In article >,
DYM > wrote:
(Matthew Russotto) wrote in
:
>
>Yeah, I posted before I saw that second article. It paints a very
>different picture. Again, just going by what is printed there, I think
>the car guys will not be charged. Won't know until the investigation is
>complete. I'll go with what the police find.
>
>Earlier, there was talk of one of the kids getting beaten. If that were
>the case, that's where the line gets crossed.
>
>Now, going back to the definition of vigilantism, I don't know if "heat
>of the moment" really enteres into it. It is simply seeking justice
>outside of the legal system.

The term vigilantism comes from vigilance committees, which were organizations
of people who set themselves up to punish crimes. Chasing after
someone who has just committed a crime against you is not at all like
vigilantism. One is the victim (or intended victim) of a crime going
off in the heat of the moment, the other is when people who may or may
not be the victims chasing down and punishing criminals after the
immediate situation is over. They're both a matter of seeking
justice outside the law, but that doesn't make them both vigilantism.