Though not quite on the same level as the issues surrounding the GCSB, we are seeing more and more stories about how people here, at home and overseas are stepping in to play judge, jury and executioner when it comes to the private actions of others.
First it was taking the keys from tourist drivers, next was an ex-cop trying to enforce his own traffic laws and more recently we saw cafe staff refusing to sell one glass of bubbly to a pregnant woman.
To some the above local examples might seem pretty harmless. Many might even think there was just cause for such actions. But the question remains, what right did they have in the first place? There were other options available. The offending drivers could have been reported and left to the police to deal with. And if we do deem the actions of Joe Public as appropriate, where does it end?
Take the pregnant woman incident, for example. The argument there was that the staff member was concerned for the safety of the unborn child. By extension does this care and concern for the customers extend to fat people when ordering food? Are they questioned as to whether their clogged arteries and raised cholesterol levels are going to be further compromised if they order the most unhealthy item on the menu? Do staff perhaps have the cheek to suggest that chunksters might be better with a salad and pan-fried fish instead of battered?
Where will Joe Public appear next? Will you be accosted at your local supermarket and interrogated about the contents of your trolley? Scolded for having fizzy drink and white bread instead of brown? Mayhap you'll be crossing the car park with your groceries when you're suddenly grabbed from behind, a hood placed over your head and dragged to a waiting van and driven to a disused warehouse where you are subjected to a lecture about the importance of eating healthy and forced to run on treadmill for 30 minutes before being dropped back at your car minus all confiscated items, under the threat of being watched.
Perhaps you'll be cut off in traffic and forced from your vehicle then, using cable ties as makeshift handcuffs, you'll be detained and accused of not indicating at a roundabout.
God forbid we follow in the footsteps of the Americans and start forming our own vigilante-type neighbourhood watch groups, guns at the ready, meting out our own brand of justice to people we perceive to be a threat. The "shoot now, ask questions later" mentality.
You're probably thinking the above scenarios are just too far-fetched but I have my doubts. It's a slippery slope. Look how just one publicised story of car-key confiscation turned into multiple incidents of a similar nature.
A couple of years ago I would have scoffed if you told me I'd be reading about such goings-on, now I'm just waiting to see what the next crazy headline is going to be. There's nothing wrong with having a voice or an opinion about anything and having the freedom to express it, but because actions do speak louder than words we need to take the time to consider what, if any, action we take and more importantly, if it is our place to take it.
If we want people to keep their noses out of our business isn't it only fair that we keep our noses out of theirs? You can't have it both ways without some form of consequence.
Kate Stewart is an unemployed, reluctant mother of three, running amok in the city and can be contacted at investik8@gmail.com.
