"When a guy claiming he's Jesus tries to kill a PG&E worker because he's black, then begins beating up a woman that was trying to help, it takes hitchhiker, Kai, and his hatchet, to put a stop to the psycho." Video Link. The most amazing part is right around 2:37, when he drops the theatrics. Also, I did not realize the word "smash" sometimes contains two syllables, but that's pretty awesome.
From KMPH News:
Here is Jessob Reisbeck's exclusive raw interview w/ Kai, a hitchhiker who used his hatchet to stop a man that thought he was Jesus from killing people in Fresno, CA. Antoine Dodson, eat your heart out!
Boing Boing editor/partner and tech culture journalist Xeni Jardin hosts and produces Boing Boing's in-flight TV channel on Virgin America airlines (#10 on the dial), and writes about living with breast cancer. Diagnosed in 2011. @xeni on Twitter. email: xeni@boingboing.net.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Freethinkersanon Christopher
It’s nice to see Pauly Shore is out there doing some good in the world.
marilove
But … this guy is cute.
http://deansli.st/ Dean Putney
This is the greatest story ever told. His deadpan explanation in the middle after he’s calmed down a bit is amazing. Every moment of this is amazing.
Marcelo Teson
Totally. When he’s all “She was in danger and he was going to hurt a lot of people.” Just, all the pretense of his personality is gone and it gets real.
http://deansli.st/ Dean Putney
He just lays this down like it’s no real big deal. And he’s done this before, and he has scars to prove it! But then the ending is so sad.
Preston Sturges
So he grew up way down at the south end of WV, then headed west looking for surf…..
noah django
a lot of posters ITT have similarly remarked that Kai got “real” at the end, but I didn’t consider any of his responses to be pretentious. he was recalling a recent traumatic experience, and in front of a camera. he wasn’t putting on an act, he was keyed-up. what you’re probably reacting to is his adrenaline wearing off.
i’ve known some people that speak like Kai, and my homie Robert is a dead ringer for him in looks, speech, and he also moved from the South to California to surf. it was uncanny. personally, when I’m excited, I lapse into heavy ebonics since I’m a hip hop guy. I’ve seen people react to it negatively, particularly since I’m white. I’m not being pretentious. I’m actually down, believe it or not. and so it is with Kai.
he told his story in the idiom of his peers; effectively, I thought. that’s real. much preferable to “ummm, uhhh….. the. attacker. said…” my feeling is that, in conjunction with his adrenaline, part of his peer idiom is that it is disrespectful to one’s audience to be boring.
glittertrash
Easily the best things I have ever heard come out of the mouth of a person wearing a peace sign bandana on their head. Someone get this guy a surfboard.
It reminds us that a commitment to peace still leaves us with a duty to use violence to prevent greater harm. He explained that principle perfectly.
planettom
Walking the Earth like Caine in KUNG FU, havin’ adventures.
phazeaction
Proud to be from Fresno!
Gary Gibson
Err, is there a translation of what he’s saying out there anywhere? I’m completely baffled as to what he’s saying.
lknope
“If you’re fucking Jesus Christ, I’ll be the Anti-Christ, man. Fuck that shit.”
Words to live by.
Quiche de Resistance
Cool story, bro.
Marcelo Teson
At the end of this video you can see a link to the the edited final news story, which paints a clearer picture of what happened, for context. It also has some lovely b-roll of the woman Kai saved giving him a hug. I like that the reporter treated Kai with respect and the story painted him as the hero.
LinkMan
Here’s the edited report. Cool to see how they took the raw footage and made it into a much clearer report. We so often take editing for granted.
http://jimbeach.net mindfu
Kai said “hatchet” but it seems likely he meant “ratchet”. Ratchet is shown on the ground in the above video at about 1:45.
LinkMan
Are you sure? It looks like it could be a hatchet (with blade facing away from the camera).
blueelm
I looked but I didn’t see anyone’s lace front on wrong….
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000266687773 Jim Wile
This guy may sound out of it, but notice that his pack is put together neatly and he truly knows both what he is saying and doing. Impressive, not my lifestyle but still impressive. If I had a surfboard, I would search him out and pass it on. Hang ten fella!
Someone PLZ make a gif of what the hitchhiker said BEFORE he retold his version of event. That’s priceless. As opposed to the “smash-smash-smash. Pffft.
http://boingboing.net/ Rob Beschizza
Homefree!
Roose_Bolton
That little pep talk he gives between :12-:24 is touching, and I’m not being sarcastic. Spoken like someone who’s maybe made a few mistakes on his path and has been shit on because of it.
Rotwang
Axe Cop!
dat
So is this kind of vigilantism legal in the USA?
KeithIrwin
Generally, yes. Ordinary citizens are empowered to use force, even deadly force, to save the lives of others. It’s the same principle as self defense, but a little broader.
Harald Hansen
It’s legal pretty much everywhere, man. It’s called self-defence, and extends to others in mortal peril.
PhasmaFelis
Are people allowed to use violence to save other people from being murdered? Uh, yes. (They may be called upon to prove it was justified and necessary, of course.)
http://jimbeach.net mindfu
Isn’t it everywhere? I”m not even being facetious. Is there a nation that forbids citizens to use force to stop violent crimes occurring right around them?
Vadym Zakrevskyy
It may (or may not) be legal in Connecticut, depending on what happens in court. You can not use deadly force if you can get the assailant to walk away. If the state proves (state burden, thankfully) that you could get the assailant to walk away, you will be in for assault, at the very least.
I am not an attorney, but this is what I understand after reading Ct laws posted on the web.
So, like, in this situation, if the “Jesus” man was going to cause more grave bodily harm to more victims, Kai would be cool in Connecticut Law.
Unlike, in situation where the “Jesus” man was going to run away on foot _before_ grabbing his next victim, Kai would face time in prison in Connecticut Law. Unless I am misunderstanding my own state’s law, in which case I will be grateful if someone would clarify it for me.
Jamie Norwood
By the account told, he was actively engaging his next victim. This intervention directly saved her life. I don’t think there is anywhere that this isn’t cut and dry, even the laws you describe.
A vigilante applies punishment after the fact, in the belief that a wrong-doer has gotten off too easy or escaped justice. This guy stopped an assault in progress.
Mister44
Naw – he should have let the guy back up – smash the first guy again and then let him run over a few more people while kindly asking him to stop o_0 Or let him throttle a lady while wringing his hands in the corner? This guy stepped up to take down a serious nut job who was in the middle of trying to commit murders.
Antinous / Moderator
So is this kind of vigilantism legal in the USA?
It may be legally required in places with Good Samaritan laws.
Jake Rennie
We’ve all seen the last episode of Seinfeld.
marilove
“vigilantism”? I don’t think reacting to a violent person trying to seriously harm or kill someone right in front of you can really be called “vigilantism”.
http://twitter.com/puppetdark puppethead
Okay but what? Homicidal maniac picks up hatchet-wielding hitchhiker? It’s a collision of horror movie themes.
eldritch
Hatchets are relatively ordinary and legitimate tools, carried by hikers, campers, backpackers, and the like. They’re one of the most useful pieces of equipment you can carry with you.
You can use them like a knife for small cutting tasks, like an axe for larger chopping work, the back of the head can be used as a hammer, you can dig with them, you can use them as small levers or crowbars, you can obviously defend yourself with one, and I’ve ever witness a hatchet on the end of a rope used as a makeshift grapnel. Makes them very popular items for regular carry and possession among serious travelers.
The Hatcheting Hitchhiker, soon to become a DC superhero.
V
Wow, Portlandia is really getting out there….
http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/ZQ7TZ4C22MZT4G244CYOWPWAG4 Marc
His closing words were pretty saddening though…I wish him all the best.
http://twitter.com/bazilisk Sylvia
I’ve talked to hitchhikers like him. I can’t say they are much different than professional-type people, just that they have different priorities, they prefer total freedom and open-mindedness to material gain and proper healthcare. There are jerks among them of course, just like among professional people, but there is also a code of ethics that most follow that keeps them alive by sharing resources and protection amongst themselves.
They often fall into it not by choice but by being kicked out of their home due to being gay, or being disowned by their family for small crimes or political differences. (Those who commit big crimes usually get stuck in jail instead!)
optuser
Well, I’ve got my Halloween costume for this year.
By the end of October, nobody will have a clue what your costume is. Heck, by this Friday it will be a distant memory, dust bytes blowing past your monitor on the breeze of the internet.
Preston Sturges
If you need to take down someone from behind, go with the double ear slap with cupped palms.
Someone told me they did that to save a friend from an attacker, and the guy went down like a stone.
Shibi_SF
I’ve heard this too, but I have so many technical questions. I’m not sure that I could actually pull off the ‘Double Ear Slap’ maneuver without just pissing the Bad Guy off and making him turn around and just punch my lights out.
Does the ear slap knock them out? Or, just burst their eardrums? And how do you deliver the double ear slap… I mean, do you have to have concurrent ear slaps or is it still effective if say, one ear gets slapped before another? (I want to be prepared — because I’ll probably not have a hatchet or a ratchet with me (or my peace sign bandana on my head when duty calls!)
Preston Sturges
i don’t think there’s any need to makes the slaps truly simultaneous. Aside from eardrum pain and deafening noise, the concussion would reach the middle ear, possibly scrambling the sense of balance. A lot of the impact will hit the neck muscles, jaw, brain stem. Keep in mind a slap has all the force of a punch and a slap below the ear can knock someone out cold.
Other options would include a well executed forearm to top of the spine, which might kill them. For someone skilled , an actual karate chop to the side of neck would work.
Or if you are more in the mood for a foot sweep, do an osoto-garuma from behind http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQDt2dQ7egA
which would be illegal in competition, but in the street would violently faceplant someone into the pavement.
Antinous / Moderator
Well, if it worked on Jane Eyre, Heathcliff and Tom Brown, it should work on anyone.
cservant
Why does everyone have hatchets?
eldritch
They’re tools. They have many uses. Not everyone lives in an urban environment.
I think a much more pressing question is why does everyone have handguns? Why is it weird to carry a hatchet, but normal and reasonable to carry a pistol?
http://twitter.com/DankNuggington Dank Nuggington
What, you mean you don’t have a hatchet?
I’m typing with mine right now.
noah django
Why doesn’t cservant have hatchets?
V
The only thing that will stop a bad guy with a hatchet… is a good guy with a hatchet.
Vadym Zakrevskyy
This Kai dude is in for at least some legal in-out-in-out, methinks.
This dude is awesome and deserves to be rewarded for his actions, regardless of the outcome of the legal action (hopefully he is not punished for this).
Will someone give this dude a surfboard and a wet-suite?If I had one I would.
http://twitter.com/openfly ǝɔʎoſ ʇʇɐW
I am sure the sheriff lost any paperwork with his name on it, and called it a day.
http://celesteagnes.blogspot.com/ Sekino
Holy crap! It’s like the Littlest Hobo, the human version!
Maybe tomorrow, I’ll want to settle down,
Until tomorrow, I’ll just keep moving on, pah pah pah paaah, pah pah pah paaah…
ETA: Just noticed his Facebook reply. Kai for fuckin’ president!!!
http://blog.doomsdayzen.com agonist
Even though what he says at the end is tinged with sadness, he seems to be a peace with himself and his life. That’s more than a lot of “successful” people can say about their lives.
http://twitter.com/openfly ǝɔʎoſ ʇʇɐW
I dunno about at peace. I’ve heard a few heroin addicts say pretty much the same thing. They aren’t at peace. They’ve just given up.
alissa mower clough
I’d think if you were under a strong painkiller most of the time, you’d feel pretty much at peace. Also, who’s to say one isn’t the other?
Antinous / Moderator
I’d think if you were under a strong painkiller most of the time, you’d feel pretty much at peace.
You’d be wrong on that one. Some opiates can make you speedy, for example.
Promethean Sky
He’s not homeless. He’s “homefree”. I love this dude. We need more like him.
“No matter what you’ve done, you deserve respect. Even if you make mistakes, you’re lovable. It doesn’t matter your looks, skills, or age, or size, or anything, you’re worthwhile. No one can ever take that away from you.”
