Another 'Vigilante"? Column

 We've mentioned vigilante justice to a few friends, not as a preferred option, but as what may well eventuate given what we're seeing in America.

We're not alone.

...we have agreed to accept equal treatment under the law.  We agree to abide by the law in exchange for a system that treats us equally and is administered by officials who swear an oath to defend our constitutional protections.

Then Eric Holder, Loretta Lynch, and Merrick Garland came along as the country's top law enforcement officials and flushed it all.  Under them, the application of justice has become decidedly unequal.  Perfection was never possible, but now the claim of equal treatment has become laughable.  The foundation of our legal system is being eaten away by government termites — whose lust for power far exceeds their wisdom to wield it....

... When the core principles of our criminal justice system are no longer honored, the citizens of a self-governed country will judge the pact of civilized behavior to be breached.  When they no longer believe that they'll be treated according to those principles, they'll decide that the pact no longer applies to them, either....

The author gave several examples of decidedly un-equal treatment--but "several" is still anecdotal in a country of 300 million legal citizens.

But then there's this ingredient:

 ...We're seeing an alarming rise in crime across the country.  Are we destined to a future of "survival of the fittest," where ruthless criminals consolidate power to prey on the weak — like some semi-civilized banana republic?  Not necessarily....

 Actually, there's an alarming rise in crime in and around public schools, too.  That's a serious concern because what the children are taught at those incidents will be retained knowledge.

 ...In the old west, criminals had easy prey — and they capitalized on it.  Rape, robbery, and murder were common.  But that chaos was unacceptable to the settlers who only wanted free and productive lives for their families.  The farmers, ranchers, and miners formed law enforcement committees — many of which were little more than vigilante mobs.  Some even called themselves vigilantes — which is Spanish for "watchmen guards."  It was not considered a pejorative at that time.

But the committees operated without the infrastructure of institutional criminal justice.  There were no safeguards and few resources for incarceration or rehabilitation.  The committees functioned as the police, prosecutor, judge, jury, and executioner — all in one untrained body with no uniform standards.  The "justice" administered was rapid and harsh.  A defendant could go from apprehension to execution in a matter of minutes.  Lynchings were common — as were mistakes.

After the formation of vigilante committees, criminals faced substantial risks, and some semblance of order was achieved — with the downside that many innocents were falsely punished.  The settlers defaulted to brutal and error prone "justice" because no alternative was present

Yah, not what we really want, is it?

...As Merrick Garland–, Christopher Wray–, and George Soros–sponsored prosecutors continue to dismantle our criminal justice system, they should keep our past in mind.  When legal criminal justice fails, vigilante justice may replace it....

Indeed.

UPDATE:  Grim has a relevant post with Copybook Headings!