Guardian Angels in Canada
Honestly I really dont get the hype about the Guardian Angels coming to Canada and setting up shop. Just recently the founder of the Angels has been trying to convince select cities in Canada to allow them to set up shop and have people join their group.
If unsure about the group, here is their website (http://www.guardianangels.org/). From what I have gathered about this group, or at least from what I have read, it seems that they are an organization of people who are society minded and conscious, that basically just walk around the city areas in their 'uniforms' to make themselves visible. They are trained in the area of citizens arrest and know when they can or can not use those powers. From what I gather, they are more like a visible form of deterant for crime than actual law enforcers.
The pros of this are that they basically are going to be doing what we, as normal everyday citizens, should be doing on a regular basis. If we see someone commiting a crime, whether it be something as light as littering or jaywalking right up to murder or assault, we should intervene and help out whomever is being violated and maybe save a life. We are not talking people that will walk blindly out into a gun fire fight with their hands outstretched and scream out "citizens arrest, drop your weapons!" but at least someone that wont stand out of the way of a fleeing purse snatching saying "ummm, I dont know..if I trip him, can he sue me for assault? hmm, better not risk it, after all, not my purse".
Canadian society these days has become too self centred, too self absorbed and all that people are breaking laws knowing that no one will rise up to the rescue. It is almost like we are becoming a society of loners thinking only of our own safety and security and not the security of the others around us. When, in fact, by not rising up to assist and help out those around us makes us open to attack and decreases our sense of security and safety. After all, there is safety in numbers and when we are a band of people, sticking together, ready to stop someone from bullying another, then we are a strong community. If we are individual people, sitting back and only protecting ourselves, then we are weak individuals.
If you would like an analogy, think of it as a war. If an attacking force sends in their soldiers one person at a time, or at least sends the whole lot into the battle with the orders "fight for yourself, dont protect the person beside you, try to stay alive" then the battle will be lost because all the soldiers will be hunted down one by one and killed, or at least there wont be any team work to hold together. That is what is happening in today's society. There is the battle against crime happening and us, as soldiers, are going into it one soldier at a time, watching our fellow soldiers getting picked off one by one without lending a hand. The opposing side seems to know that the team work of law abiding citizens is low and that if they start to commit a crime, no one will raise up against them. Hence why women in self defence classes are taught "if you are being assaulted or raped, never call RAPE, call out FIRE." Apparently, sociological and psychological studies have shown that if a person hears RAPE they run away from the call whereas if they hear FIRE they run towards the call. Perhaps it is a case of fear in that when they hear RAPE there is a person doing an action that could automatically turn on them, whereas with FIRE it is a localized thing and if it is too far out of control, the helper can stand back and stay in safety.
Though, I do also recognize the cons of the Guardian Angels. They do have the potential to do more harm than good. One thing I have always beleived in this world is that there is nothing more dangerous in this world than an individual with a cause; and when you have a group of people with a cause, then it is dangerous times many. I am not suggesting that having a cause or something to fight for is a bad thing. After all, Ghandi had a cause and he did wonders; Mother Theresa had a cause, and she did miracles. Though, on the flip side, Hitler had a cause, and look what happened there; Bush has a cause, and look at what is happening in the world. So, it isnt basically the person with the cause, but perchance the cause itself. Now, for the Guardian Angels, there is potential for the group to turn into a gang and start harrassing people in the name of good. After all, two people are alone in a park and having a screaming match, a guardian angel over hears it and comes running in and, without asking questions because of their zealous nature, starts to exert force. The arguement turns out to be a harmless one between a boyfriend and a girlfriend about somthing trivial, the kind that we all have once a month, or even once a week, with our significant others. In this case, too much zeal and all could turn the Guardian Angels into a form of bully and hazard on every day citizens, thus causing the police to get complaints. Thus, because of the Guardian Angels, the police work load will raise because now they not only have to deal with criminals, but they have to deal with law enforcing do-gooders.
Another possible 'con' to the Angels setting up shop is that there might be grounds for a certain form of extortion if corrupted individuals get into the group. For example, the Guardian Angels develop a high profile and good reputation for lower crime rates in the areas that they patrol. The Guardian Angels then go up to certain shop keepers and say "psst, if you want an Angel to patrol your place on a regular basis, then I suggest you start to show your appreciation to us". Thus, turning the non-profit organization into a sort of extortion group as bad as the mob, with the exception that the 'protection fee' is really a protection fee and not just a fee to stop the collector from trashing the joint. In this case, the Angels could do harm to society. However, no matter what the organization, there is always a chance that good can become evil (since cops can be bribed if the cops want to be bribed).
Another 'con' could be that the Angels could potentially raise the harmfulness of a situation higher than it needs to be. If a person is commiting a crime, like a rape, assault or robbery, unless they are a hardened criminal that have done this countless times and can handle the adrenaline and excitment of the whole thing, there is a chance that the person doing the crime is more jacked up and volitile than the victim is scared. Now, you got a guy with a weapon, doing a crime, stressed out to the limit and asks everyone to stay in their seats or not to be a hero, and then all of a sudden you got 2 people with red berets jumping up and screaming "citizens arrest" and storm forward with the zeal and justice in their pocket that only a fanatic has in their hearts. Well, that is just a recipe for disaster. Now you got a scared person, with a weapon, loads of innocent bystanders who want to get home alive and things get out of control. People could get hurt.
The flip side to this scenario is that if the person knows that the Guardian Angels will stand up and stop a crime from being commited, and the individual sees two Angels sitting on the bus, there is a high chance that they wont try to mug the little old lady in the back of the bus but rather go off somewhere else to commit the crime. If there are enough Angels, or citizens that are willing to intervene everywhere, then chances are that the person wont commit that crime on people that stay in areas that are public.
Simply put, the Angels are simply a deterant from the crime actually starting, not stopping the crime once it has begun. If more criminals about to commit a crime stopped and said to themselves "I could mug that lady here on the bus, but if I do someone on the bus might stop me and help her" then maybe less crimes would be commited. If the person in the apartment knew that if he beats his girlfriend or wife, the neighbour next door wont just turn up the volume and ignore the sounds of beatings and crying but instead call the police or try to help the woman, then maybe there would be less spousal abuse. Perhaps if people just cared about their fellow man and tried to stop a crime from happening instead of sitting back and saying "the police will arrest them, and when they do I hope that the courts throw the book at them" the world might be a better place.
As to the Angels, you can make up your own mind whether or not they are truly Guardian Angels or if they are just thugs with wings. I would love to hear your points, or even get your site to see if you have written about them. Thanks.
If unsure about the group, here is their website (http://www.guardianangels.org/). From what I have gathered about this group, or at least from what I have read, it seems that they are an organization of people who are society minded and conscious, that basically just walk around the city areas in their 'uniforms' to make themselves visible. They are trained in the area of citizens arrest and know when they can or can not use those powers. From what I gather, they are more like a visible form of deterant for crime than actual law enforcers.
The pros of this are that they basically are going to be doing what we, as normal everyday citizens, should be doing on a regular basis. If we see someone commiting a crime, whether it be something as light as littering or jaywalking right up to murder or assault, we should intervene and help out whomever is being violated and maybe save a life. We are not talking people that will walk blindly out into a gun fire fight with their hands outstretched and scream out "citizens arrest, drop your weapons!" but at least someone that wont stand out of the way of a fleeing purse snatching saying "ummm, I dont know..if I trip him, can he sue me for assault? hmm, better not risk it, after all, not my purse".
Canadian society these days has become too self centred, too self absorbed and all that people are breaking laws knowing that no one will rise up to the rescue. It is almost like we are becoming a society of loners thinking only of our own safety and security and not the security of the others around us. When, in fact, by not rising up to assist and help out those around us makes us open to attack and decreases our sense of security and safety. After all, there is safety in numbers and when we are a band of people, sticking together, ready to stop someone from bullying another, then we are a strong community. If we are individual people, sitting back and only protecting ourselves, then we are weak individuals.
If you would like an analogy, think of it as a war. If an attacking force sends in their soldiers one person at a time, or at least sends the whole lot into the battle with the orders "fight for yourself, dont protect the person beside you, try to stay alive" then the battle will be lost because all the soldiers will be hunted down one by one and killed, or at least there wont be any team work to hold together. That is what is happening in today's society. There is the battle against crime happening and us, as soldiers, are going into it one soldier at a time, watching our fellow soldiers getting picked off one by one without lending a hand. The opposing side seems to know that the team work of law abiding citizens is low and that if they start to commit a crime, no one will raise up against them. Hence why women in self defence classes are taught "if you are being assaulted or raped, never call RAPE, call out FIRE." Apparently, sociological and psychological studies have shown that if a person hears RAPE they run away from the call whereas if they hear FIRE they run towards the call. Perhaps it is a case of fear in that when they hear RAPE there is a person doing an action that could automatically turn on them, whereas with FIRE it is a localized thing and if it is too far out of control, the helper can stand back and stay in safety.
Though, I do also recognize the cons of the Guardian Angels. They do have the potential to do more harm than good. One thing I have always beleived in this world is that there is nothing more dangerous in this world than an individual with a cause; and when you have a group of people with a cause, then it is dangerous times many. I am not suggesting that having a cause or something to fight for is a bad thing. After all, Ghandi had a cause and he did wonders; Mother Theresa had a cause, and she did miracles. Though, on the flip side, Hitler had a cause, and look what happened there; Bush has a cause, and look at what is happening in the world. So, it isnt basically the person with the cause, but perchance the cause itself. Now, for the Guardian Angels, there is potential for the group to turn into a gang and start harrassing people in the name of good. After all, two people are alone in a park and having a screaming match, a guardian angel over hears it and comes running in and, without asking questions because of their zealous nature, starts to exert force. The arguement turns out to be a harmless one between a boyfriend and a girlfriend about somthing trivial, the kind that we all have once a month, or even once a week, with our significant others. In this case, too much zeal and all could turn the Guardian Angels into a form of bully and hazard on every day citizens, thus causing the police to get complaints. Thus, because of the Guardian Angels, the police work load will raise because now they not only have to deal with criminals, but they have to deal with law enforcing do-gooders.
Another possible 'con' to the Angels setting up shop is that there might be grounds for a certain form of extortion if corrupted individuals get into the group. For example, the Guardian Angels develop a high profile and good reputation for lower crime rates in the areas that they patrol. The Guardian Angels then go up to certain shop keepers and say "psst, if you want an Angel to patrol your place on a regular basis, then I suggest you start to show your appreciation to us". Thus, turning the non-profit organization into a sort of extortion group as bad as the mob, with the exception that the 'protection fee' is really a protection fee and not just a fee to stop the collector from trashing the joint. In this case, the Angels could do harm to society. However, no matter what the organization, there is always a chance that good can become evil (since cops can be bribed if the cops want to be bribed).
Another 'con' could be that the Angels could potentially raise the harmfulness of a situation higher than it needs to be. If a person is commiting a crime, like a rape, assault or robbery, unless they are a hardened criminal that have done this countless times and can handle the adrenaline and excitment of the whole thing, there is a chance that the person doing the crime is more jacked up and volitile than the victim is scared. Now, you got a guy with a weapon, doing a crime, stressed out to the limit and asks everyone to stay in their seats or not to be a hero, and then all of a sudden you got 2 people with red berets jumping up and screaming "citizens arrest" and storm forward with the zeal and justice in their pocket that only a fanatic has in their hearts. Well, that is just a recipe for disaster. Now you got a scared person, with a weapon, loads of innocent bystanders who want to get home alive and things get out of control. People could get hurt.
The flip side to this scenario is that if the person knows that the Guardian Angels will stand up and stop a crime from being commited, and the individual sees two Angels sitting on the bus, there is a high chance that they wont try to mug the little old lady in the back of the bus but rather go off somewhere else to commit the crime. If there are enough Angels, or citizens that are willing to intervene everywhere, then chances are that the person wont commit that crime on people that stay in areas that are public.
Simply put, the Angels are simply a deterant from the crime actually starting, not stopping the crime once it has begun. If more criminals about to commit a crime stopped and said to themselves "I could mug that lady here on the bus, but if I do someone on the bus might stop me and help her" then maybe less crimes would be commited. If the person in the apartment knew that if he beats his girlfriend or wife, the neighbour next door wont just turn up the volume and ignore the sounds of beatings and crying but instead call the police or try to help the woman, then maybe there would be less spousal abuse. Perhaps if people just cared about their fellow man and tried to stop a crime from happening instead of sitting back and saying "the police will arrest them, and when they do I hope that the courts throw the book at them" the world might be a better place.
As to the Angels, you can make up your own mind whether or not they are truly Guardian Angels or if they are just thugs with wings. I would love to hear your points, or even get your site to see if you have written about them. Thanks.
posted by Capt_Canuck at 7:44 AM
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