I know the NYC subways well. No one wants to be stuck in a subway car with someone making violent threats and otherwise acting erratically. No one should have to accept that circumstance. Unfortunately, police can’t be everywhere and most people, unlike Daniel Penny, are not willing to get involved. However, I can assure you, that Penny’s fellow passengers were relieved and grateful that he stepped up - not as a vigilante, but as a fellow passenger who has the ability and courage to offer assistance. It is tragic that Jordan Nealy died, but it’s not Daniel Penny’s fault that Nealy was allowed to be on the streets or that he died being subdued. I have no doubt that Penny expected to hold him and turn him over to the police and had no desire to hurt him.
May 16, 2023·edited May 16, 2023Liked by Chris Bray
Excellent piece. Redefining words doesn’t simply change their meaning, it has the power to redefine our society. Which is why their new meanings are so strictly policed by those who seek to leave us in ruin.
The political class has become a bizarre, sinister, crackpot mix of weaponized sanctimony and crusading infantilization. They'd be funny if they weren't so dangerous.
It’s amazing how the media simultaneously places absurdly outsized importance on certain words (the wrong pronouns are literal violence) while showing a level of carelessness towards the accuracy of other words that would fail a grade school vocabulary test.
The entire point of the Left’s language game and hammering action-takers is to infantilize society and emasculate those with clear historical vision. If we’re unwilling, or just unable to return societal institutions to competent hands, the risk is not decline, but having to learn Mandarin a mere 78 yrs after avoiding German lessons.
Excellent. This highlights a point that most people don't see: The police are not there to protect you and I; they're there to protect the criminals from us.
Without a police force citizens will make their own justice as they see fit. This is why it is so stupid for our "elites" to degrade the rule of law. Eventually people decide there is no rule and we're back to the old ways.
Your more humorous articles have saved my sanity more than once, and I love them, but I also love these. The information is great and it answers a question I had the other day . . .
I read an article by Kat Rosenfeld on The Free Press or UnHerd, one of those, about Neely, Perry, and the state of policing and mental health in general. I tend to find her relatively down to earth, and the article for the most part was, but it ended with something like "and if we don't solve these problems, we're going to get *more* vigilanteism." By "more" she meant that Perry was a vigilante. And I thought to myself, "Self, that's not what that word means--stepping in to save a subway car full of people from a violent lunatic because there are no cops around." So thank you for reinforcing that I was right.
While I think you are right that this is part and parcel of the idea that "You can’t help other people — you don’t even work for the government!" (eloquently put), it will have the added benefit that if Perry is found not guilty, which he very well could be as you are allowed to defend yourself *or others* and what he did while it can be fatal, is also regarded as an acceptable way to restrain people (and he had help doing it), but if he is found not guilty, a certain group of opportunistic race vultures in this country can say, "Vigilanteism is illegal and look that evil white man got a way with it, killing that poor helpless black man who just wanted to do his Michael Jackson impression, and I know he was a vigilante because the talking head on TV told me so, so white supremacy *is* real and I must vote for the party that won't put up with this."
Chris, you seem to want the left to make sense and behave responsibly. Well, they don’t, and they won’t. It’s like expecting a chicken to suddenly fly: ain’t gonna happen.
I I feel sorry for Penny. I feel very sorry for Neely. But what is going on here on the left has absolutely nothing to do with either of them.
At some point people will realize that rampant crime isn't a byproduct of socialist and communist governments but an intentional feature. Without crime, people stop believing they are victims and the entire ideology starts to crumble.
Citizens “granted” certain rights and responsibilities to others as an effective and productive way to deliver various services for the benefit of the community. When the parties that were “granted” these rights and responsibilities fail to effectively or productively carry out these functions the citizens have the authority to take them back and carry them out themselves. This is particularly true of public safety responsibilities.
My son is a platoon leader at Camp Lejeune and a bunch of guys in his company know Perry, spoke to him last week and said he is doing pretty good all things considered.
We also contributed to the legal defense fund. It’s encouraging to see it is over $2 million at this point.
Praying Bragg gets his ass handed to him either by the grand jury, failing to indict, or at trial with the jury failing to convict.
the "garden hose at my neighbors house" was a great example, Chris - you are the best at putting these situations in layman's terms for folk like myself.
Nice historical review. The last thing the Commies want to see are brave men and brave women solving their own problems through whatever means are necessary. Rugged individualism is kryptonite to collectivists. We don’t know yet the entire story of what exactly went on in the subway car, so a degree of caution is warranted at this point. But we do know people felt threatened and based on the criminal history of the deceased, they had good reason to feel that way. One thing many people seem to not understand or don’t want to acknowledge is that once somebody engages in a stressful aka dangerous physical conflict there is a predictable series of physiological changes that happen. It’s not a movie where the secret agent chokes out the henchman and then suavely drinks a martini. This is life and possibly death. It may literally become mortal combat. Most people are working at a reptilian brain survival level at that point. You can’t instantly turn it off. That’s one reason why you don’t start stuff with strangers. You don’t know who you’re dealing with and looks can be deceptive. I’m general, I’m of the mindset that we could solve a lot more problems with a little more bravery. Notwithstanding all of the above, this mentally ill man should have been in an asylum, not roaming the streets. His death is a result of the failure of liberal policies.
"So the reframing is remarkable, and it’s important to notice what it’s meant to do: any act of personal initiative against a crime, a threat, or a serious act of social disorder is vigilantism. The implication is that passivity is your duty, you should always allow professionals to handle a problem entirely"
This "advice" also flies directly in the face of American law, which is CLEAR AS DAY that police HAVE NO DUTY to keep you safe. If Neely had pulled out a knife and started slashing people, police in the next car could sit and watch it happen with no repercussions.
In his account, Lozito (victim) pinned Gelman (perp) to the floor, disarming him. Howell (police officer) then emerged from the booth, tapping Lozito’s shoulder: “You can get up now,” he said.
“By the time he got there, the dirty work was already done,” Lozito said.
Gelman was convicted in the spree — which left his girlfriend, her mother, his stepfather and a pedestrian dead, and five others injured.
Lozito says a grand-jury member later told him Howell admitted on the stand that he hid during the attack because he thought Gelman had a gun.
An angry Lozito decided to sue the city for negligence, arguing the cops should have recognized Gelman and prevented, or reacted more quickly to, the assault.
The city routinely settles such litigation but is playing hardball with Lozito, insisting his demand for unspecified money damages be tossed because the police had no “special duty” to protect him or any individual on the train that day.
And by the way:
https://www.givesendgo.com/daniel_penny
I gave. By the time I got there, it had cracked the million-dollar mark, so I only gave twenty bucks. But a good symbolic action in any event.
I know the NYC subways well. No one wants to be stuck in a subway car with someone making violent threats and otherwise acting erratically. No one should have to accept that circumstance. Unfortunately, police can’t be everywhere and most people, unlike Daniel Penny, are not willing to get involved. However, I can assure you, that Penny’s fellow passengers were relieved and grateful that he stepped up - not as a vigilante, but as a fellow passenger who has the ability and courage to offer assistance. It is tragic that Jordan Nealy died, but it’s not Daniel Penny’s fault that Nealy was allowed to be on the streets or that he died being subdued. I have no doubt that Penny expected to hold him and turn him over to the police and had no desire to hurt him.
"Defund the police!"
"Okay. We'll police our own communities."
"Vigilante! Murderer! Fascist! Racist!"
It's a productive conversation.
Excellent piece. Redefining words doesn’t simply change their meaning, it has the power to redefine our society. Which is why their new meanings are so strictly policed by those who seek to leave us in ruin.
The political class has become a bizarre, sinister, crackpot mix of weaponized sanctimony and crusading infantilization. They'd be funny if they weren't so dangerous.
It’s amazing how the media simultaneously places absurdly outsized importance on certain words (the wrong pronouns are literal violence) while showing a level of carelessness towards the accuracy of other words that would fail a grade school vocabulary test.
The entire point of the Left’s language game and hammering action-takers is to infantilize society and emasculate those with clear historical vision. If we’re unwilling, or just unable to return societal institutions to competent hands, the risk is not decline, but having to learn Mandarin a mere 78 yrs after avoiding German lessons.
Excellent. This highlights a point that most people don't see: The police are not there to protect you and I; they're there to protect the criminals from us.
Without a police force citizens will make their own justice as they see fit. This is why it is so stupid for our "elites" to degrade the rule of law. Eventually people decide there is no rule and we're back to the old ways.
Your more humorous articles have saved my sanity more than once, and I love them, but I also love these. The information is great and it answers a question I had the other day . . .
I read an article by Kat Rosenfeld on The Free Press or UnHerd, one of those, about Neely, Perry, and the state of policing and mental health in general. I tend to find her relatively down to earth, and the article for the most part was, but it ended with something like "and if we don't solve these problems, we're going to get *more* vigilanteism." By "more" she meant that Perry was a vigilante. And I thought to myself, "Self, that's not what that word means--stepping in to save a subway car full of people from a violent lunatic because there are no cops around." So thank you for reinforcing that I was right.
While I think you are right that this is part and parcel of the idea that "You can’t help other people — you don’t even work for the government!" (eloquently put), it will have the added benefit that if Perry is found not guilty, which he very well could be as you are allowed to defend yourself *or others* and what he did while it can be fatal, is also regarded as an acceptable way to restrain people (and he had help doing it), but if he is found not guilty, a certain group of opportunistic race vultures in this country can say, "Vigilanteism is illegal and look that evil white man got a way with it, killing that poor helpless black man who just wanted to do his Michael Jackson impression, and I know he was a vigilante because the talking head on TV told me so, so white supremacy *is* real and I must vote for the party that won't put up with this."
Chris, you seem to want the left to make sense and behave responsibly. Well, they don’t, and they won’t. It’s like expecting a chicken to suddenly fly: ain’t gonna happen.
I I feel sorry for Penny. I feel very sorry for Neely. But what is going on here on the left has absolutely nothing to do with either of them.
At some point people will realize that rampant crime isn't a byproduct of socialist and communist governments but an intentional feature. Without crime, people stop believing they are victims and the entire ideology starts to crumble.
Citizens “granted” certain rights and responsibilities to others as an effective and productive way to deliver various services for the benefit of the community. When the parties that were “granted” these rights and responsibilities fail to effectively or productively carry out these functions the citizens have the authority to take them back and carry them out themselves. This is particularly true of public safety responsibilities.
My son is a platoon leader at Camp Lejeune and a bunch of guys in his company know Perry, spoke to him last week and said he is doing pretty good all things considered.
We also contributed to the legal defense fund. It’s encouraging to see it is over $2 million at this point.
Praying Bragg gets his ass handed to him either by the grand jury, failing to indict, or at trial with the jury failing to convict.
the "garden hose at my neighbors house" was a great example, Chris - you are the best at putting these situations in layman's terms for folk like myself.
Nice historical review. The last thing the Commies want to see are brave men and brave women solving their own problems through whatever means are necessary. Rugged individualism is kryptonite to collectivists. We don’t know yet the entire story of what exactly went on in the subway car, so a degree of caution is warranted at this point. But we do know people felt threatened and based on the criminal history of the deceased, they had good reason to feel that way. One thing many people seem to not understand or don’t want to acknowledge is that once somebody engages in a stressful aka dangerous physical conflict there is a predictable series of physiological changes that happen. It’s not a movie where the secret agent chokes out the henchman and then suavely drinks a martini. This is life and possibly death. It may literally become mortal combat. Most people are working at a reptilian brain survival level at that point. You can’t instantly turn it off. That’s one reason why you don’t start stuff with strangers. You don’t know who you’re dealing with and looks can be deceptive. I’m general, I’m of the mindset that we could solve a lot more problems with a little more bravery. Notwithstanding all of the above, this mentally ill man should have been in an asylum, not roaming the streets. His death is a result of the failure of liberal policies.
Best essay I’ve seen on what happened and is more likely to happen in the future I’ve read.
"So the reframing is remarkable, and it’s important to notice what it’s meant to do: any act of personal initiative against a crime, a threat, or a serious act of social disorder is vigilantism. The implication is that passivity is your duty, you should always allow professionals to handle a problem entirely"
This "advice" also flies directly in the face of American law, which is CLEAR AS DAY that police HAVE NO DUTY to keep you safe. If Neely had pulled out a knife and started slashing people, police in the next car could sit and watch it happen with no repercussions.
https://nypost.com/2013/01/27/city-says-cops-had-no-duty-to-protect-subway-hero-who-subdued-killer/
In his account, Lozito (victim) pinned Gelman (perp) to the floor, disarming him. Howell (police officer) then emerged from the booth, tapping Lozito’s shoulder: “You can get up now,” he said.
“By the time he got there, the dirty work was already done,” Lozito said.
Gelman was convicted in the spree — which left his girlfriend, her mother, his stepfather and a pedestrian dead, and five others injured.
Lozito says a grand-jury member later told him Howell admitted on the stand that he hid during the attack because he thought Gelman had a gun.
An angry Lozito decided to sue the city for negligence, arguing the cops should have recognized Gelman and prevented, or reacted more quickly to, the assault.
The city routinely settles such litigation but is playing hardball with Lozito, insisting his demand for unspecified money damages be tossed because the police had no “special duty” to protect him or any individual on the train that day.