So this is sorta random, but Im going to a debate tournament this weekend. I am doing an event as a filler meaning that im only there to take up a spot and dont need to do well. Basically were talking about vigilantism, and I am writing cases based off of sci-fi examples. It doesn’t even have to be real vigilantism, just someone sticking it to a man will be good enough. I would love help getting some examples to use. It can say vigilantism is good or bad, it doesn’t matter.I already have my Rebal Alliance point all lined up, and i would like to avoid using watchmen because its too much in the popular spotlight. I would like something more obscure as in Trek or BSG.
I decided the hive-mind would be most effective in giving fairly specific examples. Thanks in advance:D
Not quite vigilantism, or scifi, but Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” might earn you some cred.
In a related vein, “The ones who walk away from Omelas” by U.K. LeGuin would count as fantasy.
Thanks Pike!. Ive read the Lottery, but def. didn’t think of that. I’ll probably avoid the other one, because Id like material im familiar with.
You should read the LeGuin one. It’s every bit as good as the Jackson one (arguably better,) and more obviously fantasy. Like the Jackson story, it has a very different spin when looked at in a vigilantism context.
Google to the rescue: Here’s a PDF of it.
I shall give it a read, but I have to watch Blade Runner again first:D
I pity the fool who dares to disagree with BoxY!
I’m just thinking, does Eomer & his horse-riding posse count as vigilantes?
I’m guessing practically all the characters in Heroes are vigilantes too? 
Modern culture, right? TV? Movies?
Robin Hood and Batman are the most obvious examples. They are all vigilante.
Its not really sci fi, but there is Dexter the “bad guy” killing psychopath.
For Voyager, the Q who kills himself perhaps. He wants to show the Continuum how pointless their existence is without death and risks destabilizing their whole society. (Actually, the Q we know and love vacillates between sticking it the The Man (continuum) and brown nosing with them.
Kirk is always sticking it to the man, but I would hardly call him a vigilante, even when he is “taking the law into his own hands”. Which is an interesting thought. When Kirk steals the ship to save Spock, is he a vigilante? I would say no.
It’s a bit off the mark, but Sheridan declares independence from Earth in Babylon 5 to protest Clarks authoritarianism and rumoured links to the Shadows. Again, I would not call him a vigilante, but he is a bit like the rebels in Star Wars.
The Doctor, as in Doctor Who, occasionally takes the law into his own hands. Whether or not a character would see him as a vigilante depends on their reference. He is meant to be the lonely hero/angel, but if you are one of the people he screws AND you are part of the establishment, then perhaps you would see him as a vigilante.
If you are defining vigilantism as “sticking it to The Man” then there are examples all over the place. The problem with the examples would be audience reference. Does the audience need to know the examples for your argument to work? Or are you going to spend the time explaining it to them?
Also, are you going to define vigilante and political rebel as being the same thing? Would John Conner in the Terminator be a vigilante? What about the later Terminator? What about any science fiction group fighting to overthrow a government or “free” their people from tyranny.
To me, a vigilante is often seen as a rogue (or a small group of rogues) who operate outside the bounds of society. They may have a political agenda (which is often what sets them apart from a simple criminal) but they are not part of some great political movement. If they do support a rebellion, they do so as a loner and on their own terms. This is just how I see things – my definition. In this way, Robin Hood, Batman and Dexter are vigilantes while the other examples I gave are not (with the exception, perhaps, of the suicidal Q who evidently was roguish before he was imprisoned). I would say the Rebels in Star Wars are not vigilantes.
Can you define what YOU mean by vigilante? Perhaps I can think up a few more examples.
I personally like to go with real world examples that will throw your opponents. If you are defining vigilantes as, "a person who violates the law in order to exact what they believe to be justice "
…then go with George Washington. Or Harriet Tubman. Or Susan B Anthony. 
So I only got to do 2 rounds, and only 1 i got to use scifi. My opponent was a big star wars fan so we had a litle debate about the validity of my exapmles. Pretty awesome
So I take it you failed to mention Batman in all of this? You could’ve started with a magic trick…