So here's the question: Should black people accept government's dereliction of its first basic function, that of providing protection? My answer is no. One of our basic rights is the right to defend oneself against predators. If the government can't or won't protect people, people have a right to protect themselves.
You say, "Hey, Williams, you're not talking about vigilantism, are you?" Yes, I am.
Time was, before charlatans like Jesse and Al and their ilk took over the "leadership," this was understood through bitter experience.
3 comments:
uh, no. Self Defense is not the same thing as Vigilante Justice.
More evidence that Walter E. Williams is one of the brightest men in the nation.
Hardin, yes it is when the community as a whole is under attack or suppression of freedom of movement at risk of life from miscreants. Defense of your neighbor falls under the aegis of self defense.
To do nothing because others who are supposed to do something but don't, is dereliction and, though unwillingly given, is the same as being an accessory to the crime. At least on a moral level.
Vigilante Justice, if just, is perfectly aligned with the legal tenets of justice when the legal system fails or refuses to perform its duties.
Vigilantism is not entirely synonymous with vigilante justice. Groups like the Guardian Angels are a far cry from the "string 'em up" stereotype of vigilante justice. There is a great, justifiable concern that vigilantism will degenerate into vigilante justice but with enough care and, yes, vigilance, it doesn't have to be that way. History has shown that.
Neighborhood watches are, in the broadest sense of the term, vigilance committees, and are encouraged throughout the US.
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