“Forgotten Hollywood”- Taking Law into Your Own Hands…
Manny P. here…
In a rough week for average Americans, with the unprovoked murder of citizenry and law enforcement in Baton Rouge, Minnesota, and Dallas, we are reminded that we have a court system to prosecute errant police officers and lone vigilante wolves.
It’s important to note… The Dallas Police Department and the folks they protect-and-serve have worked in tandem to engage in peaceful protests; and they generally interact in a positive, healthy relationship. The Dallas Chief of Police should be commended for his policy of changing the culture of community law-and-order.
During Hollywood’s Golden Age, several movie productions addressed the issue of citizens taking the law into their own hands with tragic consequences. In mid-1930s, Fritz Lang directed Fury, the movie making Spencer Tracy a bonafide star. Accused of kidnapping a child, Tracy’s character becomes the vile target of mob rule determined on burning down the jailhouse. He survives to exact revenge on those unruly folks with his unique brand of justice. The film sent a powerful message on how an innocent person can become a cynical beast as a result of his near-death experience.
The Ox-Bow Incident was a pet-project Western of filmmaker William A. Wellman that focused on a lynch-mob bent on sagebrush justice. The victims of this unruly posse beg for their day in court. However, the three so-called murderers and horse-thieves, led by actors Dana Andrews and Anthony Quinn, are unceremoniously hanged. Moments after the tragic incident, the real criminals are discovered, and further, the man they are accused of killing is very much alive. The mob must spend the rest of their born days having to spend each waking hour owning up to their horrific actions. The movie is grim, and quite graphic for its time.
The victims of gun violence this week, by all accounts, were fine family men. Several of the police officers were veterans of the Iraqi and Afghan wars. And, the African American that died in Minnesota was a cafeteria worker who knew every child’s name at the school he worked. It was the White parents of the children who peacefully protested to the governor of the state in the name of their fallen friend.
We should remember never to paint all first-responders and people of color with a unfortunate brush of stereotyped imagery. Most folks in all walks-of-life are law-abiding citizens committed to civil obedience. Black Lives Matter, our politicians, the media, and police departments in hamlets all over our nation are not the reasons for recent savagery. FEAR is the reason. I’m reminded of what President Franklin D. Roosevelt said during his 1932 Inauguration, addressing our collective response to the Great Depression:
We have nothing to fear but FEAR itself…
Let justice be served in a court house for the officers accused of police brutality. The lone wolf sniper, who took psychotic action into his own hands, was given the option to peacefully surrender to Dallas law enforcement. Instead, he chose to die a coward for his craven act of homicide; branded so by the local Black Lives Matter protesters and mortified law-abiding citizens from all over this great nation.
The culture of violence has existed since beginning of time. We’re a civilized people who should learn from the concept and practice of hate.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Saturday, July 9th, 2016 at 12:29 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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