#insert all the motivational batman and nightwing pictures everyone has sent me

[bluegarners]

for a moment, let's pretend that batman is a little more than a fictional character and analyze it between the realm of reality and comic books

i think it's not a rarity to have a batman, or to become a batman. obviously what first needs to happen is conviction, and specifically a conviction in the possibility for change. bruce wayne isn't very special for having that conviction, and even a 10 year old bruce wayne isn't very special for having it. little kids have very headstrong beliefs all the time, a lot of them nonsensical and phase-ish. even more to the point, bruce wayne has never been the only little kid to witness a brutal crime against their family. that unfortunately happens every day, a hundred times over. so 10 year old bruce wayne forming the conviction that he can change gotham, that he can change the way the world works, is not altogether that unusual. it's reactionary and a direct result of trauma. going beyond that, kids believe they can change the world all the time because impossible has not yet confronted them yet via the power of their caregivers and the adults around them. there are a lot of things little kid's believe they can do due to who's around them. however, where the divergence begins, is that not every little kid has that. not every 10 year old has a loving family or support network. and, especially, not every 10 year old inherits millions

so, to that end, although bruce wayne is not supremely special in his convictions or in his becoming of batman, the resources he had before and after the trauma that took his parents away from him, are

i say all this to communicate that bruce wayne's circumstances are only special due to his wealth. every other aspect, all of his convictions, all of his training, all of his hard work- they're all quite typical and achievable. and i argue that as a form of encouragement

batman is possibly the biggest inspirational figure, outside of superman, for those struggling in an unjust world. bruce battles the unjustness of a law system that doesn't combat crime effectively, but he battles as a rich white man

the rest of the world, who aren't rich or white or a man, battles the same system with even more wrong doings up against them. there are a million real batmans out there, all doing what they can in small ways to fight against corruption. my local batman volunteers at marine wildlife centers and is majoring in political science to become an environmental lawyer. my university has hundreds of batmans showing up to protests and signing petitions and making sure people are registered to vote. there's a batman on facebook who gives out free cpr lessons and certifications

my point is, with all the real cheesiness and "you can do it" cat posters, is that although there doesn't exist a real bruce wayne, and all the rich white men in the world combined could never create a batman even if they tried for the years their money adds up to-

it's not difficult to be batman. you just have to have the conviction for it.