Vigilantism: Eraser

[Abishai100]

Jonathan Swift wrote in his governance sarcasm essay "A Modest Proposal" (1729) that a profitable way to deal with the masses of homeless children in London in the face of the government's mismanagement of outreach resources is to collect them and slaughter them and use them as sources of food.

This sarcastic proposal presented the idea that sometimes it seems that drastic measures can be considered to awaken the masses from moral apathy.

Not unlike Orson Welles' hysteria-plea radio broadcast of H.G. Wells' "The War of the Worlds" (1898), Swift's essay revealed the power of communication in disseminating ideas about anarchy management.

In the same vein, I'd like to offer a modest proposal for the modern age for a different dominion: prostitution.

Imagine that the governments of Bangkok (Thailand) and New York City (USA) initiate a policy of encouraging everyday citizens to hunt down and kill wayward female prostitutes wandering the city streets and use them as sources of food for the homeless.

This would solve the double-problem of modern mass economics mismanagement and welfare program failures which motivate unemployed women to seek prostitution as a viable means for self-reliance and which catalyze random muggings and robberies by unemployed homeless people looking for small amounts of money to buy food.


Such a policy deals with the general jurisprudence instabilities and governance failures that prompt madmen to become vigilantes to take undue power away from an irresponsible government and police force.

So if you're worried that a new age Jack the Ripper may turn up roaming city streets and stalking prostitutes and savagely murdering them in the name of governance criticism, perhaps thinking about this new age 'Modest Proposal' will dissuade tomorrow's new society-critiquing maniac.

Leatherface, the gruesome protagonist in Tobe Hooper's horror classic "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (1974), wields a horrible chainsaw which he uses to rip up his victims who are usually wayward teenagers. Perhaps modern age eco-activism mismanagement would motivate someone to copy Leatherface by murdering female prostitutes with a chainsaw in the name of governance eco-management critique --- i.e., "Today's women do not find adequate social motivation to encourage children to build eco-conscious tree-houses, so perhaps they should be cut down with a chainsaw which would otherwise be used to cut down precious trees."


Modernity seems to breed a new form of 'radical sarcasm.'






A Modest Proposal - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[Moonglow]

Will we get to select the color of meat we get?

 

[Abishai100]

Vigilante Peppers

I like this joke about self-determination.

You know, in a state governed by democracy, the people have a right to comment on all matters including police authority. It's no surprise that the vigilantism-exploratory American counter-culture group, the Hell's Angels, obtained a great deal of social notoriety.

When leaders refuse the people liberties of self-rule, they cite claims of mob rule or unavoidable insanity (i.e., uneducated or misinformed hysteria). Police force advocates use such claims to disavow the sanctity or legitimacy of vigilantism.

I think it's a complicated issue. If a democracy such as America has the right to draft soldiers for war-related crises, how can it refuse the citizenry the right to talk about vigilantism, and what are the boundaries between high-minded vigilantism and everyday community organization talk surrounding neighborhood watch or citizen-patrolled curfews?

American culture offers its people convenient access to goods and services under the umbrella of consumerism (i.e., eTrade, Amazon.com, etc.). Americans are therefore no stranger to privatization of access and shopping. It's natural for Americans to be curious about everything they're buying including jurisprudence tax-implication issues such as vigilantism which partially explains the modern age popularity of vigilantism-fantasy themed comic book adaptation television programs such as "Arrow" (The CW) and "Gotham" (Fox TV).







Gotham TV series - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[Abishai100]

Armchair Warrior

It seems that vigilantism is motivated by feelings of helplessness and the desire to create 'everyday heroes.'

Neighborhood curfew watches are greatly driven by such sentiments or emotions.

If you've seen the Hollywood (USA) movie "Mr. Mom" (1983), you know that society is intrigued by the 'everyday hero.'

When a working dad takes the time to put on his wife's dishwashing gloves and wash the dinner dishes for her, he feels (and looks) like a glove-wearing superhero to his kids.

Balancing courage with the wallet is the real trick of speed.





Mr. Mom - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[Abishai100]

American Priesthood


Here's a nice story about lifestyle activism perhaps relevant to our times.

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In the late 1990s, American colleges and universities began implementing programs to make administrative policies more enforceable on campuses. Investments were made in security offices so patrols to monitor students walking home late at night seemingly over-inebriated would be more scrutinizing. The purpose of these policies was to market a greater control over student social life and encourage alumni and prospective applicants to think about how school administration could be more close to everyday life. These policies reflected a general American trend in regulating consumerism lifestyle when mercantilism-catalyzed globalization (i.e., eTrade) was making politics more humanist.

Two male Ivy League students named Alan and Walter were involved in a bohemian lifestyle and interacted with gypsy-oriented people. Alan and Walter met a beautiful gypsy woman named Ilsa whom they were both interested in. Alan and Walter were close friends, but they decided to compete for the affections of the lovely Ilsa. They went so far in their pursuit so as to sabotage each other’s attempts to woo her. When their other friend Max noticed what was going on, the competition was about to become more ‘regulated.’ Max himself was a prince who had an estranged relationship with his biological father. Max experimented with drugs and decadence before returning to a more diligent and prudent lifestyle to complete his senior year of college. Max noticed the dangerous rivalry between Alan and Walter and decided to take action on behalf of his friends to encourage more wisdom and promote a more balanced sense of self-awareness. Max proposed to Alan and Walter that if their rivalry persisted, then the three of them may lose touch and fall out of a potential long-term post-college friendship which would otherwise include Alan and Walter visiting Max at his beautiful estate in Sweden.

Max decided he was happy with how he addressed this social problem between Alan and Walter as American culture was becoming more and more scrutinizing of personal life. Max went home after college and began a Christian outreach community program. He decided that if America was becoming more scrutinizing, then he could use Christian marketing to promote lifestyle consciousness.

Max continued his outreach activities until he noticed that a drug dealer named Earl living in his neighborhood had established an intricate narcotics operation. Earl used his mistress Wanda who fronted as his housekeeper to run drug sales to various homes in the community. Wanda was previously an airline stewardess involved in an international narcotics-smuggling ring. Earl became very powerful and Wanda was his underworld baroness. Max got wind of this new tide of intrigue and danger and decided to open a community-friendly lemonade stand operated by the neighborhood children whom Max was friendly with. The lemonade stand did not stamp out the problems of drug abuse, but it did create a feeling of general optimism in a climate of intrigue over-indulgence. Max was very happy with himself and decided to write a book titled, “American Priesthood.”


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Detective Comics - Wikipedia the free encyclopedia

 

[Abishai100]

The Allergy Parade


Why were/are the Hell's Angels (a distinctive vigilante group formed in the last American century) so popular?

Was there something about the formative years of populism fervor leading up to today's network-access centric media play (i.e., Facebook) that created a social demand for human traffic drama?

England's police boast the fabled Scotland Yard, which even today we reference for folk story campfires when we talk about maniacs such as Jack the Ripper and buy English detective-story adaptation movies such as "Sherlock Holmes" (Robert Downey, Jr.).

America has never had a Scotland Yard, and America is the world's hub for modern-era pedestrianism intrigue (i.e., Wall Street).

If we look at an episode of the Batman (DC Comics) vigilantism-fantasy comic book adapted television series "Batman: The Animated Series" (Fox TV) titled "Almost Got 'Im" (November, 1992), we find a story of a handful of criminally insane nemeses of the caped crusader Batman who relate their experiences with nearly trapping the valiant vigilante in various death-traps. This episode represents a general modern-age fascination with 'networking-related drama labyrinths' (i.e., Enron) arising from pedestrianism fantasies (i.e., Rodney King).

Invoking images from such a story about an 'adversary gauntlet' raises interesting questions about how modern civilization constructs street-talk dialogue about 'punitive posturing.'

For example, does the circulation of politics-oriented pop art iconography (i.e., Captain Planet) actually offer insights and motivation for tort reform?






Almost Got 'Im