Nerve Endings Firing Away

Mob justice is always a thorny issue and most of the time, it can prove to be counter-productive. This occurs when a section of the society assumes the role of a vigilante for correcting a social wrong. Bloggers have been accused of doing similar things in the past; even desi bloggers as in the case of Rohan Pinto or IIPM (I beg to differ in both cases though). Even Bollywood, more recently Rang De Basanti, has long advocated the use of vigilante justice when they run out of all other feasible options. Such justice deliverance methods often arouse passions among people although they may be discounted as infeasible or even illegal.

More recently, camera phones have been used to out alleged sex offenders. The New York Post published a picture taken by a woman of a man who supposedly exposed himself in the subway. Although most of us would nod in agreement in ‘exposing’ the bastard but such methods can easily be subjected to abuse. I was informed that the some of the Blank Noise Project women also used this method to post pictures of men who allegedly harassed them. Although I severely deplore street harassment and any form of eve teasing, I am reluctant to employ such a method as a form of deterrence and justice. The tendency for posting a picture of a totally innocent man is highly likely and if you are branded as a sex offender especially in the United States, it is extremely difficult to get rid of the tag.

Every criminal however sleazy the crime may be is entitled to due process of the law and this fact forms the cornerstone of any civilized judicial system. Taking on the mantle of delivering justice by over zealous women or perennially-angry bloggers is certainly not the desired route. Mind you, I am not condoning street harassment or blog plagiarizing in any way or form.