a while, and superheroes such as Batman and Iron Man are both compelling characters because, rather than having innate powers, they rely on their intelligence, wealth, and technology in trying to fight crimes and help people. They both had an extraordinary amount of resources and could choose to live their life selfishly, but instead, they chose to fight for the week and put the law in their hands in the guise of being a vigilante, because the people who were supposed to protect the people are not doing enough, and this is what makes them relatable characters. But suppose that I also had the same resources as they do, would I also use that to fight crime in my neighborhood, or would I live my life selfishly and hope that things will get better? The answer is neither of the two.
While being a crime-fighting vigilante sounds like a noble thing to do and an interesting plot in superhero shows, in reality, being a vigilante is still a crime because people are trying to enforce the law in their own hands, despite not being a law enforcer. And as such, no matter how good a vigilante does for society and how many people he saves, he will still have to face legal consequences. So now, his enemies are not only the criminals, but also the law enforcers, which will double the risk to his personal safety.
At the same time, just having a lump sum of resources was not enough to be a vigilante. Money might solve their need for an intelligence network and the tools needed to fight crimes, but money can not give them the skills needed to fight crimes. They will need years, if not decades, of training to be good at combat, but even that might not be enough when facing a group of people.
That said, I don't think it would be Ok for me to simply rely on the corrupt authorities and expect that they will eventually have a "come to Jesus moment" where they will eventually do their job properly. Instead, I think it will be a far better use of the resources that I have if I use them to fund anti-corruption initiatives and support candidates that I think will do their job properly. I think that instead of spending that money to build Bat caves and equipments, it would be better to spend it on aiding the victims of the crimes, while also finding ways to solve the things that usually are the root cause of the crimes, such as hunger and lack of education. It might take a long time to see the effects of these things, but I do not need to hide behind the mask, and I do not need to do it alone. I could seek help from like-minded people to help me with my cause, which will allow us to reach more people, unlike with being a vigilante, where you can only do one task at a time.
So, rather than becoming a vigilante or relying on corrupt authorities, I will instead choose a path that uses my resources to reform the authorities through legal pressure and trying to solve the root cause of crimes. People might not call these things heroic, but I am neither a hero nor a saint, so that's just fine because I'm just a man.
Thank you for reading my post, and see you in the next one!
