Regular readers will know I sometimes wonder what it is people mean by the term “social justice.” Perhaps the following qualifies. Two motorbike-riding purse thieves come to a sticky end, thanks to motivated locals and much hurling of furniture. Around 50 seconds in a bookcase is deployed. Or possibly a chest of drawers.
Via Tim Blair.
Did anyone read him his rights? :)
Posted by: mlrosty | June 02, 2010 at 09:22
"Social justice" usually means redistributing wealth by force so I think people who talk about "social justice" would side with the thief.
Posted by: Anna | June 02, 2010 at 09:42
Isn't that just the funniest and most fabulous footage. And you know, it could well be a chest of drawers.
Posted by: WB | June 02, 2010 at 10:02
Sadly, no kitchen sink. Not that I could spot, anyway...
Posted by: JuliaM | June 02, 2010 at 10:12
All he said was that 'this halibut is good enough for Jehovah'.
Posted by: jones | June 02, 2010 at 10:29
I can't understand why they came back. Was it a blind alley?
It's curious that the exact same spot they stole the purse becomes the spot where the "justice" is wreaked - all in the same camera shot. The likelihood of that seems remote.
Posted by: TDK | June 02, 2010 at 14:07
I suspect it was not a blind alley (otherwise, why would they go that way?), but was probably blocked by vehicles, forcing the thieves back the way they came, through the gathering crowd and back into the camera's view.
And we're all happy for that ...
Posted by: Spiny Norman | June 02, 2010 at 15:15
I don't know where this is but the furniture district is hardcore.
Posted by: SG | June 02, 2010 at 15:30
"See an injustice, pick up a chest of drawers"
If the idea catches on, Ikea will make millions.
Posted by: Another Steve | June 02, 2010 at 19:00
"Did anyone read him his rights? :)"
No, but they did hit him with them.
I hope this form of social justice catches on.
Posted by: bgc | June 03, 2010 at 07:12
Comedy aside, there’s something to be said for a prompt comeuppance.
Posted by: David | June 03, 2010 at 07:14
Watching someone getting beaten up isn't "comedy".
Posted by: rv | June 03, 2010 at 10:56
rv,
“Watching someone getting beaten up isn’t ‘comedy’.”
Not usually, no. But that may depend on who’s getting thumped and why. If the woman in the clip were being attacked, that wouldn’t be funny at all. But if the men who robbed her find themselves on the receiving end of an unexpected public thrashing, well, that has potential. Especially if it involves flying bookcases and an element of surprise. And it helps if you distinguish between innocence and guilt - something you’ve previously had trouble with.
It’s a hubris / nemesis thing. Hence the word “comeuppance.”
Posted by: David | June 03, 2010 at 11:15
ROFL. Pure gold, David! I love it when old fashioned justice is meted out on criminals.
I'm reminded of the scene in the movie "A Bronx Tale" where a bikers (Satan's Messengers) pulls into the gangsters' restaurant/bar and proceeds to assault the bartender and mess up the joint. Sonny, played by Chaz Palminteri gets up and asks the bikers to leave. They refuse. So he locks the key-only deadbolt on the front door, turns to them and says, "Now yous can't leave." Gangstas pour out of the backroom with bats, pipes, etc. and proceed to lay a terrific beating on the bikers.
_http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106489/quotes?qt0409114
Posted by: Mark Peters | June 03, 2010 at 13:26
Watching someone getting beaten up isn't "comedy".
Yeah, it is when the arrogant bad guys is getting it from a bunch of shopkeepers. Comedy gold. The only way it could be funnier is if monkeys were somehow involved.
Posted by: mueler | June 03, 2010 at 13:32
You're generalizing, mueler. Worse, you're elevating the criminal to the status of Regular Joe Law-Abiding Citizen.
The guy on the moped isn't an unassuming nobody just passing by. He's a thief. And watching a thief get some hometown justice may not be comedic, but, in a world where thieves get a slap on the wrist, it is delightful at least that this one got slapped with sticks, fists, chairs and bookcases.
Perhaps if thieves knew they were going to get their a$$es kicked there'd be fewer thieves?
Now, if Mr. Thompson allows the link, "Sonny's bar." (_http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2PXb7xKhcI) You may want to take a pass on this one, mueler.
Posted by: Mark Peters | June 03, 2010 at 13:49
Apologies to mueler; I didn't realize you were quoting RV. My bad. RV, you can take a pass on "Sonny's bar."
Posted by: Mark Peters | June 03, 2010 at 13:58
@rv: watching these swine get cut to pieces or shot to death wouldn't be comedy. This, however, IS comedy.
But I strongly suspect you have no sense of humor.
Posted by: Michael H Anderson | June 03, 2010 at 17:10
Proving once again that an armed society is a safe society.
Posted by: FREE | June 03, 2010 at 17:45
rv,
"Watching someone getting beaten up isn't "comedy"."
What's really not funny is getting your bag nicked and nobody doing anything to help.
Posted by: Karen M | June 03, 2010 at 19:14
"Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you walk into an open sewer and die." - Mel Brooks
Posted by: Franklin | June 03, 2010 at 19:39
So, is this a nature or nurture response, by the crowd? For some reason my mind is always seeking the key to that particular puzzle. Here, I would have to go with nurture. Not that there isn't a natural component involved but it seems to go much deeper than that. Though that woman, with the purse, wasn't a tribe member (assumption), she was walking, innocently, through tribal territory. A tribe of furniture makers, shopkeepers, folks trying to make an honest living. Just a thought, that's all. But yes, I'm glad they kicked the shit out of that guy. Then he should have been placed in the stocks for a few days, allowing him time to reflect on his lifestyle.
Posted by: Luther | June 04, 2010 at 03:01
Before everyone exults in this capitalistic-fascistic celebration of violence over the oppressed, has anyone considered that poverty and a deprived upbringing drove him to commit the 'crime'? Here is this woman, flaunting her wealth by openly walking down the street carrying a handbag. What else could he have done? If you were in his shoes, having suffered like he obviously did, would you have done any different? After being bombarded, day after day, with images of Zionist brutality over the Palestinians, it's hardly surprising.
What a shame there wasn't a PCSO nearby who could have arrested all of the petit bourgeois fanatics, and then put up signs saying "Theieves operate in this area".
Posted by: Rob | June 04, 2010 at 09:03
RV:
"Watching someone getting beaten up isn't 'comedy'."
The producers of America's Funniest Home Videos would probably beg to differ. They've made a fortune showing home videos of people getting hit in the crotch or falling off of various objects, or falling into snow or water, or falling while dancing.
Take the pain videos away, and all you'll have left are the embarrassment videos of people's pants falling down.
Posted by: Ted S., Catskills, NY | June 04, 2010 at 20:48