Masked Vigilantes
- Thread starter loneranger
- Start date
Who is this "we" that you speak of?
In the context of this thread, we're talking about costumed heroes. Batman is not a death squad.
maverick
Banned
He means Batman as a character within a comic book is not a death squad.
Not that it has any relevance within this thread.
The Klan persecutes minoritires for Racial reasons, and not because they feel unsafe in their own houses or believe the cops are useless, but because they're fanatical white supremacists.
Vigilantes can form spontanously or as a part of a long process in which ordinary citizens take arms against criminals or people they think they're criminals, taking the law into their own hands (or mistakenly believing they are)
Death Squads depending on the type, unlike the previous two, would have to be better organized and financed, and depending on its nature, government backed in a way or the other (like the Death Squads in El Salvador, IIRC)
I could see somebody killing a local criminal if he does enough stuff to anger the local population. Maybe wearing a mask.
But going from there to doing it on an regular basis is a long step. If nothing else, the killer need to feel that there's some point to the act. And if there's to many bad guys, it's pointless.
And there's the information issue. The killer need to know who to kill. Police might do but if they know with a grat degree of certanty, they prove it in the court of law.
There's an exeption, for in South America where death squads are active. The social conditions responsible for the death squads can be copied I suppose.
And don't forget crimes like open air drug trade and prostitution. They need a fixed place, well known enough to attract customers and thus the information problem is solved.
But going from there to doing it on an regular basis is a long step. If nothing else, the killer need to feel that there's some point to the act. And if there's to many bad guys, it's pointless.
And there's the information issue. The killer need to know who to kill. Police might do but if they know with a grat degree of certanty, they prove it in the court of law.
There's an exeption, for in South America where death squads are active. The social conditions responsible for the death squads can be copied I suppose.
And don't forget crimes like open air drug trade and prostitution. They need a fixed place, well known enough to attract customers and thus the information problem is solved.
1. Right.
2. I know that. The purpose of this thread is a RL Batman or something similar.
3. Ideology. The Klan had an ideology; the guy from the movie "Death Wish" did not.
Well, to be fair there ARE some superhero groups out there, although they aren't nearly as impressive as their counterparts in comic books.
http://www.reallifesuperheroes.org/
This is actually a subculture that fascinates me, whether it be Green Scorpion over in Arizona, or the 'Xtreme Justice League' in San Francisco even the 'Allegience of Justice' in Ohio.
In some places these heroes have achieved a bit of notoriety, such as Shadowhare becoming a bit of a local celebrity, local news has run stories on a few of these people and one even has a TV show now.
However, and this is a point I want to stress: These aren't delusionals who think they're superheroes. These are people who put on the costumes to do random acts of good. Some DO in fact search for criminals and try to deal with them. Some however just do public works. The costumes simply serve to...give more attention to the act their performing and perhaps more attention to the cause they work for.
However, there are heroes like The Eye, who has martial arts training and was a former private investigator.
I think that would be the best way to do this. Following that example or someone closer to 'The Question' as a model. Someone who can investigate a crime after they occur. The police force is good at what they do but can often be woefully short handed or under funded.
In this way, it would be a citizen who perhaps wears a mask to hide their identity while looking into information and leads and then sends an anonymous tip to the police.
And having some tasers/pepper spray/et all for defense couldn't hurt either.
Also, worth mentioning as Vigilante Groups would be
The Bald Knobbers
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bald_Knobbers
Sombra Negra (Black Shadow)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sombra_Negra whose primary targets are Mara Salvatrucha http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mara_Salvatrucha
Last edited:
Some random Cali Cartel related vigilante groups that made me think about this tread.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muerte_a_Secuestradores
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Pepes
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muerte_a_Secuestradores
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Pepes