I write this letter in response to Ms. Elizabeth Bradleys letter in
the June 30th edition of the Daily Bugle, in which she argued for
support of legislation requiring the registration of all mutants. Her
argument was made passionately, for which I commend her, but did
posses what appear to me several flaws in both logic and syntax. I
will attempt to redress the matters of logic here, and address this
both as an open letter and a specific rebuttal to Ms. Bradley.
Ms Bradley,
You would have all of us register, take us away from our attempts at
doing good and watch us, guard us to keep all involved safe. This
ignores the fact that there are many out there operating for good and
for ill who do not bear the title mutant, many wars waged which have
naught to do with our kind. Humanity has suffered vile depredations
from villains and heroes who have never been considered mutants, nor
could ever be considered scientifically so.
You would register us and shepherd us away on the theory that all
mutants would thus be kept, believing perhaps that we all wear signs
upon our foreheads that identify us, or perhaps that we wear stars
upon our arms. And you suppose also that you would see registered the
good with the bad, the true with the un, that all would shuffle along
quietly to our designated areas of the city. That somehow the
villains that have years of practice hiding among you would go along
so quietly as the heroes.
And to this there are only one question to ask, one response to seek
in return: What if you are wrong?
Every civilized society in the world has adopted a series of rules by
which those who seek to aid others cannot be held responsible for the
consequences of their good faith rescue attempts. We call these Good
Samaritan laws, and they are what shield a man from being sued for
breaking the ribs of the person whose life he saves with CPR. What
keeps the woman who breaks a door to save a child from a fire for
being brought to court by the greedy and the immoral.
Where are those laws that protect us, the considerations given to
those who at great risk to their own lives and happiness seek to
police their kind and keep them from harming you? In her article Ms.
Bradley brought up the Mutant terrorist Magneto, claiming him to be
worse than Hitler. In the same article she referenced the brave men
and women of the NYPD, claiming that there should be no need for
mutant heroes in a world with their courage.
But we have seen the flaw in this logic, exposed a thousand fold. For
reasons that are beyond their ability to train or work, the guardians
who keep us safe from mundane murderers and thieves are wholly
unequipped to deal with the likes of our kind. What use are police
with metal guns and metal cars and metal badges when dealing with
Magneto? The legions of our brave men deserve a better fate than to
be sent in to a situation they have no hope of winning with equipment
that can only be used against them.
And let us say that somewhere from within the depths of the city or
state budget we can find the millions of dollars necessary to fit them
out with every bit of special equipment needed to deal with that
magnetic threat, so that in the very specific instance he decides to
attack the city they can deal with it. Can they do that for every
threat that comes to New York, a city which indeed seems to get more
than its fair share of threats? Can the government and the people
pay for equipment for every possible mutant ill that comes their way?
There are teams that are trained for this, the Avengers and the like,
monitored and controlled by the Government, and they do a valiant job.
But they are limited in time and manpower, they are unable to be
everywhere at once. There are gaps, and wherever there are gaps in
these shadow fought wars there will always be civilians hurt. And
there will always be a need for those of courage and convictions to
protect them. And that is where we come in.
I will not speak to the parallels that rounding up a group of people,
marking them and forcing them to lead a life apart brings up. I hope
that the citizenry of this city and Republic are wise enough to
recognize the truth in the words about learning history and escaping
its repetition, though I fear my faith will some day prove ill
founded and yet more ill rewarded. Today I ask only that they
consider the following:
You accuse us of waging our wars with no thought or regard for the
coming and going of humanity, that we are all villains for not
considering you. But I ask you this: Do you think this is the life we
would wish for ourselves, were we not needed? Were there no threats
that only we could face in the night would we leave our families and
our safety? You claim we are all injurious to you and I will agree:
There are mutants who wish to harm humanity. But there are also those
of us who want to keep humanity safe, who rise from our comfort to go
forth and protect.
And I ask you to consider then your registration. If it is the
presence of heroes that makes the villains then indeed you may
accomplish something through this legislation. But instead if it is
the presence of evil that brings men to do good, then who will stand
for you against the night when you have taken away all who can bear
torches to stave it off?
A Good Mutant
P.S. I must just briefly address a matter. Hitlers danger lay not in
his own personal abilities as a combatant but in his terrible charisma
and force of personality, as well as the horrible efficiency of the
Nazi bureaucratic machine. While it may have made for more impressive
rallies, Hitler developing Pyrokinesis would likely have had little
actual effect on the number of wartime and Holocaust deaths owing both
to other equally efficient forms of creating the death chambers and to
the slim likelihood he would have risked himself as a front line
soldier.