Grab-ass

In a total disconnect with previous topics, recently a friend in the U.S. sent me this video about a young fellow who sets up cameras to catch a local thief.  Essentially, this takes place in rural America; the thief is a local farmer who fails to catch a third camera set up by the video maker ... so we get film of the thief painting over the other two cameras, the thief's car and the stolen goods in the back of the thief's car.  Then the video maker tracks the thief to his home, calls the local sheriff, who goes in and confronts the thief, and what ensues.

This is supposed to be a terrific example of justice being done; but the video infuriated the hell out of me.  The maker is clever and all, and he gets compensation ... but the utterly grab-ass approach to justice strikes me as one of the stupidest things about America.

Why is the video maker responsible for catching the fellow?  Why does the video maker think it's his responsibility to chase down the thief?  And why is the video maker even present when the confrontation goes down?  Why would the sheriff even enter the thief's residence without first examining the evidence in TOTO, getting a warrant, and THEN go in and search the place.  They shouldn't need to confront the accused thief.  The agenda should be to get evidence and charge the thief, period.  Perhaps for a dozen crimes the thief has committed, and not just towards the video maker.  Oh, sure, the video maker got his compensation, but what about everyone else?  How the fuck is this a law-abiding country?

In CANADA, I go to the RCMP.  I tell them someone in the neighbourhood is repeatedly robbing me.  THEY set up cameras.  THEY look at the evidence.  Then they enter the thief's residence and, if there's stolen goods there, THEY charge the thief.  "The Crown" does.  I'm not asked to bring charges, or even given the opportunity not to bring charges, because the LAW has been broken.  When the law is broken, people get arrested.  A common citizen's opinion about the law is not asked for.

Seeing Americans crow about how they achieve "justice" ... sickens me.  Daily, I read a blog called electoral-vote.com.  Day after day, I read a systematic accounting of people deliberately breaking laws in America, specifically through incompetence, graft, malfeisance, misappropriation of funds and just plain stupidity.  This parade of shit has been going on six years now.  It is only broken ONE DAY a year.  July 4th.  That's the day when everyone talks about What a Great Country America Is.

Friday, an old bridge in Pittsburgh collapsed, the Fern Hollow Bridge.  It was identified as ready to collapse 10 years ago.  No one will be held accountable, even though obviously every authority in the United States, including every municipal leader, state senate and congress person, governor and national political figure for the last TWENTY years is plainly responsible.  But no "law" has been broken.  So, no consequences will befall anyone.  Not for this collapsed bridge or the hundreds of other infrastructure buildings in America.  And the thousands who will be injured and killed in the future.

No civilised country acts this way, or defends this sort of thing.  One would think that what Americans might try next July 4th is to hang their fucking heads in shame.