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Before I begin, I must reject all of this “10 and below” talk. Young is defined as “youthful” or “not old” [1]; Pro clearly hoped to limit his culpability in this debate by reducing the population in question to a ridiculously small subset. That was a pointless exercise anyway, as the definition of role model explains that young people are especially impacted, not exclusively impacted. As such, I am free to discuss Batman’s influence on any age range. My CaseGotham’s Biggest CriminalBatman commits more crime on a given night than any of the petty crooks he hunts. That doesn’t seem possible, but let’s do the math. How many laws does Batman break during an investigation? At the very least, there are. .. Trespassing Breaking and entering Tampering with a crime scene Tampering with and/or theft of evidence Concealing and use of deadly weapons Public endangerment Assault and battery Kidnapping . .. not to mention things like destruction of property, stalking, illegal surveillance, evading and resisting arrest, wiretapping, accessing confidential government and medical files, and innumerable violations for the illegal use of his specialized car, plane, motorcycle, and boat within city limits. Believe it or not, that’s the petty stuff! He’s also committed multiple cases of child endangerment, criminal negligence, attempted murder, and has been involved in multiple deaths. Thus, in his single-minded, violent, self-indulgent crusade to end crime, Batman has instead become its biggest spokesperson. He is the epitome of the ends not justifying the means, and to say that he and his methods should be applauded, even emulated, is hypocrisy. It is also incredibly dangerous, as an endorsement for Batman is an endorsement for vigilantism, violence, and vengeance. Why So Sociopathic? Imagine two orphans. After losing his entire family, the first was taken in by a couple of meager means. His poor upbringing instilled in him a strong work ethic, while his compassion for life taught him to value honesty, fairness, and altruism. Despite having lost his home to tragedy and evil, he learned to trust the good in people and would grow up to bring peace and hope to others. The second orphan takes a different path. He also loses everything, but his thoughts festered on revenge and retribution for what he lost. Despite being born of privilege to kind-hearted parents, he learned to see only darkness in others. He later grows up to a world of self-imposed isolation and mistrust, bringing fear and violence to others. Aside from being portraits of Superman and Batman, respectively, these are also snapshots of a stable and unstable mindset. Batman is obsessive, antisocial, sociopathic, and extremely aggressive. He lost any semblance of normalcy and sanity the day his parents died. Now, rather than working through his issues calmly or using philanthropic means to fight crime, he literally lives in a cave, hides behind a mask, and beats up people who make him mad. There are few worse role models for emotional development than Batman. Worst. Babysitter. Ever. Since Pro emphasized children so much in his round, let’s talk for a bit about Batman and kids. During his tenure, Batman has employed no less than 6 teens and pre-teens to work as side-kicks and allies, with at least three of which being his own biological or adopted children! You may be wondering why the number is so high when there is usually only one Robin. That’s because most of them got messed up. .. bad [2]: Robin #1: Dick Grayson - Became obsessed with crime fighting; became Nightwing Robin #2: Jason Todd - Beaten with a crowbar by Joker, then killed in an explosion Robin #3: Tim Drake - Watched his father be murdered by super villains Robin #4: Stephanie Brown - Murdered by Black Mask Robin #5: Damian Wayne - Trained assassin; multiple murderer Batgirl #1: Barbara Gordon - Paralyzed by Joker Batgirl #2: Cassandra Cain - Trained assassin; multiple murderer Considering their ages ranged from 10-18 years old when their lives were ended, crippled, or forever changed by Batman’s influence, Batman is personally responsible for each of these outcomes. He taught children to fight against murderers and madman and, of course, their lives were destroyed. This sends a very dangerous message to youths and paints a very clear picture about the kind of psychopath we’re dealing with here. Counter-ArgumentsBatman is. .. a good guy? Pro’s entire case can be summarized in one sentence: Batman is a good role model because he fights bad guys and sacrifices himself. Well, remember in The Dark Knight when Joker kills all those mobsters and bank robbers? Does that make him a good guy? How about at the end of the movie, when there are bombs strapped to a ferry full of criminals and one full of civilians. When that tattoo-faced murderer throws the detonator out the window to save the civilians, does that make him a good guy? Pro is confusing doing good with being good. Batman is a criminal who fights other criminals. This does not make him admirable. Batman vs. the PoliceBatman obviously works outside the law; that is the problem. The “protocol and regulations” Pro believes hinder police investigations are not arbitrary. They are in place to prevent reckless, insane, and criminally dangerous vigilantism the likes of which Batman practices on a daily basis. I agree that helping people can be considered an act of good. However, as enforcing and maintaining societal good is the work of the police force and Batman routinely and flippantly interferes with their operations, any independent good he does in the process becomes a double-edged sword. References1. . http://dictionary.reference.com...2. . http://tinyurl.com...