New England following Old England down the drain

Tekmage has great post about Massachusett's idiot Attorney General, Martha Coakley. For those who haven't heard, here's the Cliff Notes version:

1. Pervert molests 4 year old in public bathroom.
2. Kid's (ex-Marine) dad catches him, and goes all Semper Fi on perv's ass.
3. Police show up, take one look at situation, and arrest the dad.
   

When Atty Gen Coakley was asked WTF was up with this, her reply was "We don't encourage self help." Well now.

Spank your child, go to jail:

Massachusetts lawmakers say a proposed measure that would ban parents from spanking their children, even in their own homes, is a way to protect kids from abuse.

Grope a toddler in a restroom? Not so much:

Although Rodriguez faces a felony charge, police decided not to arrest the suspect at the scene due to his advanced aged and lack of a criminal record.

On the surface, this just looks like another episode of Massachusetts Looney Tunes. It's not. Let's break the situation down into its constituent components:

• Perpetrator of what used to be a capital offense let go by the local constabulary? Check.
• Honest citizen arrested for execution of what used to be recognized as his public duty? Check.
• Local politicos engage in public round of "Tsk Tsk, don't you dare try to stop this sort of thing! You're to call us immediately!" Check.
  

Yesterday, I posted about idiotic airport security:

Actually solving the problem is hard. So look busy. If you can't do something productive, at least do something. The more visible, the better.

Unfortunately, that's not what's happening this time.

At first blush, it seems that the $64,000 question is "Why would the authorities not want the public's help?" Suppose that the Mass.Gov really wanted to reduce child abuse. They'd give the dad a medal, and haul Mr. Feely off to durance vile. Then everyone would retire to the local saloon: Whiskey for my men and beer for my horses.

That's sure not happening. So the real $64,000 question is "Why not?" The answer is ugly.

It's not ugly because the idiot police let the molester go free, although that's pretty ugly. While the molester is a threat to the community, he is not a threat to the authorities.

What is a threat to the authorities? Mr. Marine Dad, who wasn't a good victim, who didn't go running to the Nanny State for help, who handled things.

How's the Mass.Gov supposed to justify more spending on public safety when the public is, well, keeping itself safe. Can't have that. Listen to Ms. Coakley again:

We don't encourage self help.

You'll know that you understand her completely when a shiver runs down your spine.

So what does this have to do with Olde England? Well, we've seen this sort of thing before, in spades:

For more than two years, Sydney Davis’ house has been under siege from stone-throwing youths. And more than two hours into the latest attack on his family home, the police had yet to respond.

So after a particularly large missile landed in his kitchen, the 65-year-old grabbed a plank of wood and ran towards the gang to scare them away. But his desperate act came just as the police finally arrived on the scene - where they promptly arrested him for possession of an offensive weapon.

He now faces up to six months in prison.

There are so many of this sort of story from old Blighty that Rachel Lucas set up a whole new blog category for them. She's not the only one:

A former British soldier endures as his neighborhood terrorized by a pack of feral young thugs (“yobs,” as they call them over there) for several days. He calls the police; they never come. He looks for an officer; finds none. Coming home one day to find his wife in tears and terrified, he finally has enough, and goes out to execute a citizen’s arrest, dragging one of the thugs into house and calling his mother. Thereupon the police arrive with the mother — and naturally arrest the homeowner.

Old England is just further down the road than New England - so far so, in fact, that you can put a fork in them - they're done. The Brit.Gov is just about done assuming all power (but not responsibility - never responsibility). Crime isn't subversive to the government. Citizens are.

If the schools actually taught Massachusetts history, people might think differently. Can't have that:

If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, — go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen!

Sam, Sam, Sam. The Mass.Gov will not tolerate self help. It's subversive.