tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5329139329489259389.post5712591552636793553..comments2023-09-18T06:11:49.382-05:00Comments on No Fear of the Future: Ben Thompson, Lawman and MurdererJayme Lynn Blaschkehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02919766841748858790noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5329139329489259389.post-53547382497541536432010-09-22T08:47:53.382-05:002010-09-22T08:47:53.382-05:00Ben Thompson didn't clean up the street crime,...Ben Thompson didn't clean up the street crime, he WAS the street crime. IIRC, he was actually involved in a couple of drunken incidents in Guytown involving discharge of a firearm (yeah I know, red light district, discharge...)<br /><br />I wonder, how has law enforcement changed. Maybe 19th century towns had as many pointless shootings of civilians as we do. Perhaps we tend only recall the ones involving corrupt marshals blazing away at gamblers and thieves. <br /><br />What happens when you flood law enforcement with men trained in warfare? Leander McNelly tends to get denounced as a racist for his ruthless suppression of the border rustlers. To me his methods sound a lot like the ones he employed suppressing (mostly white) Unionists in Louisiana. So what if race wasn't the problem, but the militaristic approach to a problem of law enforcement? What does that tell us about law enforcement in the 21st century? <br /><br />I confess I have few facts here, just speculations.Dave Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11210387108701067975noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5329139329489259389.post-82709787078581640072010-09-20T10:14:59.685-05:002010-09-20T10:14:59.685-05:00Most bios say that when Thompson was marshal, the ...Most bios say that when Thompson was marshal, the crime rate in Austin was non-existent. That has got to be euphemistic for something else. Maybe Thompson had simply won his turf war, so he was the only one committing crime?Matthew Beyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17312136548086025690noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5329139329489259389.post-81525660700374866302010-09-16T18:56:36.320-05:002010-09-16T18:56:36.320-05:00How very Blood Meridian!How very Blood Meridian!Christopher Brownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11102514167871372993noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5329139329489259389.post-74204037898871351242010-09-16T14:22:00.646-05:002010-09-16T14:22:00.646-05:00Thompson is overdue for some re-examination. I sus...Thompson is overdue for some re-examination. I suspect that a lot of bar-fights involving notorious gunfighters are related to semi-covert turf battles for control of vice in frontier towns. Thompson's Austin & San Antonio shootouts may well fit that pattern.<br /><br />The irony that brings to mind, is that the gunfighters kept their bloodletting among their own fraternity. Modern enforcement, with its emphasis on the split-second decision of what random encounter poses a threat, seems to spread the net of potential violence far more widely.Dave Hardyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11210387108701067975noreply@blogger.com