None of you understand. I'm not locked up in here with YOU. You're locked up in here with ME

Absolute perfection in terms of retributive justice, of which I will give a (oversimplified) summary of shortly.

This scenes is from Watchmen, a 2009 film based upon the comics novel. The character is Rorschach, a paragon of black/white moral judgement.

Art by Dave Gibbons

Rorschach's Journal

Some quotes (all of which I love, and agree with for the most part) from Rorschach's Journal to give you a sense of who he is:

• The city is afraid of me. I have seen it's true face. The streets are extended gutters and the gutters are full of blood and when the drains finally scab over all the vermin will drown. The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "save us!"...
  They had a choice, all of them. They could have followed in the footsteps of good men like my father, or president Truman. Decent men who believed in a day's work for a day's pay. Instead they followed the droppings of lechers and communists and didn't realize that the trail led over a precipice until it was too late. Don't tell me they didn't have a choice. Now the whole world stands on the brink, staring down into bloody Hell, all those liberals and intellectuals and smooth talkers...and all of a sudden nobody can think of anything to say.

• Why does one death matter against so many? Because there is good and there is evil, and evil must be punished. Even in the face of Armageddon I shall not compromise in this. But there are so many deserving of retribution...and there is so little time.

What was wrong with Rorschach?

There were two basic issues with Rorschach; an uncompromising character, and sexual dysfunction.

• The back and white contrast in Rorschach's mask are there to show you that's how he sees life. No grey, and no yin-yang. Moore said he did not foresee the death of Rorschach until the fourth issue when he realized that his refusal to compromise would result in him not surviving the story (From the wiki). This is actually something I admire, up to a point. Rorschach was right to choose his own death over moral compromise. In fact, we should never compromise on what are moral principles are defined by. We should be prepared to compromise on how we deal with those that transgress against those principles, and which principles are more sacred: there is a huge difference in applying the death penalty to a little kid stealing candy versus applying it to a murderer.

• Rorschach's sexual dysfunction is a problem in itself, but it also amplified the issues of his uncompromising nature, in equating sexual transgressions with serious transgressions. Let's face it, fornication (sex outside of marriage) can cause problems. But it is not the act of fornication itself that is the problem, it is the consequences of the act, which can be more or less severe depending on the circumstances. There isn't much of a risk of consequence for unmarried teenage lovers to have sex using rubbers, while the consequences of divorce for adulterous married couples can have long-lasting effects on the children of that divorce.
  This dysfunction arises from Rorschach's childhood as the son of a prostitute with no father; and while he does equates fornication with evil, he also sees violence against women as a greater evil.

A quick note on the story

A fundamental problem with the story, both book and movie, is the "The US and the Soviet Union operate from the same motives" crap. Ugh. I know that's moral pablum to satisfy the cries of people who don't want to take the moral responsibility of self-defense or of even learning about the world. I also know this is to be to be expected from Hollyweird types, but still...ugh.

Retributive Justice

There are four punitive modes:

• Retributive
• Incapacitive
• Deterrent
• Rehabilitative

For the most part, we only hear about the Deterrent and the Rehabilitative modes in public debate. Sometimes we hear about the Incapacitive, but usually only in regards to how the Deterrent and the Rehabilitative modes are more "just".

The Retributive mode is truly the only just mode, as it is founded on morality, and not on supposed efficiency in preventing crime. Essentially, the Retributive mode is revenge on the part of society AND the victim for the transgressor's violation. At it's most basic, it is "an eye for an eye" justice. It "balances the books" morally.

I'll make clear that any given punishment can fit within multiple nodes. A prison term is Incapacitive, or in other words keeps the criminal away from possible victims and prevents additional crime: while at the same time, prison is supposedly Deterrent at the same time, or in other words gives the offender a reason not to do it again ("scared straight"). In addition, prison can be used as a setting for Rehabilitative processes as well, or in other words, teaching the offender to be a better person who won't commit the crime again out of the goodness of his now-sweet little heart. To complete the cycle, prison can also be looked at as a Retributive treatment as well in the restriction on liberty.

Now the people that don't like to punish criminals will tell you that the Deterrent and the Rehabilitative modes are the only..."efficient"...modes of preventing additional crime. These people are known as do-gooders. While Deterrent and the Rehabilitative modes CAN BE effective, there are specific situations in which these modes work...they most certainly don't work in the cases of the most violent of criminals. In fact, there are a variety of circumstances in which one mode or combination of modes is effective; the true goal of criminology is to find out what works, and where...at least it should be ;>

Retribution in movies and life

So when the audience cheers for Rorschach as he threatens an entire prison full of criminals, or for Little Bill as he beats English Bob damn near to death, they are cheering the Retributive impulse in themselves. I think that this impulse comes from the self-preservation instinct. When you know that a scumbag murders, rapes, or robs someone has gone unpunished, you lose a previous level of safety.

It's why most people really don't give a damn about the death penalty, the extra-legal killing of criminals, or the torture of terrorists.

Because a bad guy that is six feet under has not only been punished, he can not do whatever he did to you!

Mercy for the guilty is treason to the innocent

Special Bonus Scenes that cost me millions in copyright privileges, or not ;>

This scene takes place right before my favorite scene, and it offers more on Rorschach's views and character.

Originally posted 2 years ago. Re-posted with some grammar changes and the new scenes