Comment by oh_sigh | Hacker News Reader

Comment by oh_sigh | Hacker News Reader

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Since when is hero defined as "the person who does the most dangerous profession"?

Also, there is a world of difference between professions where accidents are common, and a profession where humans may be actively trying to kill you.

A hero might be a person who knowingly risks life and limb for the safety and wellbeing of others. Even more heroic when those others are strangers (ie it is more heroic to rescue a stranger's child from a house fire than it is to rescue your own child from a house fire). Even more heroic than that is when you do it day in and day out(ie it is more heroic to be a firefigher, saving strangers every day, than it is to save a stranger once).

So, if that is a reasonable analysis of heroism, some police can definitely be heroic. I'm not sure about the percentages though. I'm sure some police got into the profession because they wanted to be a big man with a gun. Others did it because they want to help the community they live in.

A commonly accepted definition of hero is "performing a duty and/or serving others, even at great danger to oneself, often for little or no reward". So "how dangerous is the job?" seems relevant to me.

> there is a world of difference between professions where accidents are common, and a profession where humans may be actively trying to kill you.

A large fraction of police deaths on the job are traffic accidents.

> So "how dangerous is the job?" seems relevant to me.

How does the comparative danger of fields change how dangerous something is? If someone said "Shaq is really tall", would a reasonable response be "No he isn't. Yao Ming is taller"?

> A large fraction of police deaths on the job are traffic accidents.

Yes, that is one way cops die. But this seems decidedly different contextually than the dangers faced by, say, pizza delivery drivers, who also frequently die in car accidents. Presumably, police officers die in car accidents because they are rushing to the scene of a crime or to a place where someone needs help. Pizza delivery drivers die in car accidents commonly because they are rushing to improve the tip they might get, or to be able to deliver more pizzas and get more tips.

> If someone said "Shaq is really tall", would a reasonable response be "No he isn't. Yao Ming is taller"?

If Shaq and Yao played on the same team and Shaq alone started demanding special accommodations due to his height (like extra-large showers or something) that were prohibitively expensive, and refused to play until he got his way, that would be a perfectly valid response. Sound crazy? It's still saner than some people seriously defending cops breaking the law because their job is dangerous. Give me a break.

I don't know who argued that cops should be able to break the law because of their job but it wasn't me.

Your comment does not directly contradict anything GP says yet your tone makes it seems like it does. If you are not sure what the percentages are your argument adds nothing to the conversation and in facts misleads readers into thinking that a significant amount of police can be considered heroes.

Your GP says "Define 'hero'", and I tried to show behavior which may make someone heroic.

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