Vigilante Justice

The government has two jobs in my book: keep citizens safe and provide infrastructure so that the economy can grow. That's it. The rest will take care of itself. The first job means adherence to the rule of law.

When citizens distrust their government to protect them, they have two choices: become victims (England has punative laws against those wishing to defend themselves, America has just the opposite) or become aggressors.

Drudge links to the Houston Chronicle which reports this: In Dallas, an outraged mother screamed after some sick guy was showing pornographic pictures on a playground. Other men around, chased the deviant down and pummelled him.

You know what? I don't care in the small sense. Maybe if more freaks knew they'd have the shit beat out of them or worse if they preyed on children and women, they might think twice before engaging their sick fantasies. There are a few pedophiles on the lose around here and I would like them to know a serious ass-whupping is coming if they take a step toward a child.

I do care in the big sense. The way the justice system is set up, attempted anything, implied threats, weird lurking, stealthy following, and other threatening behavior can't be dealt with "until a crime is committed". There is a general skepticism on the part of law enforcement for those alleging these sorts of behaviors. Understandably so. And we don't want a police state either.

Predators of all kinds are terrorists. They may show weirdness but what can be done about weird? The crimes, once committed, are so devastating to family and community, that they must be prevented. Look, in one generation people have completely changed behavior. Hardly anyone lets their kids walk to school anymore. Few people let their kids play in the neighborhood--all because evil weirdos have terrorized people into behavior change.

What can be done about this? How can law enforcement deal with these freaks? And of course, there is the kid who at 18 was accused of statuatory rape by his girlfriend's parents when she was sixteen. This goes on his permanent record and that's ridiculous.

Overall, there is no sense of justice when it comes to these sort of crimes and no trust that law enforcement can do anything about it. So, a dude gets beat up. And then on a plane in England, the underlying fear and unease skitters to the surface and plane passengers revolt. Again, because there is no trust in the government (for very good reason, it seems) and no faith in the justice system.

These types of situations are ripe for anarchy. The government must act with seriousness with any kind of terrorism foreign or domestic or people will end up worse than bruised.