Vigilantism

Vigilantism has long been a part of American Culture. Through literature, television, movies, and plays vigilantes are often glorified and idolized by people all over the globe. From childhood, we are told stories of "heroes" who protect the poor and weak from the rich and powerful, we are hypnotized by the acts of wild west outlaws on television, and we envy the abilities of assassins in our favorite movies. However, when fiction suddenly becomes reality and individuals decide to take the law into their own hands, most people tend to condemn the acts committed by real-life vigilantes, predicting that should vigilantism become acceptable behavior, all that is being accomplished is disestablishing a justice system put in place to secure people's rights and guarantee people's guilt or innocence. It seems vigilantism mainly stems from the belief that the government is corrupt and/or ineffective in punishing criminals. Out of this comes vigilantes who take it upon themselves to deliver their own brand of justice. In a kind of backward logic, they become criminals themselves in a miguided effort to punish criminals. While a vigilante may see his course of action as an act of good done with the best intentions, they tend to be blinded by their own objective. Vigilantism can be like the flu, easily spread from one person to the next, eventually affecting so many that it becomes an epidemic.