Do you believe in vigilantism? Do you believe in criminals and outlaws being punished for their crimes in the name of justice? What if you knew someone who was so close to you, you would do whatever it took to find those responsible for the pain they caused and punish them in the name of justice. Would you walk down the path of a vigilante and help bring about an end to their tyranny? Vigilantism can be looked at as crime if you look at it in a negative way, or it can be looked at in a positive way. Many vigilantes help make the world a better place every day by doing away with the evil people in this world who kidnap, rape, murder, and loot people in the streets. Vigilantism is justified because the vigilantes help make the world a better place and help bring to justice the ones that the law cannot catch.
American vigilantism began way in the Deep South and old west during the 1700s when the criminal justice system was ineffective or if the law itself was considered corrupted. Groups of people would join as one and would call themselves vigilance committees and these people would get together to banish or kill those who threatened their communities, their families, or their privileges and lives which they worked so hard to establish(mega links). The states of Texas, Montana, California, other states located in the south, and in the city of New Orleans, these were where many hotbeds for vigilante activity were located in the United States history. Countless accounts of criminals being tarred and feathered, hanged, and shot by vigilance committees have been documented in the southern states. The record for the bloodiest vigilante activity from 1863 to 1865 lies in the state of Montana. Hundreds of thieves suspected of stealing ho...
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...r helping keep the community safe because it is what they truly deserve. If someone in your family was viciously murdered, wouldn’t you want to see them punished for what they have done? Without vigilantism, thugs may eventually take over and soon the entire world could fall under corruption. Even if you do decide not to go after the killer of your family member, what would you do? Would you just sit there and move on and try to heal. Well you can’t heal a wound unless you’ve cleaned it out.
Works Cited
Kerr, Peter. "Citizen Anti-crack Drive: Vigilance or Vigilantism?" 23 May 1988. Print.
"Vigilante." WorldBook. WorldBook. Web. 22 Apr. 2010.
"Vigilantism, Vigilante Justice, and Self Help." Vigilantism, Vigilante Justice, and Self Help. Mega Links in Criminal Justice. Web. 28 Apr. 2010.
Provost, Gary. Into Their Own Hands. New York: Bantam, 1994. Print.
There were many accounts of what happened in Prineville on that fateful day in 1882, in Reign of the vigilantes, William Thompson told a very different account of the events of vigilantism that occurred on March 15, 1882 Thompson bent the truth to protect himself.
Jacobs, David, Jason T. Carmichael, and Stephanie Kent. 2005. “Vigilantism, Current Racial Threat and Death Sentences.” American Sociological Review 70: 656-677.
Throughout the tale of time, thoughts of revenge have corrupted even the most innocent of minds. In Andre Dubus’ “Killings”, Matt Fowler is conflicted by two opposing forces: his own desire and his wife’s demand for the death of their son’s murderer. Through her manipulative words and her emotional meltdowns, Matt Fowler ultimately succumbs to his wife’s request and commits the gruesome act, which causes the audience to reevaluate the appropriateness and cost of vigilante justice.
Vigilantism is the black eye on the history of the American frontier. During the 19th century due to a lack of trust, competence, or unreliable law enforcement, the settlers on the frontiers took it upon themselves to provide security and safety for their newly progressing cities. Life in the developing American west was difficult and created many problems for everyone involved. Texas’ history is riddled with skirmishes, wars, and feuds that called upon the local civilians to turn to vigilantism. So to, Arizona and New Mexico, while struggling to gain their statehood, saw instances of civilian uprisings to quell local violence. Of course, however, neither Texas nor the American Southwest saw the hotbed of violence and destruction that was seen in San Francisco following the introduction of the Gold Rush. The descriptions that were used to describe the excitement that the discovery of gold created could also be just as easily applied to the ways it affected the peoples mentality. “In 1848 and 1849 it was usually known as the ‘Gold Fever,’ the ‘California Fever,’ the ‘Yellow Fever,’ the ‘California Mania,’ and the ‘Gold Mania.” People from all over the globe were abandoning their responsibilities and duties for the chance of striking it rich and making a big splash. This dramatic influx of people, cultures, and beliefs into one location created the right mix of hope, frustration, anger, and pride that would lead to chaos and even though “San Francisco had the most efficient, most professional police department in the United States [during the 19th century]” it could not quell the need for vigilantes to rise up and provide order amongst lawlessness.
On February 18, 1965, C. T. Vivian in protest of the arrest of James Orange led a march to the courthouse in Marion, Alabama. State officials sent orders to block the Courthouse with a line of Alabama state troopers. They waited for the marchers with orders to target Vivian specifically. All of the street lights in the location were turned off, and state troopers rushed at the protesters attacking them. One of the protesters with Vivian was Jimmie Lee Jackson. He ran from the scene with his mother. They hid i...
1980-1989. Detroit: Gale, 2001. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 22 Apr. 2011. “Violent Crime: Crime Against a Person.” Crime and Punishment in America Reference Library.
It surprises me that the vigilantes, as the Minutemen are called by the state, can’t see this in a bigger perspective, and solve the problem without guns and killings. Even the Border Patrol is some kind of tired of these “Border protectors”, because they are a danger to all – untrained civilians trying to perform law-enforcing functions.
...t is our job, as citizens, to at least be prepared for the criminals’ attack and to be able to defend ourselves in time of need. At the Virginia Tech shooting, the responding police officers took approximately three minutes to reach the school, but about five minutes to break through the chains binding the doors together. Cho fired rounds off for about nine minutes. Out of those nine minutes only four, or less, could have happened, if a professor or other college personnel stopped the aggressive action before the tragedy was completed. Police cannot get there fast enough sometimes to save a life; citizens must be prepared for the worst. One thing is for sure, one would rather have it and doesn’t need it, than need it and doesn’t have it. People often ask themselves, “Why should I have a gun?” Well guns are needed when seconds count, and the police are minutes away.
The need for the police and the public to work together was recognized as far back as the 19th century. In 1829, the Metropolitan Police of London was established by Sir Robert Peel. Peel worked in many areas of government during his career striving to pass legislation to reform child labor laws and other statutes to help protect working Londoners. However, he is recalled by many as the “Founder of Modern Policing” (Jones, 2004). During his time as British Home Secretary, Peel took on lowering London’s rising crime rate, in addition to reforming the criminal code of the time. Peel’s police force was uniformed and its members were taken from the people it served. He believed this, along with strict discipline, was a key to keeping law and order in the streets of London (Jones, 2004).
After the Anti-Terrorism Law of 1996 was passed militia violence continued throughout the United States, but none of activities seemed organized on a large scale (Sonder, 2000). This could be due to increased pressures on the movement by the new law, which forced the militia further underground.
Vigilantism in World War I America was a perversion of the law that in the eyes of the perpetrator was a just action no matter how gruesome or violent. The obligation of vigilance during the war time was seen as patriotic duty but somewhere along the way the thought of it became distorted. Christopher Capozzola writes in his article The Only Badge Needed is Your Patriotic Fervor: Vigilance, Coercion and the Law in World War I America about vigilance taking three forms: Defending the home front and in particular in Connecticut, labor disputes and social and moral disputes. During this article one sees that vigilantism was not a clear cut defiance of the American law or system it was a theory that put the power in the hands of the people but did not separate it from those that created it and those that could act upon it.
...ontroversial Issues in Crime and Criminology. New York: Dushkin Publishing Group Inc. Schonebaum, Stephen E., ed. 1998. Does Capital Punishment Deter Crime? San Diego: Greenhaven Press Inc.
Select one strategy for preventing or reducing violent behavior or one emergency life-saving procedure and list the steps for the strategy or procedure.
I have respect for the police, and the job they do. Policemen are a selected few who do a dangerous job. Police have done many great things to help improve communities, help people during their off duty hours and stand strong in face of many fears. The police trying to enforce the law are on the streets in all types of weather. Instead of being at home with their families on holidays they are working to keep peace. Everyday, they step out in a world where violence is considered appropriate.
Chaney, Cassandra, and Ray Robertson. "Racism and Police Brutality In America." Journal of African American Studies 17.4 (2013): 480-505. Academic Search Premier. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.