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No More Heroes Anymore
Heroes are born to die
No more heroes anymore
So said The Stranglers. But I guess, every culture needs a hero of some sort. Heroes that reflect what we see as our common values. Heroes that make us feel good about ourselves, both individually and collectively. Heroes that allow us to live through their narrative, allowing us some vicarious courage and pride.
The introduction to Otto English’s Fake Heroes tells the story of Wesley Autrey, a 50 year old father of three and navy veteran. At the beginning of January 2007 he was hurrying his two youngest daughters to their mother’s house before going to work on a construction site. As they entered 137th Street Station, they saw a 20-year-old film student, Cameron Hollo-Peter, collapse on the almost empty platform and have a violent seizure, bashing his head on the ground. Due to his time in the services, Wesley had been trained to respond to emergencies. He rushed to the young man’s aid, pulling him from the platform’s edge and used a pen to stop him swallowing his tongue. He held onto him tightly until the seizure had passed. After a few minutes he seemed to have recovered. Cameron staggered to his feet, thanked Wesley for his help, and began to walk away.
Then it happened. Cameron suddenly wobbled sideways and fell off the platform onto the tracks…
