“Humans Are Metal”: This Online Group Celebrates People That Are Real-Life Heroes (50 Pics)

"The aim of our community is to showcase just how bad*ss humans really are," a moderator of the subreddit, Stuttero, told Bored Panda. "In a sentence, it's a place for people doing bad*ss things."

Stuttero said that a lot of the long-time members of the sub are also big fans of our sister communities, r/natureismetal and r/natureisbrutal, "which both showcase similar content to r/HumansAreMetal, albeit with animals/wildlife instead of humans, and slightly more graphic content in the case of the latter - most of the team definitely do believe that the more gory content is viewed really well by the community."

The moderator highlighted that shared interests really are key to building a good, strong Reddit community. "It's been clear to us for as long as we've been here that the people make the community what it is—it's for this reason that we really try to give people a fair amount of latitude to post what interests them and the wider community—one thing for sure is that we wouldn't be where we are today without them."

As for the people in the pictures, they couldn't have done all these wonderful things if it wasn't for their ability to recognize, understand, and share the thoughts and feelings of others. Empathy is crucial for behaving compassionately—it allows us to experience another person's point of view, rather than just our own, and enables us to do good not because we have to but because we want to. Because we know it's what has to be done.

We, humans, begin to show signs of empathy in infancy and the trait develops steadily through childhood and adolescence. Yes, most of us are likely to feel greater empathy for people like ourselves and may feel less empathy for those outside our family, community, or race but it also allows us to bridge these gaps.

First responders, humanitarian aid workers, doctors, therapists, journalists, and others whose work involves opening themselves up to people's pain tend to be especially empathic. However, they need to watch out because all the heartbreak of those they help or whose stories they record can accumulate and when this "emotional residue" gets big enough, they may shut down, burn out, and become less willing or able to give of themselves.

Stuttero added that the same moderation team runs five communities all centered around a main common interest—our natural world, with the primary, largest communities being r/NatureIsFu*kingLit and r/natureismetal. They also operate r/natureisbrutal, r/naturewasmetal, and r/HumansAreMetal.

"Each one has quite a unique content specialization, but there's sure to be something for everyone in one of our communities. Between the communities, we have been very grateful to have been able to raise tens of thousands of dollars for animal and nature-orientated charities, along with hosting AMAs (public Q&A type sessions) with figures from all over the animal and nature-based world. We've also teamed up with other communities, charities, and organisations across not just Reddit but all over the Internet as part of events such as Superb Owl Sunday, and we regularly hold image and video contests," the moderator said.