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December 03, 2007

A Match Shy of a Conflagration

If you haven't heard yet about the white Texan homeowner, Joe Horn, who shot and killed two black men who had broken into his neighbor's home, you probably will soon. Reportedly, Mr. Horn, aged 61, called 911 to report the theft and told the operator he intended to confront and shoot the two men. Despite the operators pleas to stay indoors and let the police handle the situation, he followed through with his intention, confronting the two in his front yard and shooting them both dead. That it has turned into a racial firestorm is obvious if you watch this video of a rally in support of Mr. Horn yesterday, at which hundreds of angry neighbors confronted the group of Black Panthers calling for Mr. Horn's prosecution - not because the dead men were innocent, but because they say Mr. Horn acted as judge, jury and executioner.

The video is frightening to me because I've been in the middle of emotional crowds and seen how people feed off the emotions of others, building to a crescendo. It takes surprisingly little for a group of angry suburbanites to turn into a mob and riot. One wrong move or look, one punch thrown or one shove, and it can set everyone off. Angry mobs are always just a match shy of a full-blown riot, no matter how civilized they are. Fortunately, no one dropped a match at this event, but even watching it you can feel the potential.

I'm not sitting in judgment here of the neighbors of Mr. Horn, because I think a good deal of America is quite frankly tired of burglars and the instigators of other so-called "petty" crimes getting away with it. I've been the victim of burglary on several occasions. Nothing is ever done about it and I'm angry, too. So without a doubt this could be any neighborhood in the USA - it just so happens that in this neighborhood, something happened that drove those angry people into the street. Fortunately, the men who (justifiably, in my opinion) came to ask for Mr. Horn's prosecution did not trip up and spark a fire.

And that brings me to the question I have long pondered - why don't we see this sort of reaction in the streets every time we lose another freedom or witness another member of the elite getting away with a crime? Why do we seem to care more about our right to kill burglars than we do about our right to cast a meaningful vote, speak freely, have privacy in our personal papers and effects, and benefit from due process and equal treatment?

Posted by Becky at December 3, 2007 04:20 PM