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How long until the "Hero" Bubble Bursts?

With more & more people attaching themselves to the success of Help for Heroes; it is virtually impossible to go a day without encountering the word "Hero". This could very soon have a detrimental effect on those that should be benefitting from it & are some just exploiting injured service personnel for their own means?

 

As someone who has never bought a tabloid newspaper or rarely watched TV just because it was there; I was only vaguely aware until recently that there was a charity called Help for Heroes. I knew it was set up by an ex-squaddie & his wife & that it was raising money to help injured servicemen.  I was also only vaguely aware of BLESMA that also help limbless servicemen which has been around for many years, but not had as much media attention.

So as far as I was concerned, this was just another great organisation doing great work & I would be more than happy to make a donation if I encountered a collection tin on my travels.

It was only around September 2009 when I was doing research for a project to help Self-Employed Veterans (myself being one) to be more successful that I discovered how big Help for Heroes had become. (As I write this they must be close to rivalling the Royal British Legion if not overtaking them for direct donations.)

I can only commend Bryn & Emma Parry for doing such a sterling job of bringing the plight of injured service people into the media limelight.

I don't know if they came up with the name themselves or not but it is a brilliant piece of marketing when you compare it to the names of some of the lesser known charities. It does "exactly what it says on the tin" as they say.

However the name came about I would imagine that the choice of the word Hero was well intentioned & not hype dreamt up by some PR expert; after all anyone who is injured whilst serving their Country is indeed worthy of the label Hero.

However when you have a great concept, it is important to protect it & not to get too carried away with how it is used; sometimes to use another cliché "less is more".

 

A Slice of the Proverbial Pie

The trouble is now everyone is jumping on the band wagon. Type in the term "for heroes" into a search engine & you will see what I mean.

Now you may be thinking what is wrong with that, the more that is done for these people the better. I couldn't agree more, so allow me to elaborate.

I'll get my cynicism out of the way first about some peoples support.

To clarify what I'm about to say; I'm not talking about tax write offs or big corporation sponsorship deals as this is just how it is. Without them most charities would not survive very long. So personally I have no problem with this at all because in those instances you are dealing with a corporation & not really an individual. Even smaller businesses usually have a relationship with either a local charity or at least have a genuine connection with a cause.

No, my concern is about how integrous some small business owner's real intentions are for supporting the troops. Is it really an altruistic offering?

Having studied marketing for the last couple of years, one of the things I've learned is that sometimes you have to make a loss in the short term to make big gains in the future.

So let's say for example you are a small business owner who makes thongs, & you are not doing particularly well due to the economic downturn. You look for a way to get your business more exposure by seeing what is popular at the present moment. You think to yourself, "I know, I'll make some thongs in the ‘Help for Heroes' colours & donate all the money to that cause." (I believe you would actually have to get permission to do this from the Parry's or one of their representatives, but I'm not 100% certain.)

So you launch "Thongs for Heroes" & donate all the money to the cause & make a loss, or break even if you only donate the profits. Because now you have been perceived to be generous by doing something good, you find that the rest of your catalogue of thongs suddenly starts selling better. (The same thing could be said about some (not all) musicians & celebrities who support a cause & then their back catalogue of albums suddenly starts selling again, or a flagging career is miraculously salvaged.)

If you are perceived to be attached to something important or popular in any way shape or form, then by default this will rub off & give you social proof because people will think that you must also be important or popular too. If you don't want to take my word for it, I recommend you read some of Professor Robert Cialdini's work on the subject of how we are all unconsciously influenced.

Disclaimer: It took me a while to find an example that didn't already exist. The words "thongs for heroes" was the first word I used that did not bring any results in Google. (What that says about my mental association processes disturbs me!)

So if there really is such a thing going on, this does not mean I am implying that they are who I am referring to & I apologise for any offence caused. They may well be a selfless company so don't let my article dissuade you from using them.

Hopefully they don't exist; my point is that in my opinion in this vast country of ours, there are going to be some taking advantages of the popularity of the word "hero" for their own means. I could even be accused of it myself for reluctantly using it in a previous article entitled "zero for heroes".

O.K. now I've got the scepticism part out of the way, allow me to get on with the real point of this article, which is why the "hero" bubble could burst & why I think the Parry's would be wise to restrict who they allow to use the term.

 

Out of Sight, Out of Mind.

Firstly, let's just remember that the tabloid media is fickle, a business & only interested in selling papers that the public want to buy. Today one thing may be top news & really well-liked but tomorrow it may be the complete opposite. Just look at England Football Managers; today a "refreshing force", tomorrow they stick a turnip on your head!

So right now, whilst we are involved in Afghanistan & Iraq it is a hot topic in the news; because every day British Service Personnel are being injured or killed.

Although the politics for why we are there in the first place may be questionable, the majority of the Great British public are intelligent enough to realise that when we serve our country we do not get to choose which wars we fight in. Therefore I think there really is more genuine public support for the Troops than in any previous conflict.

But happens when we withdraw from these areas (if we are not involved in another country by then)?

When this does happen, all that will be newsworthy will be who is cheating on who, who is going to win the next reality show for their 15 minutes of fame & how we are being screwed by one of the political parties; until the new "fad" arrives.

The popularity of heroes will have had its day.

The Ozone layer had its turn, global warming is still on the fringes along with genetic modification; what will be next I wonder?

Apart from those directly connected or affected by these Wars, the rest of society will simply forget about it & get on with their lives; only remembering once a year when the poppy tins come out.

 

The Seeds of Dissent

Recently, I joined a Military Forum & some of the comments I have read assured me that I was right that we are heading in the eventual direction of a "bubble burst".

I'm certain that you would struggle to find anyone who has been in any of the Armed Forces who actually refers to themselves as a Hero. It may be implied about a buddy who saves your life, but ultimately it is not a label that many want to wear.

A comment on the forum by someone currently serving said something along the lines of "does the term serviceman not exist anymore?" They then went on to say that "they were getting sick of hearing the word hero everywhere".

If something is too commonplace or overused it will normally have one of two effects:

1. It will become invisible
2. It will become annoying

Other comments I have read from non-service personnel reinforce what I am saying & here are some broad examples:

• A comparison of public sector jobs to the Armed Forces because they too serve the country: Whilst I agree they do a great & sometimes dangerous job, it is not a fair comparison by a long stretch.
• "We choose to join the armed forces": This is true & I'm sure no one serving would disagree.
• Everyone is going through tough times at the moment: Not everyone, but even the majority of those who are; I'm sure will have all their limbs intact.

 

I believe this is because in this time of economic uncertainty people are hearing of things such as free tickets to football matches, special deals on cars, etc for  those coming back from a War Zone & many use the term "for heroes" rather than just coming up with their own business names or doing it anonymously.

For some who hear of these freebies; their ego‘s are kicking in, the green eyed monster is raising it's head, they are regressing back to their childhood behaviours when they didn't get their own way & thinking "I want to go to the football match, but can't afford to; it's not fair!"

My quick answer to those who think that way is simple; sign up & go to War then!

A longer answer is that I know for a fact that lots of other Public Sector workers get special deals on things like gym membership, certain insurances, private healthcare policies & much more. So just because your "perks" are not as exciting; there is no need for sour grapes is there? Let's face it, if you are serving in the Army, I would imagine that life insurance premiums are quite high these days compared to a Nurse!

Most private companies offer their own perks whether this is in the form of in-house discounts, Christmas/productivity bonuses or "team building" days out.

When you are in the Armed Forces; there is no overtime, no Christmas bonus & your team building days out are probably in theatre! You are paid & owned by the Crown (or Government) 7 days a week 365 days a year.

The real trouble is, when some people are starting to think in those ways, it won't be long before it spreads as people idly talk. It may start off as mere neutrality before it becomes resentment which may eventually lead to outright condemnation or in the extreme worse case; actual hostility. (Look at how Vietnam Veterans have been treated in the past. Despite what we see in the movies, I'm sure they didn't all go around raping & butchering.)

The evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins coined the term "Memetics" in his book "The Selfish Gene" to describe the spreading of ideas in a culture if you want to look further into what I am saying here.

In this technological age, ideas & opinions can spread across the globe almost on par with the speed of light.

Ideas do not need to be researched, provable or logical for them to take hold in the majority of a population & become beliefs.

Once someone "believes" something, now you have real trouble!

No one likes to be wrong, everyone is an expert on everything & so most people "believe" they are right in their opinions & will defend them to the hilt or insist you agree with them by whatever means necessary.

(This strikes me as tragically ironic, because it is mainly due to "beliefs" that our Troops are fighting in Wars in the first place).

 

Catch 22

If the ideas that I mentioned that have been posted on the forums are spreading, then I think it would be extremely prudent for the Parry's - if they are capable of doing so - to keep a tighter reign on who uses the "for heroes" tag so as to not confuse the injured with those who have served; before "Hero" becomes a dirty word. For if it ever does, their great work would unravel & those they set out to help would become victims of war for the second time in their lives.

To those who genuinely do want to help the armed forces community, injured or not I say this; please come up with your own name that does not include the term hero.

And to those who are jumping on the bandwagon for their own selfish need I say "shame on you!"

This of course is simply my "belief" about what could happen & as a human being I too "believe" my self to be right.

There is a difference though; "the mind" & "human behaviour" has been my field of study since 1996.  I am therefore open to changing my beliefs when evidence is available to the contrary, I don't expect you to just simply take my word for it & I definitely & sincerely want to be proved wrong in this instance.

If I am right though; how long until the "Hero" bubble bursts?

About the Author

Stuart served in the Royal Navy from 1989 until he was medically discharged in 1996.

He qualified in Hypnotherapy & Psychotherapy for his resettlement & worked in this environment for over 13 years.

He is a "Studyaholic" on a diverse variety of subjects from Quantum Physics to Theology to Marketing.

He devotes his time to providing the information, the tools & the techniques to help people to create the kind of fulfilling & successful life they've always dreamt of.

His current project helps ex-service personnel to run their own profitable businesses & a platform from which to promote them:

www.skilledexforces.com & www.succeedafterservice.com

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