Mexican Militia Routs Drug Cartel

Potentially interesting. The Templars Drug Cartel accuses the militia of being a proxy force for a rival drug cartel, in which case this is just more of the same. However, if this is actually a collection of citizens unconnected to the drug trade and cartels, who have armed themselves, and are taking on and in fact defeating the cartels. Than I must say this is a beautiful thing. And in fact is how many governments are initially established.

They’re being labeled vigilantes. However, if they are an en masse of the communities themselves, than they are far more akin to a militia. And one must remember, we’re talking about a region where the rule of law has essentially collapsed.  So in no way would I consider such a group vigilantes. Vigilantes operate outside of the law, if the law is not there…is it really vigilantism?

“Towns began to form vigilante forces in February 2012, saying they were fed up with the local police’s inability or unwillingness to stop the cartel’s murders, kidnappings and extortion rackets.”

That sounds like a militia to me…

http://news.yahoo.com/mexican-vigilantes-seize-drug-cartel-bastion-220248151.html

Now, how about the U.S. give these folks some assistance (no, I don’t mean more guns run across the border). I mean ending the drug war, eliminating the financial base of these violent cartels.

Crowdsourcing Police

UPDATE: Apparently the entire post I wrote got gobbled up somewhere in cyberspace. I’ll make a second attempt.

***

Oakland, California residents attempt crowdsourcing to hire people to protect them.

Some haved decried it as vigilantism. People are missing the irony. What do you think police officers are? Where do you think police receive their authority? Some strange woman in a lake passing out badges?

ALL authority derives from the inherent natural right to live and defend one’s self. Essentially, the issue comes about that humans are both passionate and fallable. So we have a tendency to make mistakes. And if you make such a mistake while meting out justic, it rather sucks.

So we ceded, for the benefit of our communal living states, that right to a collective authority. At first it was essentially sheriffs/constables/justices of the peace/elders/etc. These would judiciously decide a matter, and make a determination of guilt and a fair reparation.

As society grew, this authority needed to be further delegated and expanded. Hence more constables, and then eventually our modernized police force hired by a community at large to render service. In which regards, the actions of Oakland residents are in fact, no different than in the past.

http://slashdot.org/topic/cloud/oakland-crowdfunding-private-cops/

Granted, we might see some objections from the unionized Oakland police against the non-union upstarts. Similar to a union painter complaining that the non-union painter got the job (because he was charging less and doing better work).