Career choice: vigilante!

I'm going to take off my liberal hat for a while and rant about something. I read stories about admitted scumbags getting life in jail, and it  ticks me off. What a waste. That visceral angry part of me demands true justice. Someone should have hunted him down long ago - but instead we have a civilized trial and spend $10m to keep him secure and alive for the rest of his life.

At least dump him in Iraq and let him defuse IEDs. With a pair of pliers and a smile.

Oh! To be a dark avenger stalking the evildoers of the night in righteous vengeance! To clean the streets of rapists and senseless drive-by shooters!

You know, like Batman.

The immune system of our society is ponderous, slow, and unfocused. The body of law that police are expected to enforce and the legal system is expected to prosecute is so complex that actual enforcement is not only impossible, but would be counter-productive if everything was perfectly enforced. Regarding minor criminal acts, we are not a nation of laws, but a nation of discretionary enforcement which is too often abused.

Far better than a lone vigilante would be a simplified body of law, something that can be enforced and prosecuted swiftly. Speed is essential because justice, like inspiration, is perishable.

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