All hail the Vigilante

Given the rise of vigilantism in our sweet 'lil socity -- of which Mr. Preznit is a symptom and not the disease -- it should not surprise any of us to read a story that presents a viglante as something to be snickered at rather than concerned about. Although the fact that Bernard Goetz is starring in C-grade movies is not much of a shock where Kato Kaelin can become a minor celebrity.

It is a problem in our gun obsessed culture if we mock viglantism in act and thought rather than deal with the actual problems that cause it (see Bowling for Columbine for source material on this obsession). But we don't worry about nothin'. For example, why is it OK to attack a country that does not pose a threat to us (ok, maybe a mild annoyance)? Isn't that the height of vigilantism? It certainly makes for poor foreign policy.

But vigilantism rewards macho heros who destroys the dasterdly villain, right? Right? Oh.

From our friends from the AP via USA Today:

Next week is the 20th anniversary of the Bernhard Goetz subway shooting in New York City. The Associated Press recalls that after the case "ignited a national furor over racism, gun control, crime and vigilante justice, New York is a far different place, and the sensational case now exists mostly as an artifact from another era." On Dec. 22, 1984, Goetz, a meek-looking white man, rose from his seat and shot four black youths, one of whom had demanded $5. "Could it happen now?" asked attorney Ron Kuby, who won $43 million in a suit against Goetz on behalf of paralyzed victim Darrell Cabey. "Inconceivable. Inconceivable that the attack would take place. Inconceivable that the attacker would be hailed as a hero."

At the time, there were 15,000 felonies a year on average in the subway. Twenty years later, there were 2,760 felonies reported through Nov. 14 - barely eight per day. Murders in the subways, which topped out at 26 in 1990, are at zero for the year. Subway ridership is at about 4.5 million riders daily; in 1984, ridership was at about 2.7 million per day. "The subways are everybody's second neighborhood," said Thomas Reppetto, a police historian who heads the Citizens Crime Commission. "If you live in Brooklyn, and see a story about a robbery in the Bronx, you think, 'Gee, that's terrible.' But if there's a story about a robbery in the subway, you think, 'Whoa. I ride down there.'"