Authoritarians' Worst Nightmare - People Who Say This Isn't Going To Happen
You really can debate the particular facts in this story, but the essence of what this guy was doing isn't in dispute.
Yes, there are questions one should ask about someone taking the law into one's hands and becoming judge, jury and executioner. Yes, it should be debated as to whether property should be valued over human existence. And in this particular case the fact that two men were shot in the back is relevant and should be discussed. But there's no getting around the one stark fact that's at the core of this, a man looked at a situation that he knew to be wrong and took action to do something about it.
Man Cleared for Killing Neighbor's Burglars
"A Texas man who shot and killed two men he believed to be burglars while he was talking to a 911 dispatcher won't be going to trial. A grand jury on Monday declined to indict Joe Horn, a 61-year-old computer technician who lives in Pasadena, Texas, just outside Houston.
Before making its decision, the grand jury listened to the dramatic 911 tapes from Nov. 14, 2007, when Horn called to say two burglars were robbing his neighbor's home. Horn ignored the dispatcher's pleas not to open fire.
Joe Horn: "I've got a shotgun; you want me to stop him?"
Dispatcher: "Nope. Don't do that. Ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, OK?"
Joe Horn: "Hurry up, man, catch these guys, will you? Because I ain't gonna let them go. I'm gonna kill him."
Dispatcher: "OK, stay in the house."
Joe Horn: "They're getting away!"
Dispatcher: "That's alright."
Joe Horn: (Shouts to suspects) "Move, you're dead."
Three gunshots can be heard on the tape. Both suspects were shot in the back and were pronounced dead at the scene.
(...)
Monday's decision ignited a firestorm in Houston on both sides of the issue. Debate raged on local talk radio, on street corners and on blogs. One resident, Keith Sabharwal, said, "That's what I want my neighbor to do; I really don't think he should have gotten into trouble for it."
Here's the crux of the matter to me. The particulars like property value and lethal force, back shooting, and probably even the racial aspect of the incident, this being Texas and all, aren't what's important in the larger sense.
For way too long now we've allowed ourselves to be detached from the reality of our very existence. We've gone way too far in even giving up logical thought processes in favor of letting other people tell us what we're experiencing. Whether it's social pathology or chemicals in food and water or the boob tube, this disconnect means we've increasingly become a nation of placid observers, content to watch as things just happen before our senses, and do nothing.
We shouldn't succumb to the unbalanced opposite, the adolescent Charles Bronson Death Wish fantasy crap, but our current, pussified and inattentive complacency has gotten eerily epidemic. Most of us live in a world of dreamy passivity just as society is dissolving into chaos and malevolent forces are about to push us around more than in any other time in history. This guy's ultimate decision is debatable but his intent was crystal clear - he knew something was wrong and was determined not to let it happen.
Yes, there are questions one should ask about someone taking the law into one's hands and becoming judge, jury and executioner. Yes, it should be debated as to whether property should be valued over human existence. And in this particular case the fact that two men were shot in the back is relevant and should be discussed. But there's no getting around the one stark fact that's at the core of this, a man looked at a situation that he knew to be wrong and took action to do something about it.
Man Cleared for Killing Neighbor's Burglars
"A Texas man who shot and killed two men he believed to be burglars while he was talking to a 911 dispatcher won't be going to trial. A grand jury on Monday declined to indict Joe Horn, a 61-year-old computer technician who lives in Pasadena, Texas, just outside Houston.
Before making its decision, the grand jury listened to the dramatic 911 tapes from Nov. 14, 2007, when Horn called to say two burglars were robbing his neighbor's home. Horn ignored the dispatcher's pleas not to open fire.
Joe Horn: "I've got a shotgun; you want me to stop him?"
Dispatcher: "Nope. Don't do that. Ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, OK?"
Joe Horn: "Hurry up, man, catch these guys, will you? Because I ain't gonna let them go. I'm gonna kill him."
Dispatcher: "OK, stay in the house."
Joe Horn: "They're getting away!"
Dispatcher: "That's alright."
Joe Horn: (Shouts to suspects) "Move, you're dead."
Three gunshots can be heard on the tape. Both suspects were shot in the back and were pronounced dead at the scene.
(...)
Monday's decision ignited a firestorm in Houston on both sides of the issue. Debate raged on local talk radio, on street corners and on blogs. One resident, Keith Sabharwal, said, "That's what I want my neighbor to do; I really don't think he should have gotten into trouble for it."
Here's the crux of the matter to me. The particulars like property value and lethal force, back shooting, and probably even the racial aspect of the incident, this being Texas and all, aren't what's important in the larger sense.
For way too long now we've allowed ourselves to be detached from the reality of our very existence. We've gone way too far in even giving up logical thought processes in favor of letting other people tell us what we're experiencing. Whether it's social pathology or chemicals in food and water or the boob tube, this disconnect means we've increasingly become a nation of placid observers, content to watch as things just happen before our senses, and do nothing.
We shouldn't succumb to the unbalanced opposite, the adolescent Charles Bronson Death Wish fantasy crap, but our current, pussified and inattentive complacency has gotten eerily epidemic. Most of us live in a world of dreamy passivity just as society is dissolving into chaos and malevolent forces are about to push us around more than in any other time in history. This guy's ultimate decision is debatable but his intent was crystal clear - he knew something was wrong and was determined not to let it happen.
posted by nolocontendere at 6:31 PM
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