MovieChat Forums > The Boondock Saints (2000) Discussion > Vigilante justice - right or wrong?

Vigilante justice - right or wrong?


Regardless of what the law on it says and how "illegal" or not it sometimes/always is, what do you think about it, based off from this movie too, is it right or wrong, is it also more beneficial or harmful? Cheers.

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Definitely wrong. In a movie world, the vigilantes always kill violent criminals but in real life, vigilante justice always ends with innocent people dying and often due to bigotry.

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But then, in some cases when there is no "bigotry" as such (ah, that word without a nice ring to it, but OK we get it), and the perpetrators only intend to target BAD people who they perceive to be guilty criminals as such, is it STILL bad and risky, and can cause harm or death to innocent people by mistake?

Also, in your opinion, besides the legal aspect but morally, is it just as bad to hurt people who turn out to be innocent by MISTAKE as it is to deliberately target innocent people wantonly for selfish and totally illegitimate reasons?

And even if such people killed by vigilantes turn out to be guilty, again, besides it being illegal possibly too (whether or not vigilantes do or do not care about it is another matter), is it STILL morally wrong and should we NOT consider them "heroes"?

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A person who kills through recklessness is still responsible for that death. It’s obviously not as bad as doing it on purpose but it’s still wrong and should be avoided.

As for killing a person who has committed murder or some other horribly violent crime, it is still wrong as no one has the right to be judge, jury, and executioner. This is why we have a system in place that, while not always ideal, is better than the alternative.

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Needs more of it. Too many shitbags walk around free

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By extension, were these two Irish twin brothers and their father "correct" in their deeds and actions or "not"?

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And is The Boondock Saints a pro or an anti vigilante movie?

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Definitely wrong because ironically the Bible says so.

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Do you believe in EVERYTHING the Bible says? For your information, Bible is not perfect and was known on occasions to not only make mistakes but also be prejudiced at times itself.

And OK perhaps its generally wrong, vigilante justice, but what if there is no alternative?

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"but what if there is no alternative?"

"The Lord says vengeance is mine". There might not end up being justice on Earth but there will be at death, I am not going to get into an argument over the veracity of the Bible because I am tired of it.

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We ALSO hear a lot about how, in our life, today also, but dating hundreds of years ago, under the law that permitted executions etc, many either innocent people or those guilty of crimes not so huge like murder of innocents etc, were killed and that the system was often unfair even if it tried to be fair. Some so-called crimes I personally don't consider worthy of something like an execution at all. But also...

We are, paradoxically, often told that even guilty bad folks may NOT fully deserve it either. And many who do speak out against capital punishment have also brought up arguments of those things happening in the past. I also wonder - why was no one say ashamed enough to rise against it and change it immediately? Or is it, again, human nature being very flawed in general among other complex reasons perhaps?

And point sometimes is, just cause we're innocent doesn't mean we have nothing to worry about and just cause we're guilty we don't stop having basic rights either. Oh well.

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Also, I read in one review that positive attitudes to wanting to be a vigilante is actually one of the main factors in life that keeps stuff like wars happening, where of course many innocents perish as a result. But I have to ask, how TRUE is it REALLY? For all I know and can conjure up an imagination, wars often happen for reasons related to political conflicts or stuff like religion and whatnot or conflicts that often escalate between forces who can't agree on certain stuff, and its not really (or is it?) relevant to say street vigilantes who attack and execute people they know or perceive as criminals of various kids who get away with it.

Or is there something missing here that I can't fully comprehend? Interestingly enough, on a thread for Michael Haneke's Austrian film "Funny Games" (1997), someone at least mentioned a similar scenario, and also didn't get too surprised or worked up that LIFE in general doesn't work as an action movie where good guys win and evil gets it. And in that film, although it was also about violence in the media and audience's complicity in it, it had two psycho young men torturing and attempting to murder family members. And yet through it, someone saw scenarios that actually relate to wars happening.

But then, if only the bad and guilty folks were to be taken out, would that in any way on its OWN be so bad?

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There was a interesting article that I read that argued that the primary reason that governments are formed is to dispense justice so the person/family wronged won't have to.

Blood fueds, Hatfields vs McCoys where families fight for generations are what society could devolve into if vigilantism is left unchecked.

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