Friday, June 01, 2012

a wrenching bus ride

Mexico has been getting a bum rap as a land of violence.

That is not to say that there is no violence in Mexico.  There is.  As there is everywhere.

And even though President Calderon's War on Drugs has primarily ended in the deaths of drug gang members, it has left more unease amongst the Mexican public than amongst American tourists.  It is one reason Mexican voters are about to reward the discredited PRI with a new presidential term.

But some Mexicans are not waiting for the elections.

The newspaper reported on Tuesday that a group of bus passengers pulled a Charles Bronson in northern Mexico.

The bus was on its way from Monterrey to Durango.  A swath of Mexico that has had more than its fair share of crime lately.  While the bus was under way, a man got up from his seat and started walking up the aisle.  All the while brandishing a large wrench.  His partner, a knife in hand, headed toward the driver.  They both demanded the riders' property.

Maybe the passengers had watched United 93 too many times. 

Or they had heard of enough local tales of buses being hijacked and passengers being found months or years later.

Or they were simply fed up with punk criminals ruining their lives.

Whatever it was, several passengers jumped the guy with the wrench.  Took his wrench from him.  And beat him.  To death.

The accomplice, now in fear of his life, held his knife on the driver and demanded to be let out at the next town.

And that is what happened.  But not before the passengers disarmed him, seized him, and gave him a grave beating.  But not to the grave.

The newspaper account gets very vague at this point.  It simply notes that the medical examiner took Wrenchman's body to the morgue and the Red Cross took Knifeman to a local hospital. 

Even though the police were involved, it appears the bus went on its way.  As a warning to other robbers.

By passing along this tale, I am not advocating vigilantism.  I am not even certain these people were vigilantes.  "Vigilante" is a term statists often use as a pejorative to besmirch potential victims. Wrenchman may have ended up dead because the passengers had no other alternative other than giving up their property.

Or they saw the foolishness of waiting for The Authorities to right what was wrong.  If that is true, it does my American libertarian heart good.

I suspect Knifeman may think twice about taking on a bus of fed-up Mexican bus passengers.  And that will be better for all us.

22 comments:

Felipe Zapata said...

I did not know of this, but it warms my heart. Thanks for brightening my day, Señor Cotton. A little morning picker-upper. I love this kind of yarn. Makes me proud of my new paisanos. One might think I am speaking with tongue in cheek, but I am not.

Steve Cotton said...

I felt the same way when I read the story.  It was like a bus filled with the Bernhard Goetz Fan Club.

Andean said...

The story reminds me of the Guardian Angels. When I rode on the same subway car with them, there was always a feeling of some added security.

Steve Cotton said...

I'll bet it led to some very interesting stories at the local taco stand.

John Calypso said...

When I suggest defending ones self  it usually leads to being admonished for inviting possible harm - foolish behavior. This is what I am talking about - take a stand!

norm said...

The 9-11 rule: When some idiot stands up and declares that they mean the passengers harm, then it gives us the right to do them harm. The free trip to Cuba was a concept for a different time. Today we kill them if we can...

Shannon Casey said...

Thanks Steve, that was a very different story of Mexican violence. I'm not advocating beating anyone to death with a wrench but it is nice to hear a story about people choosing not to be victims.

Steve Cotton said...

 In this instance,  the passengers took a rational stand.  I am not certain I would advise the same course if the criminal has a gun one-on-one.  The choice there is a bit more stark.

Steve Cotton said...

 Even though death by wrench seemed a bit over the top, it may have been what the circumstances called for.

Tancho said...

Now if would only get the press the NOB media toss out, I would be a happy camper....
We have similar stories where locals take action against illegal tree cutters.

Steve Cotton said...

 This may have been a one off.  But it would be great to  see citizens taking some of these matters into their own hands.

Steve Cotton said...

 I hear that the robbers in Puerto Vallarta who held up the cruise ship bus may have come to an untimely end, as well.

Babsofsanmiguel said...

Reminds me of the time someone in Baton Rouge, of all places, back in the 60's grabbed my purse and ran down the hall of the office building I worked in.  I took off after him.  He kept looking back with BIG eyes.
 
 Down two flights of stairs he went, me after him, in high heels back then.I never caught him, but he did throw the purse down.  What he didn't know was there was only about $2 in the purse, but the thing important to me were the layaway tickets for the kid's Christmas.  I was working to put my husband through college and this was VERY important to us in order to have Christmas! 

It still makes me chuckle to remember the look of panic and big eyes on that guy...........

Steve Cotton said...

 He was lucky you weren't carrying a wrench.

Dave Nic Nichols said...

another well told true story. thanks for taking on the blogsphere. you're a natural.

Mommy with Commuter Husband said...

I read this storing and smiled - oh my! But it is just so nice to read about someone doing something ...

Steve Cotton said...

 Existentialism in action.

Steve Cotton said...

 Thanks, Dave.  My pleasure.

Francisco said...

I love a happy ending.
Viva Mexico!

Steve Cotton said...

Maybe someone will write a song about it.

Pablo said...

Good story, Steve, but I think you intended to say "pejorative" rather than "preoperative" in regards to the term "vigilante." It's commonly misspelled--I had to google it myself to get it right--Merriam-Webster says it is currently in the top 1% of lookups.

Steve Cotton said...

 I did, indeed.  Thanks.  Spell check can be my worst enemy.