Joe Clarke -
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It is interesting to see the appearance in one week of a kind of street
justice that was done in our city
this past week. The first was the filmed beating of the suspect in the
rape of the eleven year old girl. This
was feel good justice where the subject is caught by the angry
"righteous" mob and left in critical condition
before the police come to cart him away. It was reminiscent of so many
half hour westerns that ended with Lucas
McCain, Johnny Yuma, or some other lone hero of the frontier meting out
justice through the barrel of a gun.
I hope everyone saw the follow up story of the man who was mistaken
by the vigilantes as the perpetrator.
He was beaten up severely before the cops determined that he was not the
person of interest. A simple mistake of identity
by the justice thirsty mob. Ooops. I guess their defenders will say
that they meant well. I mean mobs have never been that accurate
when it comes to determining the guilty. Ask any black man from the
South who has ever witnessed a lynching. That's not a mob's
strong point, discernment; nor is due process for that matter. Instant
gratification of the communal thirst for blood, for certainty: that's
their strong point.
Our own brand of the mob here in West Philly attacked the Gold
Standard. "F**k Gentrification!" their battle cry painted across the front
window of the restaurant. The Righteous Riders/Writers under the cover
of night do their brand of justice for the voiceless "community", no
doubt.
As Ray Murphy pointed out so well, Roger/Vince/Duane, were in this
neighborhood long before our vandals were riding their rocking horses.
There may
be some older vandals or their sympathizers who should know better. As
the Monty Python admonition goes "Let's not bicker over who killed who:
this is supposed
to be a happy occasion". This was a victory for misguided, but
well-meaning firebrands who "raged impotently", as Woody Allen might
say, against the
nasty beast of "Gentrification". That's the point: This should be a
celebration for this kind of justice and self expression even when it
damages property and business - one that has been especially generous to
the community? The impulse was right, huh?
I went to the Gold Standard that night for dinner. It's a way a
neighbor can give back to Roger, Vince and the Spirit of Duane who have
given so much to this neighborhood. It's a way of supporting a vision
of community that knits us together in a civil way. Food, breaking
bread, laughter, gratitude, these are the things that
expand the heart's inclusion and make the stranger famil-iar.
- [UC] Vigilante Vandalism Joe Clarke
- Re: [UC] Vigilante Vandalism Glenn moyer
