Self-appointed government

[supergee]

Fritz Perls defined criminal as "an individual who arrogates to himself the privileges of the state." Thomas Hackbarth thinks he is an investigative agency. Edward Pasteck is a TSA unto himself.

Thanx to Shakesville and Lindsay Beyerstein.

Comments

[laughingrat]

That strikes me as a delightfully cynical definition of "criminal." *beams*

[necturus]

By that definition, neither the perpetrators of the Holocaust nor those of the 1915 Armenian genocide were criminals, since they were all loyal agents of their governments.

[supergee]

That's always a problem with defining criminals. Nuremberg can be seen as deservedly punishing horrible acts that were encouraged by the German state or as victors' justice. I embrace the power of And.