Carla got in a couple a days ahead of ya pardner.
I have to say it would be awesome if this happened once a week (someone lassoing a bike thief - not duplicated posts)
I worked a Country Western bar back many decades ago, a regular there could lasso a beer bottle/can from 30+ feet outâa anyoneâs hand. Gosh that was great fun.
Wanna know why that man was holding on to the tree?
Because some vigilante yahoo thought it was ok to drag a human being behind a horse
Sorry, but given Oregonâs history of racism going back to itâs formation as a state that forbade black people from working, living, or owning property and with Portland being the most racist city in the U.S., I think itâs a bit tone deaf and questionable to decide to drag a black man behind your horse.
Not sure what he meant, but you donât drag a cow behind a horse either. Neither articles linked mentioned him being dragged.
According to an eye witness:
"When the thief dismounted and tried to flee on foot, Stepp watched as
the cowboy lassoed him by the ankle. The thief then grabbed a tree and
held on to it until the police arrived. "
Take a look at the photo. See that taught line and the man holding on to the tree? That is a roping trained horse who will keep hard tension on the line until made to stop.
Iâll take him at his word when he says "I just rode off like I would if Iâd roped a cow"
But honestly, this conjures up ghosts of the past when runaway slaves were actually chased down by men on horseback and roped just like this and it saddens me to see how many people are cheering this without reflection.
OK - letâs just stop right there. Come on.
First off, if the guy drug him around callously, I would agree that he shouldnât do that and it is assault. As you point out, there is tension, but tension isnât dragging. I am not a rodeo expert, but I have been to some and have never seen them drag anything behind the horse. They donât want to hurt the cow/sheep/ whatever they are roping. Well I saw them drag a clown, once, but that was part of the act. At this point, I see no evidence he was dragged, but if it comes up he was dragged I will condemn him with you.
Next, on your other issue, yeesh. While I canât read mind I am pretty sure this guy wasnât like âyeehaw! I get to rope and drag me a N-word like them run away slaves in the good olâ days!â That is really, really reaching. Just because such horrible things happened to slave (as well as Native Americans, horse thieves, settlers, etc) doesnât mean that the two actions have ANYTHING similar. I mean with that line of logic calf roping is just simulated runaway slave capture.
People are cheering because people in general do not like thieves. Especially people who steal from others. And a bike? For some people that is the ONLY way they can get around. It like stealing a car.
The guy stopped him with little to no damage and waited for the cops. No one beat the guy up or further hurt him. Hell if every arrest from a cop was like this, we wouldnât have so many dead suspects.
There is a very good reason vigilantism is considered wrong and/or immoral and thatâs what this was. Police arenât allowed to throw ropes around your ankles so that you fall head first in to concrete. Using violence and force to stop a simple theft is immoral. It is also illegal in most places.
That and the fact that we glorify violence against people. There is already a cheering section for the yahoo. There are plenty of people cheering on the vigilante. I find violence against human beings appalling and reprehensible and often think itâs gone a long way towards our framing war dead as heroes and how we have come to glorify violence over justice in this nation. We pay a heavy price for this sort of thinking.
Well now we know who is the fastest post in the West.
Is there actually a rule against that, or is it just that police mostly lack the skill set to do so? After all, police can and frequently do employ body slams, pepper spray, tasers, batons and other violent means of subduing a suspect. Causing someone to trip seems pretty mild by comparison.
I realize tackling/checking thieves is generally stupid and ill-advised but now youâre arguing itâs immoral?
Hopefully you do have a line at which youâd accept some amount of âvigilantismâ. Like if this guy had kidnapped her child or something.
Police are granted the power of arrest by the people. As such they are held to a higher standard (theoretically anyway) than the rest of us. We do this partly because we see a need for police and partly to stop people from taking the law in to their own hands.
Nope. None. Stopping violence, preventing theft, and the like are one thing and are not vigilantism. Once the crime has been committed and no one is in danger, in all cases the police should be allowed to do their job.
Now, if this guy had kidnapped a child and was running away, do you think a guy with a rope is whatâs best for the child or do you think the increased risk of danger to the child should be considered? And what about the likelihood that someone might overreact given a child abduction and how our emotions can get away from us in those situations causing us to react over violently? Sorry, I just canât support that. Either we are a nation with laws or we are not. The middle ground is not where we need to be.
Like, say, citizenâs arrest?
In general, a private person is justified in using non-deadly force upon another if he reasonably believes that: (1) such other person is committing a felony, or a misdemeanor amounting to a breach of the peace; and (2) the force used is necessary to prevent further commission of the offense and to apprehend the offender. The force must be reasonable under the circumstances to restrain the individual arrested. This includes the nature of the offense and the amount of force required to overcome resistance.
Wanted to âlikeâ for the Americanization of Emily reference, but I just donât agree that citizens should never take action against miscreants. Odd are this guy would never have been caught just like most bike thieves. There have been numerous examples that even when someone sees their former bike for sale on Craigslist they canât interest the police in getting involved.
This cowboy IS a hero to everyone who has been victim of these petty crimes that just destroy your hope in being able to have a community where everyone isnât a target and everything not nailed down or locked isnât a moment away from being stolen. In the city you have to chain a potted plant in front of your brownstone or someone will steal it. How fucked up is that?
Iâm actually surprised more people didnât complain of vigilanteism. However the thread is young so BBSers still have a chance!
Slander, for a âgoodâ cause, howeverâŚ
Think on that a few seconds, please.
Do you, from time to time, find hints of racism in the way your morning cereal arranges itself in the bowl?
Just askinââŚ
This, times 10^100.
No but I do hear people in my community talk about this event in a negative light due to the history of Oregon and the optics of the event.
