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Guy Hamilton-Smith
@guyhamiltonsmith.com

A rare thoughtful article on the phenomenon of internet vigilantes hounding people on sex offense registries (and anyone else who happens to get caught in the crossfire) www.illinoistimes.com/news/vigilan...

illinoistimes.comVigilante justice - Illinois Times, the capital city's source of news, politics, arts, entertainment, cultureJeff Bast, who goes by Millstone the Klown on social media, says he is protecting children. His online following has brought scrutiny to people on the sex offender registry – and fear and lost work to...
Guy Hamilton-Smith
@guyhamiltonsmith.com

I was surprised that the reporter actually talked to experts, as most don't bother. If you want people to succeed after release from prison, doing things like Mr. Bast does -- chasing them out of jobs and homes -- makes communities less safe, not more.

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Guy Hamilton-Smith
@guyhamiltonsmith.com

But I think people who gravitate to this have a variety of motivations, not all of them venerable. I'm just not sure that safety and protection is really the goal for a lot of this stuff. I think, aping one of the experts, it feels good to play the part of Batman.