I sometimes wish I could disappear into one of the obscure countries I visit and learn some black-art which gives its possessors the strength to fight injustice in this world- like the Batman. I carried this notion for some time as a child- I was always an avid comic reader- and secretly hoped to someday be a just man under like circumstances. As time passed I realized the Bruce Wayne’s of the world were not only few-and-far-between, but honestly could not exist in our current society. This is to say, a masked vigilante is as likely to appear as the Pope is to allow a non-Catholic to take communion. But why is this? Don’t we all want justice in the world? Don’t we all understand that our current system is not without flaws? If someone were to come along and take matters into their own hands, so to speak, would we not welcome this selfless act of courage? Unfortunately, I doubt we would.

No, over-the-top heroics are doomed to remain an expression of fiction alone- but are they honestly that dismissible? I mean, our government refuses to entertain new ideas of law enforcement and continues the hypocrisies of Regan’s mandatory minimums. Our overcrowded prison systems are bulging so full that rapists and murderers are flowing into the streets on a near-daily basis, so we can make room for the grandma who grew a forbidden weed in her closet. This is not to mention the countless hardened criminals who strike plea-bargains and the privileged elites who get away with financially sodomizing Lady Justice, by throwing six-figures at the system. Would it really be that terrible if someone, say a lawyer who knew the accused was guilty, stepped in to administer a little justice where the system failed to act? I got this idea when I was looking at the Defense of Others concept in Torts class. The way I understand the law, if you were to see a person in need, who was about to be injured, and you stepped in, asserting only necessary force, you would be well within your Constitutional Rights.

This brings us to the fight I mentioned above. I normally resist the urge to fight and attempt to coexist as peacefully as possible with others, but this was one of those unavoidable circumstances. To make a long story short, I was defending a much smaller and weaker law student who was being viciously attacked by several larger assailants. Now, I am no Iron Mike but where I grew up- a kid like me - you had to partake in your fair share of man-dances. That being said, I stepped-in and exchanged a few punches on the night in question, and assuredly got punched a few times as well. I wouldn’t exactly say we won the fight, but we were grossly outnumbered- yet still managed to escape the incident with minimal protracted impairment. Since the bars were closing I decided it was best to catch a ride home. When I stumbled into my apartment, after loading a very tasty bowl, I drunkenly gleaned my DVD collection- Batman Begins stuck out stridently. I threw the DVD in, grabbed a beer, searched for my lighter and flopped-down on the couch.

As I realized what Bruce Wayne had given up during his enlightenment I began to think deeply about what appears to be a meaningless super-hero flick. Somehow that night I saw the Batman in a new light. I wasn’t just reminiscing over one of my childhood heroes or geeking-out about some reimagining of my favorite comic book turned film- no this was different. I was frighteningly entertaining the notion of becoming a defender of justice myself. Now I am aware this is as farfetched an idea as there comes, but bare with me for a moment. An individual- or group of- with the proper training, armor, weapons and organization could easily defend others in need. It is within our legal rights and truly reasonable. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating people taking to the streets as vigilantes, I am simply pointing out that a well trained person can intervene, when injury is probable, with all reasonably necessary force. It’s a stretch, but it does mean that a person bent-on-justice can legally make a difference fighting crime in our society- if need be.