Vigilantes and Fashion

In the Wild West, where law was often non-existent, vigilantes often took “enforcement of the law,” as well as moral codes into their own hands. The term vigilante stems from the Spanish equivalent, meaning private security agents. Vigilantes were most common in mining communities, but were also known to exist in cow towns and in farming settlements. Most often, these groups formed before any law and order existed in a new settlement. Justice included whipping and banishment from the town, but more often – offenders were lynched. Sometimes; however, vigilante groups formed in places where “authority” did exist, but where the “law” was deemed weak, intimidated by criminal elements, corrupt, or insufficient.
Many times the vigilantes were seen as heroes and supported by the law-abiding citizens, seen as a necessary step to fill a much needed gap. In 1869, vigilantes ordered a couple of ruffians, Sam Strawhim and Joe Weiss out of Hays City, Kansas. The two toughs later accosted a vigilante leader, A.B. Webster, in the post office and bullied him and threatened him and when Weiss finally pulled a gun on him Webster fired back. Weiss was killed and Strawhim fled town. There’s something to be said for vigilante justice. At the very least it gave people something to do on a Friday night. I’m considering actually treating myself to a meal inside a restaurant this evening rather than hitting the drive-through at McDonalds. I think I’ve had my last Happy Meal for a while. The last time I had dinner out I took a book to read so it didn’t seem so obvious I was by myself. The book was hardly necessary as I found myself staring out the window of the establishment at the colorful characters passing by on a regular basis. I was astonished at how many of them were carrying their pets with them. Some had birds perched on their shoulders, others had snakes draped around their necks. I suppose I spend too much time inside writing because I missed the fashion news about live animals being accessories. I couldn’t help noticing how unhappy these pets seemed. I wondered if it even occurred to these odd trend setters that perhaps their pets didn’t want to go with them on their jack-ass errands. Maybe the bird just wants to be home in its cage ringing his little bell or staring at his reflection in his little mirror. Maybe the snake would prefer to be lounging on a heated rock than spending a night out on the town posing as a necklace. I suppose I’ll be pondering that question again tonight along with the relevance of a vigilante group in today’s society. Personally I’m all for it. The group could start by dealing with the shirtless skateboarder wearing a pair of ferrets as a belt.