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In reply to the discussion: City Councilman: 2 Police Officers Shot Dead In Brooklyn [View all]Igel
(35,309 posts)then it's just "collective punishment." (I'd call it "communal," but that's more of a subcontinent thing, I think.)
A member of group X does something, you get to "legitimately" punish any other member of group X. People are members of groups first and foremost, not individuals. A completely different premise from what much of Western liberal thought--apart from the racist thinking that occupied some corners--has assumed for the last few hundred years.
And that bears repeating: It's exactly the same kind of broad-brush stereotyped thinking that you get in racist circles. One person in a certain group does something, all members are assumed to be the same or to do the same thing. When it's overt racism we complain about it; when it's less tied to something that we hate (and more tied to some idea we tend to like), well, that kind of thinking is perfect. Whatever makes us right is right.
If they were actually guilty, then it's vigilantism, an individual setting himself up as judge, jury, and executioner.
Even without a restoration of justice to the justice system, defending this or trying to excuse it is a big step down from the lofty goals that some claim.