Vigilantism is deeply rooted in American tradition (Brown, 1975). Arising in response to an absence of law and order in early frontier regions, and a concern with self-protection and self-preservation, vigilantes were seen as valued members of society. One of the primary reasons for the value of vigilantes is that their jurisdiction began where the law ended (Burrows, 1976; Perry & Pugh, 1989). Moreover, vigilantes partook in behaviors that legal authorities would not, could not, and should not perform (Brown, 1975). Incidents of vigilantism are not isolated to the American frontier, though. Reports of vigilantism have emerged in countries such as the United Kingdom (Evans, 2003; Sharp, Atherton, & Williams, 2008), Kosovo (Wheeler, 2000), Nigeria (McCall, 2004), Indonesia (Barker, 2006), Israel (Yanay, 1993), and Ghana (Adinkrah, 2005). These reports often conjure up mixed beliefs. Some society members and organizations publicly chastise vigilantes (Hine, 1998; McCall, 2004; Perry & Pugh, 1989), while others publicly herald them as heroes (Perry & Pugh, 1989). Lawyers, judges, and citizens have seen vigilantes as necessary components in the framework of America (Brown, 1975) and several movies have idolized real (e.g., Issakaba series) and fictional vigilantes (e.g., Death Wish and Vigilante). Pundits and intellectuals have also defended real-life vigilantes (i.e., the Bakassi Boys) accused of torture, rape, and arbitrary imprisonment. Interestingly, individuals view behaviors such as rape and torture as deplorable when enacted in everyday situations; however, when vigilantes behave in such a way, their actions are not viewed as negatively (Ekeh, 2002; McCall, 2004). Although the general concept of a vigilante is somewhat clear... ... middle of paper ... ...g victims using the mechanism of dehumanization. Dehumanization removes human qualities and/or attributes from individuals by stripping them of thoughts and feelings. For example, during Vietnam, soldiers referred to the enemy as “gooks” rather than Vietnamese citizens (Kaiser, 1969). After removing the moniker of humanness, deplorable actions are more acceptable. If removing human qualities is not successful though, individuals might also ascribe demonic or bestial qualities to their victims (Bandura, 2002). Attribution of Blame Individuals might also derogate victims by using the attribution of blame mechanism of moral disengagement. Attribution of blame portrays the aggressor as a faultless victim driven to harmful conduct through forced action (Bandura, 2002). For example, some rapists suggest that the victim was “asking for it” by the way she dressed or acted.
This is often done through the use of language to direct focus away from the perpetrator of assault; in addition to accrediting rape to the victim, attributions of rape blame may be related to variables such as alcohol consumption, verbal and non-verbal miscommunication of sexual signals, and resistance (or lack thereof) used at the time of a sexual assault. This has the effect of complicating sexual assault analyses and blurring issues surrounding assault. For example, alcohol complicates discussions of consent and censure in rape trials; alcohol consumption by the perpetrator has a pardoning effect. Intoxicated perpetrators are held less responsible for their actions than sober perpetrators (Abbey et al., 2004). In this sense, perpetrators of sexual assault are able to “blame [their assault] on the a-a-alcohol”. Conversely, women who are sexually assaulted after having consumed alcohol are assessed from a victim-blaming perspective – a perspective that suggests that the woman caused her rape by suggesting her consent through her alcohol consumption (leading the man on). In
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.
The research article entitled “Social Connection Enables Dehumanization” by Adam Waytz and Nicholas Epley concentrates on the concept of dehumanization and the possible causes of this attribution of sub-human like qualities to human individuals. The article concentrates not on an aggressor versus victim dehumanization as to which the authors reference the picture of two Nazi doctors measuring the vital signs of a Jewish prisoner up to his neck in ice water (Waytz & Epley 2011), but rather concentrate on what causes dehumanization between the aggressor and other social equivalents. The article then hypothesizes that when a social connection is activated, the individual is more likely to dehumanize ones who are socially distant from the individual. This was thought to be true, for individuals who are satisfied with their social groups or sociableness in general are less likely to connect with outside individuals, therefore leading to a dehumanization of those who are outside of their social group.
The article ‘Stand your Ground’ Laws Encourage Vigilantes is a short opinionated piece written by Cynthia Tucker. It covers the topic of self-defense laws more commonly known as stand your ground laws and how she feels they help spread racism towards black citizens, and why they should be repealed. To get her point across to the reader she uses examples of a few high profile cases that demonstrates her opinion. The article also states information about the ...
Since San Diego downsized its police force in 2012 the crime rate has risen like one would expect. But thanks to Mr. Extreme a hero/vigilante, he protects the night streets of San Diego. Vigilantes are people who take the law into their own hands, because they fear/believe that the courts will not accomplish what they want done. All it takes is a simple google search to see that in fact there are real life vigilantes. Mr. Extreme is by definition a vigilante. He performs citizen’s arrests
Both aggression and violence are integral to an understanding of victimization. Victimization involves an attacker’s goal to maintain and impose their power and dominance (Berkowitz, 1993). Prior to more formal social organization, Elias (1986) argues that victims took the law into their own hands. Eventually, crime became seen as perpetrated against the state and not the victim, a development that pushed victims out of their criminal justice role. In keeping with the themes of dominance and power, Elias (1986) also suggests that specific groups, such as women, may be the target of social or cultural attitudes that perpetuate myths to justify victimization and, by extension, violence, by drawing on concepts such as Social Darwinism and a belief in a “just world.” Though animal studies have indicated that electrical stimulation to certain parts of an animal’s b...
At the time of the nation’s founding in 1776, the decentralization of police power was seen as a safeguard against government oppression and tyranny. Nevertheless, local police departments in the United States of America often used repressive and illegal tactics, particularly against criminals, members of minority groups, immigrants, and others labeled undesirable (Police Brutality).
American policing originated from early English law and is profoundly influenced by its history. Early law enforcement in England took on two forms of policing, one of which heavily influenced modern policing and it is known as the watch (Potter, 2013). The watch consisted, at first, of volunteers which had to patrol the streets for any kind of disorder including crime and fire. After men attempted to get out of volunteering by paying others, it became a paid professional position (Walker & Katz, 2012). The three eras of policing in America are shaped by these early ideas and practices of law enforcement. Throughout time, sufficient improvements and advancements have been made from the political era to the professional era and finally the community era which attempts to eliminate corruption, hire qualified officers and create an overall effective law enforcement system.
While the western frontier was still new and untamed, the western hero often took on the role of a vigilante. The vigilante’s role in the frontier was that of extralegal verve which was used to restrain criminal threats to the civil peace and opulence of a local community. Vigilantism was typical to the settler-state societies of the western frontier where the structures and powers of government were at first very feeble and weak. The typical cowboy hero had a willingness to use this extralegal verve. The Virginian demonstrated this throughout with his interactions with Trampas, most notably in the interactions leading up to the shoot out and during the shoot-out itself. “Others struggled with Trampas, and his bullet smashed the ceiling before they could drag the pistol from him… Yet the Virginian stood quiet by the...
Lyons, Christopher J. 2006. “Stigma or Sympathy? Attributions of Fault to Hate Crime Victims and Offenders.” American Sociological Association. 69:39-59
As the American landscape began to broaden its horizons, its administration of justice had to expand to accommodate new situations and environments. In the early nineteenth century, due to lack of law enforcement, the frontier presented itself as heavenly to outlaws and bandits (Schmalleger 139). Many citizens took up the task of protecting others in a form of vigi...
In today’s society there is a high fear of crime by society. Society actions show that there is anxiety and fear about crime. Therefore, anxiety and fear about crime has placid our cities and communities. Society express fear of being victimized by crimes, criminal activities, and behaviors. Therefore, according to, (Crime, 1999) states that “ the level of fear that a person holds depends on many factors, including but, not limited to: “ gender, age, any past experiences with crime that a person may have, where one lives, and one’s ethnicity.” All of those factors have a huge impact on one’s fear level.
In the real world today, we see how the world has been affected by all the events going around the world. We have issues like girl empowerment, social awareness and the well-being of the citizens around the world. As I looked up what the meaning of Vigilantism meant and what it meant to certain people. It either was justified as biased, good or bad. Some believed that people didn’t use their voice for good rather than bad when they try to make their voices heard to maintain the proper justice or some believe the laws we are given are there for a reason and we just have to obey by the
Society has a funny way of thinking that if we blame others we can protect ourselves. This is why the wrong people end up getting the blame placed on them, especially during times of distress. We see this a lot when new cases involving rape arise. Instead of the perpetrator being blamed for what they did, the victim is the one who gets faced with the blame for something they had no control over. As a result of victim blaming as it is called we have created a culture known as rape culture. The book Transforming a Rape Culture states “In a rape culture both men and women assume that sexual violence is a fact of life, inevitable as death or taxes” (Preamble). In other words, both men and women feel as though there
A writer from Southernct stated a fact that “ men, women, and children of all ages, races, religions, and economic classes have been victims of sexual assault. Sexual assault occurs in rural areas, small towns, and larger cities” ( “Southernct” 1). We have all seen on the news a case where a female has been raped and somehow the world makes us believe that it was her own fault that it happened. This is due to victim blaming. Victim blaming occurs when the victim of some sort of crime or wrongdoing is held partially or fully responsible for what happened to them. It is not always easy to identify though. Some people would be considered to be victim blaming over every day situations in life. For example, someone making the