Crime.

Ok, since a lot of you assume that you know what I do and how I feel about crime, allow me to make this as clear as possible. I truly hope it doesn't fall on deaf ears, because I'm making an effort to reach out here. Bear with me, it may seem like I'm getting off topic, but trust me when I say it's all related.

Drugs: I don't care about drugs. Drugs are a symptom of the problem. People do drugs because they want an escape from the normality and minutiae of life. Why?

...Because nothing is constant, not many are trustworthy, and generally, it is simply not accepted to fully be yourself in society. Which is a longer point in itself, I have to say. So many things about the self should not be indulged, but what I'm talking about here is the creative, wild spirit. The spirit that is capable of incredible things when encouraged, and terrible things when bottled.

Being bottled (financially, socially, politically, or just generally) is what leads to violence. Violence is what I am attempting to neutralize.

There are some situations I don't even get involved in. Some people are very capable of working things out for themselves, and honestly, some need to be knocked the hell out by a guy that they're visibly oppressing. But I've only ever let those guys get one or two hits in before I stop it.

Most of the time, I find myself neutralizing the situation with diplomacy or distractions. If one asks questions of an angered person about themselves, the angered and often inebriated or otherwise intoxicated person will experience a moment of ego rapture, in which some of their anger will fade and they will engage you in conversation. When they do this, it's best to either include the opponent in the catharsis (but only if he can be unbiased, and in my experience it's surprisingly frequent that they can suddenly turn into wise men) or subtly motion for them to walk away quietly. At this point I will continue the conversation for as long as the angered person needs.

It is not just a ploy, to talk to them. This is part of the issue. I've rarely left a willing-to-talk assailant before they actually felt better. It's just something I've always done. It's half the job.

This has worked for me more times than I can count. Although, there have been other incidents. And I think you know what I mean. Incidents in which it was impossible for any logic, or reason, to cool the situation. In these instances, I have my steel bracers for punches or weapons, simply defensive weapons which is the reason i feel no need to carry anything else. Defending myself is entirely legal.

Bait patrols. A walking person, dressed in expensive clothing and carrying an iPhone or a Blackberry, is deployed into a problem neighborhood (according to up to date stats). A team of trained NY Initiative members shadow them as they roll around, enjoying each other's company and the hunt, until said Bait is attacked by an assailant. NYI then neutralize the attacker as peacefully as possible. According to NY Law (Good Samaritan), this is legal. It is also a really good way to draw out people who might have done this before, or will do it again, and have them put away. Further surveillance on the attacker can often result in more serious offenses being recorded or neutralized.

Although we do not have a vehicle at this time (the subway is too cheap to bother), this also works well with leaving a car unlocked at night. Make sure the car is disabled first, though.

The police that I have been in contact with encourage this. They know who we are, and what we do. We are not vigilantes if we are working in accordance with the law.

But I digress, really.

The real goal of the NYI is going to be providing a better communication network for Help Resources. A lot of organizations form with a sort of idealistic fervor, always thinking that they will be the one that revolutionizes the world... but their hubris (and being so dead-busy with all the paperwork required to run a solid org) blinds them from seeing the truth:

No one organization can ever change things. It's going to take a tactician to organize where and when to utilize which applications (i.e. organizations.) In this way, we can not only provide assistance on the street, but also personal and guaranteed levels of follow up to the people in need.

Whether it be the car thief that goes to jail, and still needs to feed his family. We'll help him.

Or it may be the drug addict that is always *this close* to being clean, if only he had somewhere to go. We'll help him.

...Or. It might be the child molester that might be the next Einstein. If only people would stop turning their backs on him, he might be carrying something that can REALLY change the world.

As much as I might want to, I can't write anyone off. I can't ignore the fact that people need to be redeemed, and nearly everyone in the world CAN be redeemed.

(You could interrupt at this point and say, "Why not just let social services take care of these problems?"

... In which case, I would bite my tongue and try not to call you naive. I'd really try.

The reality is that social services isn't covering everything. Another solid fact is that social services requires money somewhere along the line, and that means that someone has control of that organization. Plain and simple. I'm not interested in being controlled by those kinds of unquantifiable elements. I know what I'm capable of, and I'm incorruptible because i don't make a profit. Trust me. I've been tested on this. Money means nothing to me.

Add to this, social services doesn't actively patrol the streets looking for people to help. We (the NYI) have a member who is, as I write, in class to be an EMT. So we will have a field medic with the next two months or so.

I myself have begun the process of applying to the NYPD, for the training. Whether or not I decide to become a police officer when the training is complete, remains to be seen. It's entirely possible.)

Again, digressing. Back to the subject of good/evil, and the grey areas, this is why the majority of RLSH don't work. They are part of an idea that puts bad people in that category for life. All they want to do is bash the baddies and look good doing it. I can't hang with that kind of mentality.

I also can't hang with how fresh-faced and virtually untrained they are. They look at it as a weekend warrior kind of thing, reserved for weekly jaunts about their suburban neighborhood. The NYI lives in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Brooklyn. East New York is as specific as I'll get, but those who know me know why I moved here. I could have lived in Williamsburg, or North Bushwick, or maybe the East Village.

I didn't. I chose this place so that I could never forget, and my patrol is every day of my life. I am a lifer.

Let me say that another way: I have chosen to make this my entire life, either until I die or until I find someone both more passionate about it and more innovative with its execution. And my goal is to use underground media and word of mouth to spread the idea of accountability, vigilance, and real, human justice (not violent, vigilante justice) to the human race like a fucking virus. My hope is that on the way there, I can replace myself as the organizer of the NYI before I'm 50.

If i could live in a place like San Diego, Cali, working on movie sets and costuming, drinking 10 dollar cocktails at ridiculously-themed bars, I'd be there (God forbid, lol). I have the tools to get there, but I never felt the push to be comfortable like that. I need to be in the worst parts of the world, Southern PA, Detroit, East New York, and wherever's next. I need to because I think I have a plan, and I want to make sure I never forget the reality.

I just want to make sure I never forget what I am.

-Z