We discussed 2 pointers in the previous articles. I think we have pretty much covered them. This pointer can help you with life or death situations. Remember that you are no good to anyone dead.

I did a lot of research for my foray into vigilantism, but most of my research time went into Choosing the Arena.

The Karate black belt which you got by competing in kid competitions won't do you any good in vigilantism nor will your self-proclaimed observation skills. Vigilantism can get messy real quick. Therefore, you must determine the types of conflicts you'll engage in: spontaneous street justice or methodical justice.

You can choose a spectrum of arenas, but for beginners there are two choices, planning and executing attacks, or intervening in real-time injustices to protect people. Broadly speaking, decide whether you want to rectify existing injustices or prevent injustices as they occur. A lot of vigilantes roam the street at night and prevent injustices from happening. It is a matter of preventing or punishing. While a lot of vigilantes I know do both, but they are experienced, for beginners they need to stick to something for some time to get some real life experience.

I'll tell you my story, I am a bottom shelf vigilante, I roam the streets in stealth and prevent crimes. Remember I told you about that mugging that changed everything, right? I want to prevent that. That's the kind of positive effect I want to have in people's life. Streets are a better arena if you want to see the effects of your effort. But as I said things can get messy quick. Once, while patrolling, I encountered two women held at knifepoint. I approached cautiously, but the criminal sensed me and swung the knife, cutting me. The criminal was bigger than me so I had to back away a bit. What I hadn't considered was that the attacker would come after me. He started chasing me, but thankfully, I was familiar with the layout of the streets. So, I led him into an alleyway and trapped him there. I also called the police.

The attacker was free the next day, but I did prevent a crime.

Familiarise yourself with the streets you patrol: know the ins and outs, secret passages, etc. Stashing weapons in hidden locations can also be beneficial. Avoid venturing into unfamiliar territory; it puts you at a disadvantage and increases the risk of harm.

Now, regarding punishments, this requires a targeted approach, Drookie the vigilante I talked about in the previous blog was into this. To succeed in such missions, thoroughness is essential. You have to follow the protocols here, the ones the police use to surveil a human work good. But you gotta add your own skills into the mix. Be meticulous, know your surroundings, choose the optimal time and place for ambush, and leave no trace.

Drookie was a master at this, legend has it that he confronted a violent drug lord named Chuchu, who was fueling a drug epidemic in the neighbourhood. The myth is that he surprised the drug lord in his house, tied him up and roughed him up and then the drug lord just disappeared. Drookie got to know his location because he tracked Chuchu's food deliveries. Nobody really knows what happened though. The true story went away with Drookie. :(

Do you understand how you gotta be? You need to be prepared, strategise. Some people think planning and executing is better than being on the street which are chaotic and unpredictable. But planning and executing takes a lot more work and beginners usually get bored and give up. While street crimes may be random, they're typically smaller in scale, as people are wary of surveillance cameras so most of the big criminal stuff happens in abandoned buildings. We are proceeding towards becoming a surveillance state.

Although that is a discussion for some other day.

Okay, I think this is it for this lesson, and we will end it here. Take it all in, understand and decide. I'll return in the next blog with the next lesson, till then stay tuned and don't be afraid of chasing your dreams.

Ciao!

Previous blogs:

Blog 2: https://musings.peculiarvivek.com/how-to-vigilantism-next-few-pointers
Blog 1: https://musings.peculiarvivek.com/how-to-vigilantism-easing-your-way-into-the-job
Blog 0: https://musings.peculiarvivek.com/your-daily-guide-to-vigilantism-strategies-for-taking-action