How Would You React To Mutants In The Real World?

[charliehustle415]

If you're implying we wouldn't be mutants ourselves...

Jealousy.

exactly, I feel like the majority of us would behave just like humans during the Morrison era.

Mutant culture would be the cool culture and we would be emulating them.

All hail Sublime.

[Micabe]

exactly, I feel like the majority of us would behave just like humans during the Morrison era.

Mutant culture would be the cool culture and we would be emulating them.

All hail Sublime.

Or, it could be quite the opposite


Genosha

[Hakka84]

That said, to answer the question, considering humans generally don't do very well when it comes to using just about any form of power responsibly and for the betterment of all around them, I'd be somewhat wary. Not because I don't trust certain groups of people, but because I don't trust people, when given any power, to always or consistently do right by others with it as opposed to chasing their own ambitions and desires. Hell, there's a pretty good saying about how power doesn't necessarily corrupt, it just reveals the true character of whoever possesses it, and in a lot of cases, unfortunately, that true character has been far less noble and upstanding than claimed or performed. Imagine that, but with superpowers that would enable someone to devastate whole military and/or police squadrons singlehandedly, or lay waste to entire neighborhoods and/or city blocks, for example. Yeah, I'd be wary.

This. I think we are all deluding ourselves if we really think we would react well to the existence of people who, thanks to genetic lottery, suddenly can level down cities or change your mind, or else.
It might be because I'm not an US citizen and I live in a country were weapons regulations are strict (do tell me, I had to gift away my recently-died dad hunting rifles because, unless I embarked in a long and tiresome bureaucratic and medical iter, I couldn't even keep them at home hidden in a cabinet as they've been in the last 20 years!!!). But I would be very, very scared if I knew I could walk in a street and be surrounded by people with guns in their pockets. Mutants (unless you're Beak) are basically walking guns (or automatic rifles or worst) charged and safety lock off, ready to fire as soon as they loose control, or get angry or scared. I would be very scared if I knew that I could be at the market doing my shopping and a teen out of a sudden could lit up in fire because their mutant powers kicked in.
In an utopia, you would have a girl who got Storm's powers, and she would fix what doesn't work on the planet climate. But then we know that she would likely unbalance the planet's climate even more, and wreck a natural system that can't be played with.
In an utopia, we would get a boy with Nightcrawler 's powers who went "Spider-Man" and stopped robberies and low-life criminals. But then, he would likely use his power to rob himself or do things he would get away with. He could kill people and have a perfect alibi since he could immediately teleport away to a distance place
In an utopia, we wouldn't get a Cyclops who stumbles on a manhole cover, looses his glasses and his power unleashes killing someone.
In an utopia, we would get someone with Jean Grey's telepatic powers. But the temptation to change minds, to go to X politician and force them to stop doing/preaching X, would be too much. She would do good, if she went to face terrorists and evil people, but where would she stop? I mean, we got plenty or comic titles or issue in which themes such as this were developed (we recently had Jean Grey play this game!). It always went bad.

I agree that some mutations (the harmless ones) could become object of infatuation, and some mutant could become an influencer or a star. But it wouldn't change fact that there would be mutants with powers to influence your mind, cause natural disasters on a whim or level cities. And, unlike weapons, you can't seize one's power.
I think in real life regulations (such as the one that lead to Civil Wars) would be requested by the population in no time - alongside some mark for the mutants to wear so to know if you have to be alert around them.

(sorry for the gloomy and dark post)

[Frobisher]

I would ask if they would like a brew.

[Sutekh]

Tell them about my D&D character. 'Cause I'm that guy.

If the mutant in question doesn't burn me to ash for being annoying, we'll know they aren't a threat.

[Phoenixx9]

Lol you definitely have dibs!

Lol, thanks. (I saved you a spot right after me!)

[DarkMagnus]

I would acept any x-gene if i dont born with one. Obvious if Mags X-gen or Emma/Jean/Cable gene I be Happy as hell

[Grunty]

It seems that the very idea of super powers being real would allready cause a large amount of uncertainty and even hysteria in the world, seeing how the laws of physics as understood and applied in daily life, had to be suddently reconsidered from ground up and required lengthly re-examination by people who suddently find themself doubting an understanding of the world they spend decades on learning and working with.

The fact that this seldomly if ever happens in super hero fiction, is thanks to a suspension of disbelief by the readers/viewers to accept it as necessary break from reality in order to enjoy action scenes of people in colorfull costumes beating up criminals, monsters and other people in colorfull costumes.

This is also the same reason why so many super powers tend to have a pseudo-scientific origin (science experiments gone right/wrong, special genes, cosmic radiation, etc.), because it creates the feeling that in those fanastical worlds, those elements are allready understood and therefor an acceptable mundanity.

This even applies to magic which tends to be based on an internal system of rules and laws, that the writers use to prevent characters from just doing things too easily.

However in the real world most people would likely start demanding for these "alien" new forces to be understood ASAP, just so protections against them and methods to controll them could be quickly established, all so they could regain a certain amount of feeling safe again.

After all this is why human civilizations have always produced all kinds of beliefs, rituals and prayers, which they believed would protect them against forces they could not yet understand and why scientific research and understanding eventualy did produce them or showcased the limitations of what they could protect against.

Which of course would in turn apply to the additional cause of fear and hysteria when normal people would randomly gain these laws of physics breaking powers which they can then wield at their finger tips and nobody can yet understand why and how.

Readers of X-men comics might consider themself above hysteria or outdated beliefs and completely tolerant towards the foreign and unknown and therefor hypothetical on the side of the poor, downtrodden and hated upon mutants, but that's because they are safe and secure by the pannels and displays that seperate them from having to deal with yet another uncertainty in their allready chaotic and messy world.

Weirdly enough the same hysteria about super powers being real, which would make the average citizen concerned, would likely create a new gold rush and arms race among governments and corporations to get their hands on these people in order to make use of their powers before "someone else" could.

In the real world mutants might need to fear prison camps just as much as head hunters on their door steps trying to shower them with contracts and benefits.

[bat39]

To be perfectly honest, it'd probably turn me into a supporter of Senator Kelly.

Anyone who disagrees with me is either lying, or has a far more optimistic (potentially naive) view of the world than is warranted.

[Sutekh]

Weirdly enough the same hysteria about super powers being real, which would make the average citizen concerned, would likely create a new gold rush and arms race among governments and corporations to get their hands on these people in order to make use of their powers before "someone else" could.

In the real world mutants might need to fear prison camps just as much as head hunters on their door steps trying to shower them with contracts and benefits.

The exact 'source' of the power would probably play a major part in world reactions.

Aliens have super-powers like shapeshifting or telepathy? People who have been famously super-racist or sexist or whatever might suddenly be 'us against them' and want to transfer their 'Other' hatred to the aliens.

There's magic, and only some people have it (like DC with their Homo Magi)? Witch hunts sponsored by branches of several major religions. People being killed for the *suspicion* of magic, like, something I can't explain happened. Sally totally should have died in that car accident, but lived! She's a witch! Kill her!

There's magic, and *everyone* can learn it? Oh my. Panic on steroids, but the purges would be super-unsuccessful, since no many nations are mostly secular these days, and they'd have magical superiority tout suite, as the hater-nations drive off (or kill) their own magic-curious citizens.

Mutants exist and it's just a gene? We've got gene transfer surgery. I could literally have the X-gene of any mutant I want implanted via a retrovirus. And that tech would be *more* advanced in a world where super-powers and tech billionaires could turn themselves into Proteus or Jean Grey or whomever they can get DNA for, than it is in our world, where genetic surgery 'only' cures genetic diseases, and so are a lower priority than 'OMG, for the price of one intercontinental ballistic missile, we have have six Storms?' The most common mutants would be extremely loyal and jingoistic (and closely monitored...) soldiers and operatives and agents working for governments, but the most publicly-known would be, and work for, various high profile billionaires.

Mutants exist and it's *not* something you can steal and farm and grow your own? Kidnap the ones that do exist (while launching a propaganda war stressing how those other countries mistreat their mutants, and even do some targeted killing of Chinese or Indian or Indonesian mutants (since, logically, the most and highest powered mutants would appear in the most populous countries...), and frame it to look like their own governments is killing them to 'encourage' them to defect to [insert your country name here]) and either turn them into your agents, or kill them so they can't be used against you.

[Micabe]

The exact 'source' of the power would probably play a major part in world reactions.

Aliens have super-powers like shapeshifting or telepathy? People who have been famously super-racist or sexist or whatever might suddenly be 'us against them' and want to transfer their 'Other' hatred to the aliens.

There's magic, and only some people have it (like DC with their Homo Magi)? Witch hunts sponsored by branches of several major religions. People being killed for the *suspicion* of magic, like, something I can't explain happened. Sally totally should have died in that car accident, but lived! She's a witch! Kill her!

There's magic, and *everyone* can learn it? Oh my. Panic on steroids, but the purges would be super-unsuccessful, since no many nations are mostly secular these days, and they'd have magical superiority tout suite, as the hater-nations drive off (or kill) their own magic-curious citizens.

Mutants exist and it's just a gene? We've got gene transfer surgery. I could literally have the X-gene of any mutant I want implanted via a retrovirus. And that tech would be *more* advanced in a world where super-powers and tech billionaires could turn themselves into Proteus or Jean Grey or whomever they can get DNA for, than it is in our world, where genetic surgery 'only' cures genetic diseases, and so are a lower priority than 'OMG, for the price of one intercontinental ballistic missile, we have have six Storms?' The most common mutants would be extremely loyal and jingoistic (and closely monitored...) soldiers and operatives and agents working for governments, but the most publicly-known would be, and work for, various high profile billionaires.

Mutants exist and it's *not* something you can steal and farm and grow your own? Kidnap the ones that do exist (while launching a propaganda war stressing how those other countries mistreat their mutants, and even do some targeted killing of Chinese or Indian or Indonesian mutants (since, logically, the most and highest powered mutants would appear in the most populous countries...), and frame it to look like their own governments is killing them to 'encourage' them to defect to [insert your country name here]) and either turn them into your agents, or kill them so they can't be used against you.

Sounds like the various incarnations of the Weapons Program...

[DarkMagnus]

Same as this reality horny for Them