Those of us who have DSTV and watch Arrow on Friday nights, know how attractive vigilante justice can be. The guy in the green hood armed with his bow, arrows and unwavering integrity, brings justice to the criminals in his city where the police can't.
It's a nice idea. Having someone that could get to the bottom of most crimes that police take years to do.
This is the real world though and vigilantism is not the way things work.
Instead, we have to rely on our police force. The willing and the abled. Sadly, they're a dying breed who have so many cases they have to investigate, that it's an almost insurmountable odd.
As highlighted in many news stories this year, we also have the corrupt and violent members of our police force who have given the boys in blue a less than desired reputation. Where does that leave us? Where do we turn to?
We have no choice but to turn to our local police whether we like it or not. Listening to 702 this morning, I heard the desperate plea of a man who built up a niche business where he transports children to and from school. He has (or had) contracts with the parents and was doing considerably well.
As his story goes, he was held up at gun point by three men who threatened to shoot him if they saw him transporting these children again. The man argued that is was only children he was transporting and he had contracts with their parents to do it.
Not caring, the taxi drivers were determined that it was their territory and would not be talked down.
The man approached the local police department and was told not to report these kinds of things if he didn't have the rank number that the taxis belonged to, or the registration plate.
Where is the justice in that? An honest working man is threatened by a bunch of cowards hiding behind guns because they feel threatened?
How are we as law abiding citizens supposed to feel when we are blatantly refused help by our own law enforcers?
There have also been cases where police have investigated a homicide and arrested a suspect, only for the suspect to be let loose because of shoddy investigations or tainted forensics.
How and when will this madness end? How are we to give hope to the people who are victims of crime and then victims themselves in the justice system?
It's a dangerous thing when people find themselves boxed into a corner because you don't know what their reaction will be.
It's only a matter of time before we find out...
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