Hero or Menace?

[torgospizza]

There's an opportunity for problems to arise any time someone wears a mask and tries to impart their personal sense of morality on others. The Bald Knobbers are a good example: they started out trying to curb bushwhacking and by the time it was done, they were driving people from their homes in order to grab their land cheaply. This guy is a joke, but it just never turns out well in real life.

[samurainoir]

They also make folks in tough neighborhoods who might be wary of the cops and snitching feel more comfortable to reach out and understand that there is help if they need it. There’s a huge rift in trust groups like that provide.

A year after the G-20 here in Toronto, the police are still smarting from the PR disaster of letting a small group run wild for hours through the city and then bringing the hammer down on what amounted to thousands of innocent protesters.

The public shaming campaign after the recent Vancouver hockey riot is quite interesting as well. We are at a point where a majority of the population are probably armed with video recording devices on their phones/ipods etc.

I attending a fascinating talk by a self proclaimed cyborg/academic Steve Mann, about a decade ago where he was using the term "Sousveillance". This seems to have become a reality within the last couple of years with events like the G-20 and Vancouver Riot creating hundreds of personal viewpoints accessible via Youtube, that keeps all sides in check to a certain degree.

Post G-20, there were members of the Black Block charged with destruction of property AND Police Officers who were charged with brutality directly because of the number of personal video recordings devices wielded by the public.

[samurainoir]

Looks like they are going to get the attention they crave... new HBO documentary series about them.

Colorful Crusaders: HBO's Real-Life Superheroes. Are They Actual Super-Men, or a Bunch of Jokers? | GeekChicDaily

[MIB41]

It's interesting to see people play out these roles. But it's hard to know how effective they really are. What about these gang ridden communities? With a few exceptions it seems like the actions of glorified boy scouts wearing costumes. Wearing a costume doesn't make you special. It's whether or not you truly make a difference.