Man of the Hour

[Hosakawa Tito]

Clicky
Good to know the concrete jungle still has a few heroes.

[Gregoshi]

That is one brave, quick-thinking man.

[Csargo]

That's a good man right there.

[drone]

I'm surprised that jumping between the rails worked. I figured that was just a Hollywood thing, and in reality some heavy chunk of metal would run low enough to make this unwise.

Good job, though. Free beer for Mr. Autrey!

[Papewaio]

Wow, that could have been 2 dead instead of one.

Great thing to do risking ones life for a stranger. Mind you with two kids, they would have been my first priority, nice to be a hero but it doesn't put food on the kids plates if you are dead. Still heroic just with fairly severe consequences if he had not survived.

[Slyspy]

Way to rain on the parade!

[mercian billman]

The only thing I can say is that was a very brave thing to do, it's funny how true heroism often leaves us speechless.

[Pannonian]

Would this qualify for MoH?

[Papewaio]

Way to rain on the parade!

Simple perspective. Once you have kids they are to be looked after so that they can become independent responsible adults.

If a parent saves the life of a stranger, but the parent dies in the attempt then they better have some contingency plans in place to look after their own children if the society and/or state cannot/will not. If society and/or state does not act in a reciprocal manner to those who look after others (ie pensions for the widows of police killed in the line of duty) then it is not a good thing for ones genes to be a hero... it is just a more messy variant of neutering oneself if your own genes and successors get removed from the gene pool by ones heroism.

[Gregoshi]

Simple perspective...

I'm sure 99% of us can think of several personal reasons not to jump down on the tracks to help that man. That Mr. Autrey did so is what makes his action so noteworthy and commendable. Somehow I don't think Mr. Autrey was considering the impact of his action on his gene pool.

[Seamus Fermanagh]

Man of the Hour definitely -- though it seems that Pappy isn't letting him into the faction because of the other traits.

[Papewaio]

a) I noted it was heroic twice. He is the Man of the Hour.
b) That it also has severe consequences... which is a two edged sword... one side being that it is dangerous enough to be considered brave the other side of which is the cost of failure severe... that together it explains why heroes is a rarity... it tends to be something for the greater good which in turn limits the spread of such a nice set of genes... I don't think people get much of a time to think it through... so they either have trained for emergency situations and/or have the 'right stuff'.
c) I noted that it is different scenario for a parent with (young) children... mind you I think being a parent I would be now far more prone to do the same for a young child then an adult.

[Hosakawa Tito]

I'm sure 99% of us can think of several personal reasons not to jump down on the tracks to help that man. That Mr. Autrey did so is what makes his action so noteworthy and commendable. Somehow I don't think Mr. Autrey was considering the impact of his action on his gene pool.

Yes, I can imagine the impact of his actions on his children probably struck when he realized he could not lift the poor guy back onto the platform in time.
Despite that awful predicament he did not abandon this stranger to his fate. Absolutely remarkable.

The hero's wife probably doesn't know whether to hug him or slap him.

[Redleg]

The hero's wife probably doesn't know whether to hug him or slap him.

She probably ended up doing both.

[Ser Clegane]

wow ... just WOW ...

[Redleg]

Follow-up news article on the story

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16469039/

[English assassin]

I absolutely salute his bravery, bu at the same time I'm pretty much with Pape on this one.

Put it like this, if my brother did this, with his four kids under 6 to feed, on the one hand I would be proud to have a brother who could act so bravely, on the other I would give him one heck of a bollocking.

Still, no one died, someone was saved, the hero is a modest person with it, all in all an unequivocally good news story I say.

[KukriKhan]

... Still, no one died, someone was saved, the hero is a modest person with it, all in all an unequivocally good news story I say.

I concur. That's the funny thing about this 'bravery' and 'hero' stuff: it's unpredictable when and whom it strikes. I bet no one was more surprised than Mr. Autrey himself, at his actions.

Redleg's follow-up article is a little troubling. All the media attention might tarnish this story a bit. I mean, if he is 'ordinary guy who did an extra-ordinary thing', shouldn't he return to 'ordinary'- go to work and all, versus make multiple TV appearances?

[Hosakawa Tito]

This hero stuff seems to be contagious. >CLICKY<

[Ser Clegane]

Maybe there's hope that it becomes epidemic and nobody finds a cure

[Slyspy]

Of course some might point out that the more you have to lose the more heroic your selfless actions are. Being brave is not the same as being sensible. In fact, in many respects, it is the opposite.

[Beirut]

Whataguy!

[scotchedpommes]

Indeed, an amazing act. Was in disbelief when I heard of it. That said, would
those of you who would question his actions be able to watch someone die in
similar circumstances, knowing you could possibly do somethiing to save them?

[doc_bean]

[Pannonian]

It seems to have been lost in the hubbub, so I'll ask again - is this eligible for the MoH?

[KukriKhan]

It seems to have been lost in the hubbub, so I'll ask again - is this eligible for the MoH?

Sorry I missed it the first time ; the Congressional Medal of Honor is a strictly military award. The "highest" non-military award would be the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Redleg's follow-on article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16469039/ cites some other authorities awarding medals and prizes to the subway hero.

[Pannonian]

Sorry I missed it the first time ; the Congressional Medal of Honor is a strictly military award. The "highest" non-military award would be the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Redleg's follow-on article http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16469039/ cites some other authorities awarding medals and prizes to the subway hero.

I've read somewhere about the MoH having been awarded in the past to civilians for particularly brave and noteworthy acts such as flying solo across the Atlantic (or something similar), so I wondered. I guess the article must have been sloppy about its decorations (I've seen one claiming that Blair is refusing to pick up his, which is obviously wrong).

[KukriKhan]

Blair gets Cong. Gold Medal , a different decoration explained in this Wiki article

A Congressional Gold Medal (and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, for that matter) plus 5 dollars will get you a beer in most US taverns.

Congressional Medal of Honor has many more benefits attached. Recipients' money is typically no good in any US tavern.

[Pannonian]

Blair gets Cong. Gold Medal , a different decoration explained in this Wiki article

A Congressional Gold Medal (and a Presidential Medal of Freedom, for that matter) plus 5 dollars will get you a beer in most US taverns.

Congressional Medal of Honor has many more benefits attached. Recipients' money is typically no good in any US tavern.

Seems rather to harsh to disallow MoH holders from buying beer in American pubs. I've also heard that they discriminate against MoH holders in others ways, such as not allowing them to buy tickets for air travel within the US.

[Redleg]

Seems rather to harsh to disallow MoH holders from buying beer in American pubs. I've also heard that they discriminate against MoH holders in others ways, such as not allowing them to buy tickets for air travel within the US.

Yep many airlines will fly any Medal Of Honor holders for free. I think they can handle that type of discrimination.