That's a myth, it's more likely you'll just overload your generator or inverter by trying to power the whole neighborhood. And if it does work, the person who is fixing the power knows to check that it's not live, and ground (short-circuit) it before touching it. If it's live when he gets there, he'll have to track down why and that will make it take longer to get the power on, and the power company may fine you, but not for attempted murder. Anyway it's not going to be productive to try to power the neighborhood.