I love the idea of vigilantism in theory. I'm a DC fan. Hell, I've written entire novels on the subject of super heroes, so I totally understand the appeal.
That said: Vigilantism makes for great fiction, but is often quite gruesome and chaotic in reality, or at the very least distasteful. (Look up Sombra Negra, or take a look at the sheer self-important assholery of certain internet vigilante groups.) The problem is that in real life, someone who believes they are above the law is not going to be some moralistic boy scout. They are more likely to be an impulsive and emotion-driven egomaniac. It's also important to consider that in most fiction, the vigilantes have a "no-kill" rule that lets us consider them the Good Guys; but in real life, if you are attacking in quick and practical ways, you stand a pretty good chance of killing that person by accident.
Now, naturally, if you find yourself in an immediately dangerous situation where you can help someone, you should. If on the other hand you *seek out* criminal behavior to stop, you've got a little testosterone problem going on, and you need to grow up and realize comic books aren't real. I hate it, but it's true. Batman is a great piece of fiction and a tremendous and powerful symbol--let's take him as just that.
Do you like Vigilantes?
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I love the idea of vigilantism in theory. I'm a DC fan. Hell, I've written entire novels on the subject of super heroes, so I totally understand the appeal.
That said: Vigilantism makes for great fiction, but is often quite gruesome and chaotic in reality, or at the very least distasteful. (Look up Sombra Negra, or take a look at the sheer self-important assholery of certain internet vigilante groups.) The problem is that in real life, someone who believes they are above the law is not going to be some moralistic boy scout. They are more likely to be an impulsive and emotion-driven egomaniac. It's also important to consider that in most fiction, the vigilantes have a "no-kill" rule that lets us consider them the Good Guys; but in real life, if you are attacking in quick and practical ways, you stand a pretty good chance of killing that person by accident.
Now, naturally, if you find yourself in an immediately dangerous situation where you can help someone, you should. If on the other hand you *seek out* criminal behavior to stop, you've got a little testosterone problem going on, and you need to grow up and realize comic books aren't real. I hate it, but it's true. Batman is a great piece of fiction and a tremendous and powerful symbol--let's take him as just that.