Difference between "Military" and "Police" mindsets in the RLSH Community

RLSH Ways of Thinking

As a Marine Veteran, I still keep much of the military mindset for my RLSH work/way of life. I usually try to avoid thet Police Officer mindset in terms of ideologies and methods. I'm not posting this to bash cops - there's good and bad cops out there - I like the good ones and dislike the bad ones. I'll try to be specific about what I mean and why, about how unlike a lot of RLSH, I make sure to NOT have that cop mindset, as Police and Military are needed for two different reasons.

Patrol patterns and transparency

With the Police minded RLSH, they often patrol a specific city the same way that Police Officers patrol within their own jurisdiction or even a specific portion of their city or town. Often emphasized is patrol times and locations. I understand why they record that info. It doesn't mean I like the style of it though.

With the military mindset, one thinks in terms of operational security. To not set a pattern where the enemy can either track you down or work around your pattern, if they know it. And should you have to have a pattern for any reason, try not to make it too well known.

The law

With the Police minded RLSH, they feel it's their duty to either enforce and/or defend the laws, or report lawbreakers to the police, or perform a citizens arrest. Regardless of what is right or wrong, good or evil/bad, their allegiance is to the law, even if they disagree with a law or not.

Although in the military, you'll find a lot of libertarian conservative ideologies amongst the majority of them, which for some reason is shocking to people. They think just because the military is strict that veterans love being bossed around. That couldn't be less true. We self sacrificed our own freedom for that time because we wanted to defend the freedom of others. And the strictness reminds us how much we love and value our freedom. We do fight evil, regardless of what the law says. Granted, while in the military we have to obey all lawful orders from those who outrank us and/or hold a senior billet - after our military service is finished, many of us keep our oath to defend America and our allies from all enemies, foreign and domestic - during peace and/or war. Some join Oath Keepers and similar type groups, and many of us do it on our own without the direct supervision of the U.S. Military, some just act heroically when the need arises. With weapons or without. And we stand for what we believe in regardless of what is popular or legal.

Accomplishments

Amongst the Police minded RLSH and RLSV, many former or inactive RLSH get condemned and ridiculed for "not having done anything or much lately". Or maybe they care about how often and long they patrol in terms of how many days a week and how many hours a day/night. Or by how many citizens arrests they made.

People always respect military veterans, especially those who have served in wars. NOBODY ever looks at World War 2 Veterans - the few that are still alive today - and says "They're useless since they haven't done much lately." Instead most people realize the historical signifance, and respect them for their bravery and heroism.

Punishment and Forgiveness Amongst Themselves

These parts are not literal examples of what each side or type would do every time. But it explains and emphasizes the different general mindsets that I've observed and/or analyzed. Police themselves are known for arresting and charging others who break the law, including their own fellow officers who break the law or commit a misdemeanor, etc.

In the Military, if you do something bad or make a dumb mistake, you gotta do a bunch of pushups or whatever as punishment. It is a quicker way to discipline someone and not only does it not ruin your life forever on public record, but it also makes you stronger. Yes there are Military Police and Court Martials, but this isn't as common for the military as regular ordinary punishment for mistakes.

What makes one Active

In the Police, after you graduate the Academy and get hired by a Department, you begin to start working. You're either On Duty or Off Duty, meaning on patrol or not on patrol, or with the occasional office work like filing a report.

In the Military, if you're on active duty, it doesn't always mean you're in a war zone. Even during times of peace and also even in times of war, the patrols and missions aren't the only thing the service member does. They do their physical training, and also have classes about various subjects that are useful to their military occupational specialties, combat weapons, and things relevant to their missions. They even do training patrols and learn team skills such as hand and arm signals as one example. And of course, when the time comes for it, the actual patrols and missions. And nobody condemns a service member who just returned from war - for taking a few months R&R upon leaving a combat deployment, though with RLSH you might get mixed reactions. There is a natural aspect for some RLSH where it is viewed more as a way of life than as a job, while some view it as a volunteer job, but those who view it mainly as work like a volunteer job tend to burn out faster. They're the ones who eventually "retire" when they get tired of it. But there are those who view it as a way of life, whose methods and tactics can change as they grow older, but they also realize that there is no way one can just absolutely "retire" from a way of life that defines who they are and gives them the passion to wake up and get out of bed every morning, and to live life to the fullest, with the hopes of doing good and making the world a better place.

Personality

This doesn't so much apply to cops, as much as it does for RLSH who try to think like cops. There might be a few former law enforcement officers who still keep that mindset but continue as RLSH with a new name/uniform and no direct supervision of the government. There are cops with personality but the RLSH who try to think like cops try to appear so disciplined that they try to be so boring and serious out of a fear of looking weird or crazy, or of not being taken seriously. These are the people who usually think inside the box, because it keeps them thinking in terms of what they deem realistic. On a side note for the record, I like cops who try to think and act like superheroes more than I like superheroes who try to think and act like cops.

I can't as much say this applies to all branches of the military or not - as much as I can say it does with the Marines, how most of the Marines each have their own unique and interesting personality. They aren't only not afraid of looking weird or crazy, they actually embrace it - with a vengeance. These types of people often have to be creative and think outside the box, for the sake of survival, and even morale.

Security

I've done security missions before. Both in and out of my Tothian uniform, but always as Tothian. This is one where I actually DO have more of the cop mentality than the military mentality, but it does depend on if the scenario is generally a peaceful one as a whole. I've done security at rallies before.

Tothian patrols 2nd Amendment Rally

Tothian doing security at Pro-Trump rally. Appears at 3:35

In these rallies, I've often stayed neutral from the debates or arguments themselves, and focused more on the security aspect. I did also speak to drivers who drove up to us in the parking lot to ask questions. At some of these rallies I would film and interview different people. Occasionally I will debate or interview protesters, be they supporters and/or opposition to our cause. I try to be creative about things. And I have answered questions both on camera and to reporters about my views.

I feel with the Military mentality in this scenario is the fighter who actively engages in arguments with protesters in ways that start out political but become more personally argumentive. They make it a war of us vs. them, but I try to make sure our own side stays in line too so they don't get themselves in trouble nor push the public away from supporting us and our agenda. But also because it feels like both the wiser strategy as well as the right thing to do. This wouldn't normally sound like me, since I'm usually all about having that warrior spirit. However, there is an exception to a lot of things and even with the warrior spirit we must pick our battles wisely, and there's a good reason for that because I do feel there are others who hate people for having different opinions (sometimes it's ok, sometimes not, depending on what it is) and also it is sometimes good to have friendly open dialogue.

There are limits to my thinking about this sort of thing though. When it comes to scenarios where you have groups like Antifa attacking innocent people on the streets, or fighting against the Proud Boys (a group I support what they do and stand for but wish they would have used a better name), it no longer becomes a situation of merely personal security nor merely protecting individuals from other individuals, but rather acts of war. And I am a Warrior.

Social Interactions

This one doesn't necessarily apply 100% of the time. One of the facts I left out earlier in this blog is that many police officers are former, retired, or reserve military. So I'm only generalizing based on some observations I've had. When someone is telling a story, the cop minded individual or even cops, will listen thoroughly, and ask questions to understand the story better. One time I was at a bar sharing some of my great stories with a group of people, and one guy was loving my stories and asking me questions, even saying I needed my own podcast, making me feel awesome and all, and then I began to sense that this guy was a cop. I told him that I believed he was a cop, and he verified with me that he was a cop. He was wondering how I knew that. Basically his personality reminded me very similarly of another cop I knew. That was why I kept thinking that. And I was right. A lot of cops I know always seem to like a good story, and they ask good questions. Sometimes they do it just to see if they can get information from people, be it for legitimate investigations, or sometimes just for their own personal entertainment purposes. But as for the Real Life Superhero Community, a cop minded superhero might not always have the best stories to tell, but like anyone they love a good story and are willing to listen and ask questions.

With the military minded RLSH, and I'm specifically thinking of all the Marines I knew, not just some of the Marines, but any Marine you spoke to would always have interesting, wild crazy stories to tell. And there are some RLSH who if you sat down and had a conversation with them, they would have stories you might not believe, and some of which are funnier and more interesting and entertaining than comic books. This type of personality isn't as common in the Real Life Superhero Community, because so many of them are trying so hard to prove to the world that they are boring, normal, regular people. I couldn't understand why anyone would want that, but it happens. As for me my life always felt like a comic book.

Fiction

For the Police minded RLSH, I think of DC Comics. Batman, The Question, The Spirit. These are guys who usually focus on only protecting their city from street criminals, and your occasional supervillain. The comics and movies rarely have much if any humor to them. Often dark and serious.

For the Military minded RLSH, I think more of Marvel comics. They are focused on facing threats of evil all over the world. They are usually fighting some great war to save the world or save literally life itself. Despite the great threats, these heroes often have interesting personalities and aren't afraid to be their crazy selves while fighting great evils of the world.

Punishing criminals and evildoers

I had a similar paragraph earlier about how each side would generally respond to wrongdoings of their own side. In this scenario, one often sees someone do something bad automatically think they should be arrested, convicted, and sentenced to prison.

When it comes to Castle Doctrine. Or Stand Your Ground Laws, these are laws which work better to help the military minded RLSH. There was a scenario in Texas where a teen male raped a female, and her father murdered her rapist. He not only didn't get in trouble, but was praised as a town hero. It might not feel legal for people to say they would wish death or want to kill such evildoers, but it's definitely the emotional sentiment that a lot of people would feel. Many Veterans aren't afraid to say how they feel about such things, including military minded RLSH. And this isn't limited to that one type of act of evil, but any where there is an innocent defenseless victim involved. And it's not that they all simply endorse killing evildoers, but that they definitely support a more hands on approach when it comes to fighting evil. Although such types might also take morality more than or instead of the law into consideration.

There is no such thing as a Hero quitting nor retiring

This isn't intended for me to speak for you as if I knew all of your own personal situations in your lives. There could be things that some of you are not saying for your own personal reasons, and I can understand that.

But, heroism isn't a job. (Some will argue that the military, firefighters, doctors, etc. are - and yes that is true - but even then it's not the job itself it's the individuals doing it) It's something we do because we're needed to do it. The world needs heroes. The goals and mission can change in accordance with what we can do and feel drawn to do, but the world will always need heroes in one way or another.

Since I was born and have always known that I was drawn to do this, I had long hoped for there to be others. Then after several long years of feeling out of place in this world, it all slowly started to form. And there were so few of us. Then over the years it started to grow. So many good friends have come and gone over the years, and I miss my good old friends in the superhero community who aren't doing this anymore or just not around the internet anymore. And if any of my old friends are reading this, I want you all to know that I haven't forgotten about you guys and I would be very glad to hear from you again.

Stay motivated, keep each other motivated, remember why you chose to do this and look at how the world will still need you. There is a lot for us to do. Keep it interesting and keep it real (or unreal, as long as it's interesting, haha) and don't lose sight of a better world that you can create, not as much with the results as much the actions.

I don't wanna hear that anyone is "retired". This is what I think of when people are retired:

Old people sitting around in a rocking chair waiting to die.

Even if you can't do what you want to do nor in the exact ways you want to do it, whether at all or anymore, the question you ask yourself shouldn't be "Can I still do this?" but rather "How can I still do this in some way?"

Even if you're hurt or sick or old or not that strong, you can still learn skills that could still help others in some way.

And even if you're too busy doing other non superhero related things, never deny nor forget the importance of friendship with other superheroes, be it the ones you've known before, or the newer ones who will live a better life and be a better superhero because of the guidance, wisdom, and friendship that you have to offer.

And also take this in to consideration too. Every bit of advice you give to another superhero that they use to help someone else, you are indirectly helping those people through that superhero.

If things didn't go your way and you want to quit because of that, that's like starving yourself because you're hungry. If things don't go your way, that's all the more reason to keep doing everything you can to fix it or make up for it the best you can.

The way of the superhero isn't a job, but rather a way of life. It's who you are and what you're meant to do. It's within you forever whether you like it or not and you can't ignore it, especially while you're still alive and that this is a world that needs more heroes, not less of them.

WWBD?

What would Batman do?


Here is a pretend conversation I had (not really) with an imaginary friend (not a real imaginary friend, just a made up one). It's partially meant in jest, but also meant to make a really good point as well.


And sadly, yes, this is necessary...


TOTHIAN: Batman wouldn't go around giving out all this personal information about himself on Facebook, like when he patrols, where he patrols, especially beforehand, or what level his armor is, what kinds of martial arts he's trained in, etc.


DENNIS THE DUMMY: Yeah, but Batman isn't real...


TOTHIAN: So, only fictional characters can practice smart tactics?

Exposing False Heroism

I'm not going to tell any of ya'll what to do or what not to do. But I will tell you this... That this is how NOT to be a Superhero... Whether you want to be an actual superhero or a fake superhero is up to you, I'm just showing you the difference between false heroism & real heroism. I'm going to use a few made up examples, using humor to make some really good points in pointing out false examples of heroism that are being praised out there, while real heroism gets condemned, by some of the very people who claim to the title and get glorified for it. And people fall for it a lot. I'm here to expose it.

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Greetings, Citizens and Fellow Super Heroes,


This is The Cellphone Sentinel speaking! Last night I patrolled with my partner on my Cellphone Avengers Team, known as Citizen Special! Even though I'm 3 lbs overweight, I figured I should patrol anyway, because my weight doesn't matter, you don't even have to try that hard to be a super-hero it's really easy, just as long as you mean well and have a flashy costume, a cool name, and a good working cellphone, that's really all you need in order to be a superhero.


Anyway, Citizen Special and I patrolled only two hours from 8:00PM to 10:00PM.


At 8:22PM, on 12th Street, in the middle of my city, we got laughed at by a few bystanders. A few women pointed and laughed at us... I think they liked us. The rest of the patrol was pretty boring. I was thinking to myself, "Man, I wish there'd be some crime for us to stop tonight!"
So, anyway, at around 9:43PM, little Billy was getting attacked on the corner by some crazy punk with a knife. "HELP ME, CELLPHONE SENTINEL! HELP ME! I'M GETTING ATTACKED!" Just then, me, having the fastest cellphone dialing finger on the east coast, tried to call 911, but my phone battery was low, so Citizen Special used his cellphone instead, dialed 911.


"911 What's your emergency?"


"Greetings, good citizen! I'm Citizen Special! Perhaps you've heard about me from the latest issue of the Times Magazine, or seen me in my latest-----"


"----Sir, what's your emergency?"


But unfortunately, it was too late for Little Billy. He was already dead. Blood everywhere. The stupid punk with the knife threatened Citizen Special with the knife and told him "Gimme your wallet, punk!" But Citizen Special didn't want to make matters worse. His life is worth more than all the money in his wallet. Plus, he didn't want to get his costume ripped, it costed him a lot of money!


I figured I would do the smart thing since superheroes need to be smart, so I ran away, and looked for the nearest pay phone I could find!

Citizen Special and I found each other about 15 minutes later. There was another woman who needed help finding her missing kid, but Citizen Special and I were really shaken up and it was coming to the end of our patrol so we decided to go home.


I think it was a successful patrol. Even though there was a casualty, we did the right thing.


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Meanwhile, they end up posting this on some unnamed forum for other people who think they are superheroes. They were praised for their bravery in the face of danger and did the right, smart thing, and made it home safe. They were comforted by the words of people telling them that bad things like that are likely to happen every now and then, and that they can't really do anything about it.


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Then, one day it turns out that Master Legend was out on his way to work for some people who needed a skilled man to do some tree work that day at a certain place. Master Legend had a weird feeling that he should go down this certain road, even though it was out of his way and he was already running a few minutes late because he had to help an elderly neighbor with an injured arm bring in their groceries, so he went and made a right turn through this one neighborhood anyway. He sees smoke so he gets to the location quick. There's no way inside the small apartment building, so he runs and jumps right through a window, breaking right through it. He quickly gets through all the rooms, kicking down doors all over the building, luckily he was able to help save every single person in the building and get them all outta there in time, not a single person there was hurt, thanks to Master Legend jumping in to action, but unfortunately, Master Legend did suffer a few cuts and bruises, and some burns on his arm, but this kind of stuff was nothing new to him.


So, he arrives at work, gets there about 25 minutes late. "Sorry I'm late, man! I had to save some people from a burning building." A few people laughed at him saying "Yeah right", but the boss man just shook his head, and with an impatient and annoyed attitude responded "Well, you're late. Are you still gonna work?" But not a single one of them asked him if he was alright, nor the details of what happened, nor did any of them seem to care.


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Master Legend posts about this on his Facebook. Everyone puts him down as crazy, stupid, dangerous. They make claims that he was breaking and entering, that he should've just done the smart thing and call 911, because that would have been the right thing to do. That he could've gotten himself or someone else really badly hurt, or even killed, and that he was getting in the firefighters way and that he should'a just let them do what they were trained to do. People start making threats against him also begin to turn against him because now it's the popular thing to do, and nobody wants to be associated with him (except for a few loyal friends), because being his friend is bad for their public image. Because a lot of them would rather look like a hero to the world, rather than be a hero, in the eyes of God.

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Oh wait, what's that? President Obama nominates Master Legend for the Presidential Citizen's Medal? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidential_Citizens_Medal


The second highest civilian award in the United States? Yes. Oh, look! Now all the supposed-superheroes who put him down are all trying to be his friend because now it's the cool, popular thing to do and they're claiming that they never meant any disrespect to him before.

As I seek to expose evil - yes that's right, Tothian Strikes Back

First of all, there are countless evildoers on the planet. But first I must start with the ones that aren't as obvious to the media. While I myself, when in the media, have always tried to portray the eloquent jerk side of me, I hate it when others out there pretend to be these perfect people that they're not.

While I respect the intentions of some, trying to inspire others to be better people, I personally believe that you can inspire more people to do good in the world when you show them that even people such as yourselves - who aren't perfect - can still do good in the world.

I don't need pretend internet blogging supervillains blogging about what a rude guy I am - I can do that perfectly fine on my own. That's who I am and that's the side of me I prefer to show people first. Fucking dumbasses. Nobody can get disappointed in me if they can understand and appreciate me for even my worst traits first. You're only trying to show them what I already show them myself.

Yes that's right. Just because I'm a Real Life Superhero - don't expect me to be a nice guy. All I've ever said all along was never set your own expectations of me - I follow nobody's standards but my own. I became a Real Life Superhero because I felt a calling to do it. Noah himself used to be a murderer and while I'm NOT one myself, that's just an example of how God does work in mysterious ways of give good people who've done bad things, ways to redeem themselves.

There are a few people I can think of off the top of my head, roaming around the RLSH Community - who I don't like. Seriously. At all. I don't think it would be fair to speak their names here, but the actions I will speak of. Besides, I believe I've made it known to those few people who they are. While they've tried to silence my voice or only speak about me in place where I don't have the chance to speak my mind - AFTER pretending to be nice to me, then talking a world of crap about me behind my back - when I saw right through their false kindness from the beginning. The little fat guys in spandex who believe it's more heroic to stand 50 ft away from a woman getting stabbed to death while you can dress up like a super-hero, but just call 9-11  - y'know, looking out for yourself, legally, while a woman fucking gets stabbed to death. You're not a super-hero you're a piece of shit and everybody knows it. Everyone knows about Genovese Syndrome.

Phoenix Jones exposed these types of losers in recent media as the pathetic worthless unheroic jokes that they are, and I celebrated a huge victory that day. The days of fat guys in spandex getting glorified for settling for being less, while those who strive to be more get put down for being crazy and dangerous - ARE OVER! The people see the truth. It's pretty obvious that people will feel safer when they know that an actual real life superhero is patrolling their neighborhood, and not a two-faced cowardly fat nerd in spandex who looks like a troll under a bridge or a miniature santa clause or a garden gnome who will eat a gallon of ice cream while there's a burning building, but while he's dressed up as a superhero, standing a mile away, he'll call 9-11, and while the real superheroes that are the firefighters in this situation arrive, watch this guy take all the credit, whereas if an ACTUAL Superhero ran inside the burning building to, y'know, actually do something superheroic, like, oh, I don't know, actually save everyone in the building, they'll get condemned as being crazy, stupid, and dangerous.

And I'm fucking tired of that crap already. People who try to hold ACTUAL RLSH's back from great acts of heroism - are villains. And it's even worse when they call themselves heroes. I'm tired of people trying to water down the term of actual superheroism, and then having the fucking nerve to get "offended" when I don't glorify someone as a true superhero for being a fat two-faced nerd in spandex who makes a name and puts on a spandex uniform. Well, pardon me. If everyone was a superhero, nobody would be. You gotta earn it. It doesn't just get handed out like candy on Halloween. I don't care who hates me for my opinion because that's just how it is and if you hate me for my opinion then it's because I didn't bow down to you and view you as a hero when you didn't deserve the title. Guess what. I've most likely been doing this a LOT longer than you and might have a lot more training than you, and I still don't call myself a hero. It's up to the protected to grant their protectors the title of superhero. Even when given, it can never be assumed. And no, just making a name & uniform doesn't grant you the title.

Last year I was on patrol in NYC with a bunch of people, and while I was being so alert as to pay attention to every single thing going on around me, someone who looks like a minuature Santa Clause just kept staring at me like he had a little schoolgirl crush on me. Just then a big ole' truck was coming. Instantly without a single thought or hesitation, I pushed him outta the way. While everyone in the group stared at me like I was some great hero who did something awesome, I got really mad and told everyone to quit fucking staring at me. Just remember that, and unless you were there you won't know who I'm talking about but if you were, then you know who I'm talking about and just remember that.