Boondock Saints

After finishing one of the greatest movies of all time, Boondock Saints, I had the urge to write about it. I have seen this movie a number of times, and it resonates with me each time. This story follows two devout Irish Catholic brothers, Connor and Murphy MacManus, who live in Boston. After a bar fight gone wrong, they become vigilantes on the streets of Boston. Their friend Rocco, a delivery man for the Italian mob joins forces with them after a night of heavy drinking. Looking past the vulgarity and violence, there lies a more pressing social issue.

The MacManuses take on the mob. The three of them, including Rocco, kill men. In cold blood. However, these are men who had made a living by breaking the law and working in organized crime. So truly how wrong are these murders? If one man is killed, but this helps to stop the organized crime in a city, is it justified? Keep in mind that these MacManus brothers do this outside of the law and without the cooperation of the police or feds.

If just anyone could go out and kill a "bad man" then our streets would run with blood. This is the fear of all who oppose this theory. What if this man was someone who was working within the police force, or within the Federal government. In my opinion this could work, but only in one situation: the public has no knowledge of it. These murders would have to remain unsolved and seen as mysteries. I wouldn't lose any sleep if I heard that drug lords and serial killers were dropping dead, and honestly, would you?

Picture this for a second: the Green River Killer is found dead in his prison cell when a guard goes to rouse him for breakfast. No suspects are arrested, but it is expected that a guard who had a connection to one of his victims murdered him. This man is questioned but no charges are filed and he is back to work within the week. Initial reactions would be "He got what was comin' to him". Even the staunchest pro-life Christians would say that he deserved to die because he killed and was serviced by prostitutes. So how is this any different from a man who kills felons and drug lords?

Here is my favorite monologue from the movie, and one that sticks with you as the credits roll...

"We do not ask for your poor, or your hungry. We do not want your tired and sick. It is your corrupt we claim. It is your evil that will be shot by us. With every breath we shall hunt them down. Each day we will spill their blood, 'till it rains down from the skies. Do not kill, do not rape, do not steal. These are principles which everyman of every faith can embrace. These are not polite suggestions. These are codes of behavior. And those of who that ignore them will pay the dearest cost. There are varying degrees of evil, we urge you lesser forms of filth, not to push the bounds and cross over into true corruption, into our domain. But if you do, one day you will look behind you and you will see we three, and on that day, you will reap it. And we will send you to whatever God you wish."