By Louise Ure
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote here at Murderati about the attempted murder I had seen from my living room window. Two men practically succeeded in killing two others with long, black metal poles, breaking limbs, smashing faces and leaving blood and teeth all over the sidewalk. “Russian gangs,” the detective told me afterward.
Many of you – more worldly and less naive than I am, perhaps – were concerned about both my safety and mental health after witnessing such a thing. The good news is that I am taking more precautions when I leave and return to the house, and I haven’t felt any lingering PTSD effects yet at all.
Then I spotted a little write up about the crime in our free neighborhood newspaper:
“Robbery: False Imprisonment
A man and two of his friends were at the man’s home when two men, one of whom the victim knew as an acquaintance, dropped by for a visit.
After about an hour, one of the two visitors pulled out a handgun and ordered the three victims to the floor.
After tying up the victims with zip-ties, the suspects robbed them and fled.
The victims were able to free themselves and called 9-1-1. While one victim stayed at the house, the other two went looking for the suspects. At X Avenue and Y Street (one block away from where they were robbed), the victims discovered the suspects’ vehicle and waited for them.
When the suspects returned, a fight ensued and the victims were able to retrieve some property, as well as disarming the man with a gun.
When officers arrived at the fight scene, they located the two suspects, one of whom was 28 years of age and the other 36, and took them into custody. Both of the suspects were injured, one critically. They were transported to the hospital for treatment. The victims only had minor injuries.”
WTF? If the address, date and hour of the crime had not been the same, I would not have recognized this as the attack I witnessed. Yes, they were all Russian immigrants. But the ones with the metal poles are the ones the police are referring to as “the victims?” And my victims were actually robbers?
And what’s this about “disarming the suspect?” Oh, yeah, he “disarmed” him all right – he practically smashed every bone in the guy’s arms – but I sure didn’t see a gun.
It got me thinking, not only about the unreliability of eye-witnesses, but how a villain can turn into a hero and vice versa, in the blink of an eye.
I think that newspaper write up missed a few things. Like the rage these supposed victims flew into and the mortal harm they were willing to inflict to take revenge for the loss of their property. Like the inhuman look on Victim One’s face (the guy I had been calling “Assailant Number One” in my call to 9-1-1) and his willingness to continue attacking the man pinned in the gutter even after I yelled down that the cops were on their way. And how they ran before the police arrived.
I don’t think there are any good guys in this story, just two sets of bad guys. I’ve read a few books like that – in fact I have a few friends who write them – and while I love them, I always feel like washing my hands or taking a walk afterward.
Like the classic 1980’s Bonnie Tyler song … I need a hero, not just a victim or an everyman/everywoman who can play as nasty as the bad guys.
How about you guys? Do you need a hero in your books?
P.S. On a separate and much, much sadder note, I lost my sweet dog, Cisco, to cancer this week. I’m glad that he and Bruce are together again but oh, sweet Jesus, it’s quiet around here.
Emphatically YES I need a hero !! (And not just in my books.) I would love to know if there is a really ‘good guy’ left on the planet somewhere at the end of my day. Not an irreparable tragically flawed one. Not one who has to be ‘bad’ in order to prevail. One who really knows the difference between good and evil. One who doesn’t need to think twice or four times about it. A hero who could convince me that righteousness is alive and still breathing.
I don’t know if there ARE virtual heros anymore. I like watching old movies because there was such a clear depiction of the good, the bad and the ugly. Ya knew who you were and where ya stood back in the 40s and 50s, Pilgrim. Then in the 60s things got kind of confusing. Remember Midnight Cowboy and Blowup and The Collector? The Conversation was mentioned in Stephen’s post. There’s another one. It hasn’t been easy to figure out who the bad guy is, lately.
Granted, a protagonist’s ‘story’ is more compelling if we are given a sense of inner conflict, a struggle with his/her own morals. But often the ‘heart of darkness’ overcomes and the character hasn’t the resources to triumph without stooping to the bad guy’s level of conduct. That’s where the anticipation of relief from the grips of scripted premoral contingencies weakens and the reader is left with unease and emotional chaos. One starts to doubt ONESELF when the hero’s moral obligation is not cleanly drawn.
In short, give me a hero who has ‘figured it out’. I want to walk away feeling ‘safe’ knowing that my good guy’s moral attitude won’t fail and that the bully on the playground will be sent to the principle’s office.
I’m with ya, Louise. We need a hero and we need one FAST.
(Great post. I am still grieving with you. What I wouldn’t give to be YOUR hero in some way.)
kiss hug
A hero is too out of reach for me. I prefer someone more average with a strong moral compass, even if he or she isn’t aware of it until something happens to test it.
I’m very sorry to hear about Cisco. I lost my dog a year ago and still miss him terribly. Everyone tells me to get another and in the past I’ve done that, but not this time. I’m too old, too weak, to withstand another loss like that. But considering what’s happening out your front door, perhaps a guard dog is in order.
But give me a REALLY REALLY REALLY bad guy for my hero to ass kick………..that’s when the party gets started!
Everybody has their personal taste, but I don’t like those "no one is a good guy" books. I don’t read them.
Curiously, on the reality show Survivor they’re doing an all-star version with teams divided into the "heroes" and the "villains." It is so interesting. On the first day one of the "villains" asked "I’m a villain?" And on the hero side, the majority want to win the million dollars so their strategy this time around: they are acting less than hero-ly.
I am so sorry about your dog. They are family too.
Yes, I need a hero too!
I am so sorry about Cisco. Sending another big hug and wishing you were closer by so I could offer some "menagerie therapy" on those too quiet days.
Hi Louise
Sorry to hear about Cisco. Both he and Bruce have left a huge hole.
I like heroes, too. And I like them to *be* heroic – to overcome sometimes impossible odds by their skill and courage, rather than stumbling onto the truth almost in spite of themselves.
I do occasionally read a book where every character is seems to be a nasty piece of work who gets what’s coming to them, but it’s very hard to be fully engaged by such people.
I like to read about normal people doing heroic things or heroic people doing terrible things in novels. I’m not so much a fan of the classic hero character. Perhaps more so in movies: Bond, Batman, etc.
That stinks about Cisco. Looks like he was an awesome smiley dog.
I don’t need a hero, just someone to empathize with. He doesn’t have to be a "good guy," so long as what he does seems justified in some manner and isn’t too far over the top. John McFetridge or Ray banks could write the hell out of a story like what you’ve described here.
Anon: Your "righteous hero" and Heart of Darkness analogies are so apt. Yeah, there’s a dearth of them out there right now.
Vicky, you nailed it. "An average guy with a strong moral compass." In reading some of these comments, I think I haven’t made myself clear. I’m not looking for a clean, shiny, faultless hero in books (or outside my front door) but someone with a strong moral compass that let’s you know you can trust them.
PK, the Survivor character who asks, unbelieving, if he’s a villain is what good writing is all about, isn’t it. I remember thinking that we’re all the hero of our own story … and that goes for the villains, too. Some of them would be surprised to hear that we think of them as villains.
Billie, I’ll take that menagerie therapy. From you descriptions, yours would be the perfect place to get it.
Zoe, I can understand the hero who overcomes impossible odds with skill and courage. Add to that a moral underpinning that, while challenged, shines through, and you’ve got my definition of a hero.
Hi Spencer. I like the "normal people doing heroic things and heroic people doing terrible things." Years ago I launched People magazine down in Australia and that was roughly how they picked their stores: ordinary people doing extraordinary things and extraordinary people (read celebrities) doing ordinary things. It’s an interesting juxtaposition.
Yeah, Dana, someone to empathize with. Someone to care about. Now I’ve got to go read some McFetridge.
I’m sorry about your loss. Know that your doggy is in a place with lots of squirrels to chase and treats to get.
I like having a hero, but I love the ‘gray and gray’ deal with stories, too. So.
I’d like to thank JT and Casey for being real life heros to Nashville with their contribution/donation to Do The WRITE Thing for Nashville online auction
Louise, you nailed this. I like my heroes nuanced, even bloodied, but I like them unbowed by the end of the story.
And oh, Cisco! *Shit* what a year, my dearest…
"I need a hero!" Great, that will be stuck in my head all day because of you. I had that same "need a hero" feeling countless times at the D.A.’s Office, where the labels of defendant and victim depended less on character than on which day the cops happened to show up.
And I’m so sorry about Cisco. Don’t let that house stay too quiet for too long.
🙁 Sorry about Cisco. We lost our dog two years ago and haven’t replaced her yet. We’re talking about it this summer, but it’s not easy.
As far as heroes go, I need a hero. Maybe this is why I write romantic thrillers, because there is the expectation of a good guy–and good gal 🙂 I like my villains bad, but with some humanity, some reason (at least to them) for why they justify their actions. I like figuring out WHY they do what they do, and for many of them, another villain created them.
Heroes must be heroic. They can have flaws, they aren’t perfect, they make mistakes, but they will always do the right thing (or if they do the wrong thing, they have absolutely a right reason.) Perhaps a little naive, but I write fiction, and I want the world to be a better place by the end of my book.
Eika, yes, I hope he has squirrels to chase and cats to love.
Cathy, thank you for the reminder. The website for Do the Write Thing is http://dothewritethingfornashville.blogspot.com/
Cornelia, "bloodied but unbowed." Oh yeah.
Alafair, sorry about the ear worm. You should just be glad it wasn’t Total Eclipse of the Heart.
Hi Allison. Yes, our heroes should always do the right thing, but I’d add that they should almost die trying. That makes for great fiction and hey, if the world winds up a better place, even better.
My sincere condolences on the loss of your dog, Louise. We’ve lost two of our flock of five parrots in the last few years, and I know what that’s like.
As for heroes, I think it depends on what you mean by the word. I don’t need the Arnold Schwarzenegger-style "kick ass, take names" bulletproof superhero, in my books or in my world. When people use the word hero to describe that kind of archetype, I yawn. Robo-cop was so big and bad and tough that watching him kick the bad guys into next week was actually rather boring for me.
No, to me, a hero is an ordinary person who, when faced with extraordinary circumstances, steps up and makes the tough calls and does the right thing. Do I need that kind of hero? Oh, yes, very much so. That’s what I like to read, and that’s what I like to write. Stories like the bottled water delivery man who subdued the murderous stalker. (True story, that; the actress in question was Theresa Saldana). Or the retired truck driver who dove into the raging floodwaters to rescue a child.
Or the mystery novelist who interceded in a violent assault when it would have been both easier and safer not to.
In my world, those are the true heroes.
I do love a hero. What’s interesting is that every character, in his or her own mind, is the hero of his or her own story. So we, as authors, get to decide whose heroic tale to tell. We could decide to tell the antagonist’s story if we want. But I do like my heroes to be intrinsically good, in the way I understand good to be. Willing to sacrifice himself for others. That’s the major key for me.
That news story kinda freaks me out. Sounds like someone’s statement wasn’t even considered. Like it was buried a little. Hey, witnesses just get in the way, right? Let’s let the journalists write fiction for a while.
So sorry about Cisco. You must be feeling a bit like Job these days. It’s a good thing you’re a strong, heroic character. And that you’ve got allies all around you. Hang in there, sweetie.
"A hero is an ordinary person who, when faced with extraordinary circumstances, steps up and makes the tough calls and does the right thing." Perfectly said, Tammy. I remember my mother often saying, when describing someone she loved: "He has the strength of ten because his heart is pure." She didn’t mean that in a Christian-beliefs kind of way. Rather it was an admission that knowing the right thing to do often brings its own strength and courage.
Yes, of course we need heroes…why we elected Obama, why we like Spenser and even Hawk, Elvis Cole, Joe Pike, Hayden Glass, Jessie and the other heroes in your books Louise, but they can be flawed and imperfect but for me, a hero will carry me through the book. There are good dark books (David Corbett’s come to mind) but they are harder for me to read than books with clear heroes. My protagonists are ordinary people but pushed to take action beyond their comfort zone…not quite a Jack Reacher or a Nick Heller, but in a small way, taking big steps — more than most would do. Being a hero is like conjuring magic, like pitching a perfect game, unexpected yet strived for. Something in all of us that wants to be a bit of a hero….
Dear Louise, you have had a most horrendously heavy year…so sorry about Cisco. We’ll all arrive at your doorstop with puppies. Ok, perhaps not that, maybe with wine. Let me know if you’d like my house in New Orleans for a couple of weeks for a change of venue….and a little more noise.
Hi Allison. I had a conversation with a friend recently who, trying to think of the word "protagonist," wound up saying "Agonist." Maybe that’s the real hero. Someone flawed enough for us to know that their success is not guaranteed, but who cares enough about doing the right thing to endure the agony of trying. An Agonist.
And a house in New Orleans? I put that in the category of "castles in Spain." Something magical and only in my fantasies.
I’m so, so sorry about Cisco, and continue to send good thoughts your way…..
Heroes, they ain’t never around when you want one she typed with a Jimmy Durante voice. To me, a hero is not permanent. It is someone who I look at or speak with who helps me get through the day, or the week, or the month when times are tough. They’re people who do small things like Allison who offers a house for a change of scene (and what better time than now, Louise?). They are people who are struggling with struggles bigger than mine, like my friend who was shot. He woke up, found he would never walk again, dug into what he was passionate about and bought a race horse the next day. It is a friend who loses her mother, her husband, her pet, who takes one step after another, who let’s friends help and strangers wish her well and who would be the first to help another. Who travels through life being the wind beneath wings too many for her to count or even know.
Hecka bad story, Louise. But nice to know you aren’t at the mercy of some deranged pipe wielding son of a
Thank you, Rae.
And Judy, how sad about your friend. May the race horse run fast and long in place of his own legs.
Wow, Louise. I’m so very sorry. You really have had one blow after another. My thoughts and prayers are with you. If you need an animal to hold and cuddle, I have two cats who’d love to volunteer.
As for a hero, I do believe they still exist in this world. They are just over shadowed by the selfish and "entitled" people. But that just makes the good guys (and ladies) all the more special and heroic.
" It is a friend who loses her mother, her husband, her pet, who takes one step after another, who let’s friends help and strangers wish her well and who would be the first to help another. Who travels through life being the wind beneath wings too many for her to count or even know."
Damn, Judy. Right on and poetic. You nailed our Louise, alrighty. Nice one.
Stephen, we must have cross-posted at the same time. A hero as someone willing to sacrifice himself? Dead right. Your hero, for example, while a flawed man, knew the right thing to do.
Nancy, thanks for the virtual cat-cuddle. I found out only a couple of weeks ago that my Cisco adored cats. He fell in love with a tabby named Louie who lives down the street. Watching them together makes you think about lions lying down with lambs.
Anon (and Judy) … there’s nothing heroic about my despair. I was thinking last night about my mother, who was widowed when I was 16. She didn’t sit around the house recounting her losses. She got up and made us breakfast the next day. She went back to work (after 25 years as a stay at home mom) and she never let on how hard any of that was.
Sorry I’ve been missing out on all these great posts this past week! It looks like we’re back up and running, so that’s great news.
I love me some hero too. And I especially love the Byronic hero, someone flawed and unsure, who we hope will do the right thing, but can lead us on a merry chase until the truth reveals itself. I also like seeing heroes fall and fail, only to be built up again stronger than ever.
Louise, my deepest condolences on Cisco. Such a sweet puppy. xo
Fine Louise. Have it your way.
So listen to your mother….’have the strength of ten’ because YOUR heart IS pure. Stop sleeping and watching movies and START WRITING (sound of foot tapping in background). I have been rereading Forcing and Liars because there is a ‘dearth’ of Ure out there. Sheeeesh. Be a hero, already.
So there!
XXOX
JT, nice to see that you’re back among the high and dry.
And Stephen, I’m having second thoughts about your post. Even now, I’m assuming that charges will be brought against all four of then. Am I wrong?
Louise, I’m so sorry to hear about Cisco. The craziness of life just isn’t fair–though I believe he’s keeping Bruce company and they’re watching over you.
Like Allison D., if you want some noise, head my way. I have a spare room, and enough chaos to make you wonder if you’ve landed in Grand Central. 😉
What a wild twist to that story. And yes, I need a hero. Agonist is perfect. I have to care about the struggle, to feel it’s worthwhile to read. For lots of bad guys acting slightly better than the bad guys around them, I can look at life and walk out my front door, or talk to my sons, who have to deal with them every day. (One is a police officer/SOU [SWAT] and one is a firefighter.) If I’m going to take the time to visit a world, I want to be transported, and I want to root for someone and not feel sullied in the experience.
Louise, I am curious about the Russian Quartet, myself. Can you ask the officer who took your statement about the charges? Don’t they always give you a card saying "If you think of anything else, Ma’am…."
For all things there is a season. I don’t want to be preachy, but accept the season you are in, recognize it for what it is. When I went through my trauma(s) one thing got me thru.
A saying. This too shall pass. I apply that to the good and the bad. I enjoy the good knowing it will one day fade and tolerate the bad knowing it will also one day fade.
Did I mention that my heros often walk on feet of clay?
I’m still amazed at that story and the twists. Who wudda thunk?
This is not a sob story, just an observation: I used to think I didn’t need (in real life) a hero or, god forbid, someone to take care of me. Then I got one and after 18 years of keeping his desire to be a hero somewhat at bay, I lost him and only then did I understand better what a "hero" added to the fullness of life. The deal was, unlike poor Sandra Bullock, he really did have my back in everyday as well as extraordinary situations.
In my own writing, I’m pretty much like that, although in the first book, I let someone who wanted badly to be one have his moment. In the second, my protagonist has to do it on her own, and that’s okay too. But the good guys will never be confused with the bad ones in my work. Patricia Highsmith was able to blur the edges nicely, but modern, deeply violent, ambiguous stories leave me unsatisfied and a little scared of the moral implications.
I’m so sorry about beautiful, gentle Cisco. He was there when Bruce needed him there and doubtless stuck it out as long as he possibly could for your sake. Animals are intuitive, I think, on top of loyal. But it’s a blow you don’t need. I had the same thing in January. I relied on our cat to meet me at the door, ask where I’d been, and be the designated listener when I spoke out loud.
This is not a sob story, just an observation: I used to think I didn’t need (in real life) a hero or, god forbid, someone to take care of me. Then I got one and after 18 years of keeping his desire to be a hero somewhat at bay, I lost him and only then did I understand better what a "hero" added to the fullness of life. The deal was, unlike poor Sandra Bullock, he really did have my back in everyday as well as extraordinary situations.
In my own writing, I’m pretty much like that, although in the first book, I let someone who wanted badly to be one have his moment. In the second, my protagonist has to do it on her own, and that’s okay too. But the good guys will never be confused with the bad ones in my work. Patricia Highsmith was able to blur the edges nicely, but modern, deeply violent, ambiguous stories leave me unsatisfied and a little scared of the moral implications.
I’m so sorry about beautiful, gentle Cisco. He was there when Bruce needed him there and doubtless stuck it out as long as he possibly could for your sake. Animals are intuitive, I think, on top of loyal. But it’s a blow you don’t need. I had the same thing in January. I relied on our cat to meet me at the door, ask where I’d been, and be the designated listener when I spoke out loud.
Louise I’m so sorry for your losses.
I had a friend die yesterday. I find when losing a loved one (whether they be man or beast ) words that usually fill my day with meaning suddenly seem inadequate. Hugs helped a bit. So virtual hugs to you.
Also in terms of the magazine you helped form, it continues to be one of the few Australian publications that publishes stories without an undertone of spite or barely masked glee at other’s misfortune. I like to think your sense of fairness prevails.
I like Toni’s comment that she likes to feel unsullied by the hero journey. I had lunch in a the park the other day with a friend and found myself discussing why I am drawn to mystery/thriller/crime novels. I said that I can trust (or the most part )throughout a book it will in some way all turn to shit, but by the end it will be better. Not happily ever after better, but the hero will have grown from the journey…be a bit scarred, daunted but still standing. We contrasted this with a lot of the books she ends up reading in a book club where in the first chapter you can just tell that everyone is just doomed. We ended up laughing about how a lot of people would expect the genres I like would be bleak, and yet I find them mostly redemptive and or hopeful.
Also if you end up wanting a complete change of scene I’ve got room to spare.I’m not sure if you ever came through Maleny in your travels over here, but it’s all lush green farm fields with the odd patch of virgin rainforest….three pubs, three good cafes and three bookstores.It’s got a good nurturing feel to the place.
Heya Louise – sorry, just got back on-line and saw your second post. No, I don’t have any additional info on the case. I was just reacting off the story you printed – the fact that the journalist said there were only light injuries. I just re-read it and realized I missed that it said that one of the suspects did have critical injuries. My bad.
Toni, like Alafair, your boys have seen times when you can’t tell the good guys from the bad. I think they inherited their mother’s courage and good sense.
Anon, I didn’t get a card from the policewoman on the scene, but they’ve been in touch by phone so I could probably phone t find out.
Judy, "this too shall pass." I’m willing to use the mantra for bad things, but I don’t want all the good memories to pass away as well. Say it ain’t so.
And Susan, you’ve been through this and come out the other side. I am following in your footsteps.
Catherine, I’m so sorry about your friend. Thank for the kind words about the magazine (Who Weekly down there and not People, as that name was already taken by a tits-and-ass publication likely to feature "three breasted woman!" on the front page). And I think I’d love Maleny.
I also need a hero. They don’t have to be perfect, in fact better if they aren’t, but I need someone who I can side with in the story. I find it difficult to get hooked on TV that doesn’t have a clear hero – Dexter isn’t sympathetic enough for me.
Sorry to hear about your dog, it’s hard to lose a pet.
Fortunately, there are not many perfect heroes in crime fiction these days, Perry. And they’re sure not in evidence in real life, either.
Louise, I’m so sorry for the loss of Cisco. All our lives have highs and lows, but I think it’s way past time now for your pendulum to start swinging back in the other direction. I think of you often.
There are days I wish a Reacher-like hero would wander into my life and right all the so-called wrongs . . . Until then, I’ll just have to be my own hero. Although, I came home from work tonight to find my daughter had unloaded and refilled the dishwasher without being asked. Seemed pretty darn heroic to me.
BCB, apparently Mercury is in retrograde and things are supposed to start turning around tomorrow.
And here’s to becoming our own heroes.
I always like heroes. But I like them flawed. I like them making mistakes. I like them screwing up their lives and relationships and seeking redemption. Perfect people bore me.
Sorry to hear about your dog. I have one that we’re expecting to lose any day now, but he keeps hanging on. He’s like 95 in human years.
Hey. You know what, Louise? I am not good at tuff luv. I tried, but it doesn’t take. So I am going to accept your modest denial of heroism with these last words…….
Louise. We ALL feel your pain. AND. You have to understand that EVERY person who blogs here considers you a hero/ine. OH YEAH. (We can continue this argument later) No need to back away and flail yourself. Your mother had kids and made them breakfast and internalized and soldiered on. (My mom was like that, too) You blogged. You entered the cancer arena with Bruce and committed to have his eternal back. You held your soul partner at the end. Hero? You are my Spartacus. Held a wake for Bruce and friends. All the while caring for Cisco on chemo. Few weeks later held CISCO at the end. Gladiator? Witnessed a brutal crime. Reacted with community awareness and righteous spirit in the wake of your personal tragedy and now find that a journalist, through insufficient researching (or other motives?) is sterilizing the incident? (This is your next great novel, L.) What MORE does a person have to do to be a hero?
Fucking hell, Louise. You are a hero to all of us. Let us just say it , OK?
***SCHMOCK*** on your punim
FYI. That is Yiddish for a big ol’ (not wet! being strictly observant of the Kashrut Lipstick Collision Avoidance Protocol laid out by Federal Makeup Traffic Control and specifically in the Talmud where it occurs mostly as a regional observance at Bar Mitzvahs or the art gallery receptions where your mother’s college roommate recognizes you and waves you over for the bosom crushing hug that auto induces your survival internal countdown to when a relative will release you before an ambulance and oxygen is necessary) emotional kiss to your face accompanied within the context of the public event you are perspiring at, in prequel to flop sweat, with everyone you know and don’t know in attendance, including the fucking suddenly emergent secret high school person you had thought you would most like to date and marry and have children with……at some point. )
I may say stupid things but that doesn’t make me any more lovable…. : – }
Find me a bullet, Louise. I’ll never tell.
Whoops – apologies, all. Not sure what I did to post same message twice.
Rob, I wish your pup an easy passing. Long may he run.
And Anon: "You entered the cancer arena with Bruce and committed to have his eternal back." I love this.
I know I’m late to the affair, but I am terribly sorry about Cisco. You’ve had such a run of tough time, it doesn’t seem fair. You are in my prayers, Louise.