Dear Villainess -
Do we have to be nice to vigilantes?
- Not Wanting to Get Bashed
Dear Man of Few Words -
Obviously, you don't have to be nice to any asshole on the face of the Earth. In general it's better to not be nice to people on a consistent basis, because then when you are nice to them they don't take it for granted.
I assume that what you are really trying to ask me is, "Are vigilantes villains?" The answer to that question depends on a great many factors, including context, motivation, and the attitude of both the artist(s) and the fans. The fact is, when you come down to brass tacks, many of your so-called "heroes" are actually vigilantes, in that they fight crime without the restraints imposed by membership in a police force, and often with an appalling disregard for issues of due process. It's only the convenient selective memory of the fans and the artist's discretion in making the hero appear omniscient on matters of guilt and innocence that save your average comic-book do-gooder from serious embarrassment and lawsuits a-plenty.
The sort of vigilante that is actually called such is usually the man (rarely but increasingly a woman) who is so mentally and emotionally fucked that s/he can't even pretend to remain within the norms of societies rules on dealing with deviants. Usually they only manage to function at all because they are preying on people who are likewise so far outside of society's norms that no one bothers to stop the carnage (hence the popularity of sex criminals, real, accused, and imagined, as vigilante victims.) Of course, if you ask the vigilante, s/he will say that s/he has a perfectly clear mandate, based on black-and-white morality, to behave as s/he does; that it is society which has deviated. But you didn't ask the vigilante. You asked me. That was sensible of you.
So allow me to lay down the definition: vigilantes are not heroes. And they are definitely not villains. They are whackjobs.
- The Villainess
Wauk -
Wauk ack wonk wonk wonk! Quack!
- wonk
Dear Peevish Waterfowl -
If you re-read my original response to you, you will see that I quite clearly implied that it was necessary to have knowledge of how to revert to your true form before you turned yourself into a Great Auk. I can't be responsible if you failed to read my response completely before undertaking a transformation. All I can suggest is that you try to get work with Oswald Cobblepot, or an environmental group. Or Eric S. Raymond.
- The Villainess