Vigilante

Vigilantism and the vigilante ethos existed long before the word vigilante was introduced into the English language. There are conceptual parallels between the medieval aristocratic custom of private war or vendetta and the modern vigilante philosophy. Elements of the concept of vigilantism can be found in the biblical account in Genesis 34 of the abduction and rape (or, by some interpretations, seduction) of Dinah , the daughter of Jacob , in the Canaanite city of Shechem by the eponymous son of the ruler, and the violent reaction of her brothers Simeon and Levi , who slew all of the males of the city in revenge, rescued their sister and plundered Shechem. When Jacob protested that their actions might bring trouble upon him and his family, the brothers replied "Should he [i.e., Shechem] treat our sister as a harlot?" In the Western literary and cultural tradition, characteristics of vigilantism have often been vested in folkloric heroes and outlaws (e.g., Robin Hood ). During medieval times, punishment of felons was sometimes exercised by such secret societies as the courts of the Vehm ( cf. the medieval Sardinian Gamurra later become Barracelli , the Sicilian Vendicatori and the Beati Paoli ), a type of early vigilante organization, which became extremely powerful in Westphalian Germany during the 15th century. Vigilantism in Mexico In some regions of Mexico, mainly in the state of Michoacan , people affected by criminal groups like Los Zetas and La Familia Michoacana , created vigilante groups called Grupos de autodefensa comunitaria in 2013. Their most notorious leader Hipólito Mora , was assassinated in 2023.