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Should they? No. Morally (the world of "should"), vigilante justice should not be used in a society with laws and courts. Is is a different world than should

Should they? No. Morally (the world of "should"), vigilante justice should not be used in a society with laws and courts. Is is a different world than should, though. In the world of is, there are a large number of people who feel that the system is rigged against them, that they're never going to get justice, that the courts are bought by the rich and powerful. In the world of is, that creates the grounds where vigilante "justice" will be used. Whether you agree with it or not, whether you think it's right or not (I don't), we live in a society with a large number of people, with guns, who feel that the legal system has failed them, the political system has failed them, and this is the only course left. That feeling, in enough people, leads to some of them taking action. So let the rich and powerful beware. I don't agree with it, I don't advocate it, but it is. If you're powerful, and you live in a world with potential vigilantes, you'd better make sure that not very many of them feel like it's time to become a vigilante. The rich have ignored that bit of practical wisdom; yesterday may have been the chickens coming home to roost.

NoGravitas 2y ago
To spell out something I think you're saying: if you want people to use the legislative and judicial systems to deal with abuses by the rich and powerful, you need to make sure that those systems are visibly willing and able to do so.
- ConspiracyFact 2y ago
  It's not just that you need a system that adequately prosecutes and punishes crime in order to keep vigilantes in check. Most such systems evolved as an explicit alternative to systems based on vendettas or lynching. These latter modes of prosecution and punishment are always lurking under the surface because they were there first and could only be inhibited by more civilized modes; they were never abolished by them.
- deleted 2y ago
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NoGravitas 2y ago

To spell out something I think you're saying: if you want people to use the legislative and judicial systems to deal with abuses by the rich and powerful, you need to make sure that those systems are visibly willing and able to do so.

ConspiracyFact 2y ago
It's not just that you need a system that adequately prosecutes and punishes crime in order to keep vigilantes in check. Most such systems evolved as an explicit alternative to systems based on vendettas or lynching. These latter modes of prosecution and punishment are always lurking under the surface because they were there first and could only be inhibited by more civilized modes; they were never abolished by them.
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]