Chop Suey mob beating: when is vigilante justice an appropriate response?
Early Sunday morning, witnesses say, a crowd of about a dozen people beat a 25-year-old man outside the Chop Suey night club on Capitol Hill after the man was ejected from the club for allegedly harassing a woman.Angelo—who witnessed the event and did not give his last name—and several of his friends were walking near Chop Suey around 1:30 Sunday morning, when he says a large crowd attacked the man. [...] Angelo claims he saw someone grab a folding chair from Chop Suey and use it to beat the man. Angelo also says no one did anything to help the man, who was left bloodied in the intersection of 14th and Pike.
It begs the question: is mob justice a fitting punishment for socially deplorable behavior? On the one hand, knowing that you're going to get your ass kicked for acting out has been a deterrent to men throughout the ages, and is indeed one of the driving forces that keeps civilized society functioning properly. On the other hand, too often situations are blown out of proportion, particularly when alcohol is involved - which, as this incident took place at Chop Suey late in the evening, I'd suspect was the case. But we're left wondering, did this ass-grabber deserve the ass kicking he received?
Packratt at Injustice in Seattle seems to have an answer, and makes a good point in a recent post:
I suppose that Seattle is so far northwest that it's still backwards and firmly in the old west, where mob rule was the law of the land and if you were strung up on a tree you must have deserved it somehow. The problem is that... sometimes, the angry mob is wrong and the drunken pursuit of justice is easily transformed into an injustice that was worse than the alleged crime.
It's a tricky issue, and one that I can't claim to know the answer to: while I think in theory mob rule can be a valuable system of social checks and balances, it can easily be blown out of proportion to the point where the beating being administered really isn't "justice" at all.
Good God, you're a maroon. Why don't you take a minute to learn something about "the old west" that doesn't come from a frigging John Wayne movie? Mob rule can be a valuable system? Maybe you should loosen the collar on your brownshirt, nimrod.
A maroon, huh? Interesting word choice.
If you had paid attention to my post, you'd realize that I said mob rule can be a valuable system IN THEORY. Rarely does it function properly, particularly when alcohol/religious fanaticism/overpowering emotion is involved...but as an ideal it is a powerful one that helps keep society in order. After all, without the fear of punishment for inappropriate behavior, anarchy ensues.
If used properly, mob rule can serve as urban survival of the fittest, a kind of natural selection for 21st century city living. As I made clear, this is rarely the case (though if this Chop Suey beat down victim really was harassing a woman and alcohol wasn't a factor in his assault, I'd say he brought upon himself...he may not have thought twice before overstepping his social boundaries once, but I'd doubt he will again).
Oh, and I've never even seen a John Wayne movie. But nice try.
Well, it is certainly true that if we approach justice as being a matter of deterrent against harmful behavior, then the threat of a mob beating would be similar to the threat of detainment and the harms that are associated with imprisonment in today's prisons.
After all, it's why most won't say in polite society what they would say anonymously on the internet, because nobody wants to be punched in the face... thus the concept of civility. (though most don't need such threats to know it's still better to be polite than rude, some do..)
However, the problem as both of us have mentioned, is the potential for abuse when dealing with a drunken mob. A drunken mob is easy to form, all it takes is an accusation + a group of drunken people who are full of youthful bravado and you have an instant beating. Odds are good that I could go into any bar on any night and sling an accusation that some guy beat some woman outside and that would be sufficient spark for a beat down.
In such case, there is no judge, no jury, no defense lawyer, no civil rights to speak of... Just an excuse for a beating and a crap shoot as to whether the person getting beat really deserved that beating.
I think it's a reasonable question to ponder, whether the people could police themselves as well as their system of justice does. Thanks for thinking it through.
"If used properly, mob rule can serve as urban survival of the fittest, a kind of natural selection for 21st century city living. As I made clear, this is rarely the case (though if this Chop Suey beat down victim really was harassing a woman and alcohol wasn't a factor in his assault, I'd say he brought upon himself...he may not have thought twice before overstepping his social boundaries once, but I'd doubt he will again)."
When you drag a lump to some lot and then faux argue avec les pals about who forgot the piece
Him: "pleeze don't boss, ah pleeeze"
Le Crew: "Shut the fuck up"
Him: "Ah mister, please"
Le Crew "Lets dump his naked ass in Roxbury"
Him "Nah, nah, please"
When you throw a guy off a roof at least he has a sporting chance of learning to fly.
There are people with no fear to begin with, and those, ya know, you got leave in a heap.
Tazia Doll.