Contrast

Is Batman a criminal or is that an implied indictment on a population's false sense of justice?

That's the question of the hour. Think about it. Batman, and many other fictional characters, have struggled with law enforcement chasing them, as if they are the bad guys, when these men have given up their lives to don spandex, cape, and/or cowl to enforcing rule of law.

Isn't that kind of weird?

Peanut Gallery: "Of course it is, who would wear spandex and chase bad guys?"

No not that. I mean, isn't it weird that the guys who are supposed to be enforcing the law are opposed to someone ELSE doing that without being a government sanctioned entity?

Does that not seem to be the least bit counterproductive?

Here's why I think people are quick to think "well yeah, of course the cops are chasing him, he's breaking the law at times to catch monsters, his batmobile doesn't have plates, and he trespasses all the time, I mean come on...":

People actually think that the government organizations protect them in their daily lives.

Here's reality for you. There are less than 1 million law enforcement personnel employed as of 2006 (the real number is around 800,000 from what I can tell). This includes local, state, and federal agencies.

There are 315+ million citizens in america.

Lets round that down. So lets say there are only 300,000,000 people in America and the majority of them think that these departments exist to protect them from bad guys. That means there is less than 1 officer EMPLOYED for every 300 people in America.

Okay so 1 for every 300 people. Well, here's another problem. They don't work all the time so lets say that ALL of them are awesome John McLane types. Lets say they can work 80 hours a week. That's still a problem, because that means your law enforcement personnel are only actually on the clock less than half of the time. So take the active duty personnel and half it. Now you're 300 per 1 cop turns to 600 per cop.

Worried yet?

That's why when you call the cops it usually takes them 45 minutes to a few hours before show up. If you are in dire need and someone is trying to kill you they are at best 15 minutes away.

This is why the supreme court has ruled on several occasions that it is not the responsibility of the police to protect you. Sure, it looks nice on a patrol car door, but it ain't the truth. Police officers, even the best of them, are usually late to a crime scene. They don't swoop in and save you from the bad guys, they're usually drawing the outline of your body in chalk and trying to figure out exactly what happened.

This isn't to knock cops, they do a hard job, but the reality is that its not their job to keep you safe...

That's an idea as fictional as Batman himself.

We live in a culture that rejects the idea of personal responsibility because if you accept responsibility for yourself that would be in conflict with the thick fog of entitlement that hangs in the air over these fine United States.

That's why we think its weird for a guy to "take matters into his own hands". Seriously? When did we become bystanders to justice? When did we start leaving justice to "the professionals"?

Just because you don't get PAID to look out for people doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.

Suck it up and get in the game or admit that you are either indifferent or a coward. If you live in a community or work in a place YOU are the first responder.

What would this look like if HALF of America did this?

We'd have 150 MILLION sheepdogs instead of 1 million sheepdogs.

I'm not for vigilantism. I'm for people looking out for their neighbors. I'm for people guarding their families with a ferocity that matches the love they claim to have. I'm for LOVE and love cannot thrive alongside neglect.

You can either gamble with the security of yourself and your family or you can invest in the security of your loved ones.

So get your face out of your iProduct and realize that you aren't just a consumer. You are a person just as capable of helping others as a paid professional.