Who Watches the Watchmen?
May 8th, 2005I can’t help but point out the irony of “a thousand heavily-armed super-patriots confronting the Mexican hordes” and calling themselves—of all things in which they could call themselves—The Minutemen. Aside from being a not-so-subtle tip of the hat to the actual Revolutionary era militia of the same name, it is—if you remember your comic book history—the original name for a group of despondent super-heroes called The Watchmen.
Refresh your memory here and here, if you’ve forgotten. (Or just wait for the movie.)
The inescapable flaw of the vigilante fantasy, which Alan Moore portrayed so freaking brilliantly twenty years ago, unmasks a fundamental fact. Unchecked justice often breeds its own kind of prejudice.
And despite attempts to control their message, like so many other right wing media hounds, there’s always the possibility that someone will get caught when they think the cameras are off.
Either way, though, it’s looking bad for somebody.
This time, unlike in the comic book, and despite strong evidence to the contrary, history will not be played out in some made up alternate reality.