rant · moment 4 of 23
Brown Shirts, Hero Inflation, and the Overuse of "Hero"
from #198 - I'm A Hero | The Tim Dillon Show · #198
4 min
Tim argues human nature turns people into eager rule-enforcers and citizen informants during crises, then rants about the word "hero" being devalued the way it was after 9/11, with everyone from delivery drivers to doormen now branded heroic.
- Tim's initial moral stance: he didn't want to infect vulnerable people during lockdown, viewing refusal to comply as a character issue.
- People ran out of money after the government gave only $1,200, with no additional funds available.
- Tim on human nature: people will justify atrocities if convinced they're serving the greater good, turning into informants and enforcers.
- Citizens became brown shirts and Stasi enforcers, yelling at kids on skateboards and pointing out maskless people in public.
- Within weeks, people relished their new roles as quarantine enforcers, calling police on neighbors and yelling at children standing too close.
- Tim on post-9/11 America: doormen and security guards began thinking they were part of Homeland Security, inflating their own importance.
- The "essential worker" and "hero" labels have gotten out of control—everyone from nurses to grocery store workers is now called a hero.
- Tim's critique: calling people heroes for ordinary work doesn't make sense, and the point about nurses working hard has been belabored.
- You shouldn't call your kids heroes because they turn into monsters; instead of praising Bobby as a hero for sharing, you just say good job.
- TikToks of nurses blowing off steam are highly inappropriate, and many nurses themselves agree with Tim's criticism of the behavior.
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