So, a while ago, JC and I went to the dollar fifty to see The Dark Knight. For those of you who don't know, it is the sequel to Batman Begins.
It was an ok movie. Not one I would want to see again though. It was very dark and intense, and the good guys only sort of won...
I also would like to know why there were little kids there... I mean, this was a show with tons of violence, and a guy with half his face burned off. If I was a little bolder, I would've spoken up and asked when the little kid started crying...
Ok, on to what I really wanted to say. This movie gives a very good example showing why vigilantism is bad.
Look at one of the central themes of the movie. Batman refuses to kill. The Joker loves to kill. As a result, The Joker keeps killing after Batman has multiple chances to kill him. Now, what makes Batman a hero is the fact that he doesn't kill. If he did kill, he would be just another thug. But his refusal to kill results in the deaths of innocents. So, obviously, he should kill or disable the bad guys. Right? Wrong! Batman is simply a civilian. He has no authority to do what he does, if he killed, he would be a murderer. If he disabled, that would be assault, or something like that. Basically, because he doesn't kill, he is viewed as a hero by the people and he is able to keep going. And as the Joker so aptly demonstrates, the very thing that sets him apart, is the thing that is his greatest weakness. And any criminal who figures that out, will be able to pretty much neutralize Batman.
Now, a better solution to the threat of the Joker would be a Special Forces team. Batman is only slightly better than a high level special forces team. If the police had called in the special forces, the Joker would have been eliminated very quickly. The Joker was a proven terrorist, all the special forces would have had to do was find him and kill him. They would have that authority because they are part of our military.
And there you have why vigilantism is bad. A vigilante doesn't have the authority to kill. A government force other other hand does, and when the situation calls for it, they can.
I don't think I got my point across very well, but I tried...