Discussion Post: Vigilantism

[gen-is-gone.livejournal.com]

So, the show has had quite a few would-be vigilantes over the years (A Real Rain and Hotch's actions in 100 coming most readily to mind) but specifically in regards to Regina in Unknown Subject, there were quite a few comments saying the Emily shouldn't have deceived her, and even some that said Regina should have been allowed to murder her rapist. While I agree that the Piano Man was a despicable person, and his crimes warranted his hatred, I found slightly off-putting the idea that one of our team members would condone revenge murders, especially given the past anti-vigilante themes on the show. So my question for you is this: what stance do you think the show has taken in regards to vigilantes and revenge killers, and do you agree?

Comments

[jennygadget.livejournal.com]

You know, I didnt really see that being about revenge killings in general, but specifically about sexualized violence towards women.

The comments Regina made were not about revenge but about feeling safe; the point about Doyle that was made - that we the audience knew better than Regina - was that Prentiss' safety as well as emotional well being would have been compromised had Doyle lived. Likewise, part of what was set up in that episide was the way that sexual assault survivors are so often revictimized; the references to Doyle - I thought - were meant to evoke how posessive and dangerous abusers of intimate partners can be.

So, I also didnt take the ending to be a justification for vigilante murders either, but rather a call to re-examine how we prosecute rape and how we support (or, sadly, more often dont support) rape survivors. To the extent that vigilante murders were justified, imho, it was within the specific context that we cannot expect victims to follow the law if we do not take the time and energy to enforce it on their behalf.

[gsyh.livejournal.com]

it was within the specific context that we cannot expect victims to follow the law if we do not take the time and energy to enforce it on their behalf.

THIS, I support vigilante killings under certain circumstances, but I don't view it as a solution but rather a symptom of our system's failings which must be fixed.

Did you know that the defence for OJ Simpson argue that the fact that he did beat his wife is like, totally unrelated to whether or not he murdered her?

Then there is the problem of early release due to good behaviour...in prison, John Douglas points out that violence is situational: that an offender who has raped women had behaved well in prison, where he did not have the opportunity to rape women...is not an indicator that he won't do it again if you let him out early for good behaviour!

I felt so bad for Regina, she shouldn't have gone through what she have gone through, the rape itself and the aftermath, and she was in danger when she chose to take down her rapist like that - serial vigilante killings are rare because serial killers tends to pick victims they can overpower, while well, the serial vigilante killer will be preying on those who would be strong enough to kill / rape someone in the first place! It could have turned out very badly for her, she should never have been in such a situation.

The Piano Man was possessive of his victims and likes to taunt, if the police have staked out the victims they might have caught him coming back to check on her. In the case of a rapist who was interrupted, but later came back, and even asked why the victim called the police on him, I can't remember if it was Auckland or the other one, in John Douglas's "Obsession". He likes to taunt his victims and he's not an opportunist, I'm not surprised he went back to finish his 'task'.

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

In the "Unknown Subject" episode, thought, I though Regina's evidence that he guy she abducted was her rapist was pretty equivocal - she was basing it on her memory of the music he played while he raped her and the tune the guy played in the piano bar. As it turned out, she had the right guy - but she could just as easily have been wrong.

There was an old TV show - "Twilight Zone" or one of those - where a woman who had been raped pointed out her attacker to her husband, who promptly went out and killed the man. Afterwards, the next time they went out, she pointed out another man who she said was her attacker. It turned out that she had been so traumatized that she was seeing her attacker everywhere she went.

Sometimes the guilty go free, and sometimes the process is perverted (as in the Simpson case), but if we condone people killing other people just because they think they need to die, where does it end?

[gsyh.livejournal.com]

Speaking of TV Shows, the subject of false rape accusations, outside of crime shows, get more portrayal than rape cases (that are called out as rape at least), TNG has an entire episode centering around Riker being framed for rape. It is reflective of societal attitudes, even though false rape accusations account for only 2-8% of reported rape, and, John Douglas argues that in actuality, false rape accusations are even rarer compared to actual rapes, most of which aren't reported to the police (or followed through)!

There have been irl vigilante cases that got the wrong perp, usually in an emotional lynch mob setting with racial or religious overtones, at least once (case I remember reading) where a father beat up a neighbour on the word of his toddler, but I argue that proportionally, sexual predators who reoffend or keep getting away with it, are much higher than vigilantes getting the wrong guy.

I'm proportionally more worried about me or a love one being the victim of the violent crime, than being falsely accused or targetted on suspicion.

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

I think that a victim accusing the wrong guy (as differentiated from "false rape", e.g. a false accusation) are probably a pretty low percentage of overall rapes, as (I understand) the vast majority of rapes are committed by someone known to the victim; in those cases mis-identification shouldn't happen very often.

I wonder, though, about the percentage of mis-identification in stranger rapes. Do you know whether there are any statistics that have been compiled on the subject?

[citjara.livejournal.com]

I think 90-95 percent of all sexual offenses are committed by someone the victim knows.*
Don't have a number on mis-identifications, though. But I guess it varies from case to case.

(*Gideon & Reid actually hinted at that problem in P911 - I think - when they talked about the harmful effects of the "Stranger-Danger"-Program)

[nwjarvis.livejournal.com]

It was "What Fresh Hell" but, yeah, same principle. The vast majority of both rapes and child molestations are by people already known to the victim.

[full-metal-ox.livejournal.com]

As Morgan can attest to his sorrow.