MAY 24th - He Done Messed With the Wrong Folk



On this day in 1863 the fine folk of Bannack, Montana elected a criminal to public office. I promise I’m not trying to draw to modern-day political parallels (though some could be made for multiple presidential candidates). Back in 1863, Bannack made Henry Plummer their sheriff. Problem was Plummer was kind of a bad guy. Like the killing-other-people kind of bad guy. Not the kind of guy you want as the sheriff of your town. Plummer used the office to start an organized crime ring that terrorized Bannack and nearby Virginia City for over six months, stealing gold and murdering miners. So the citizens of Bannack hadn’t made a good decision. But they didn’t sit back and let the corruption and crime decimate their home either. Plummer done messed with the wrong folk. Instead they organized a vigilante committee of over 2,000 members. So basically they elected the Joker as sheriff and once they realized he was crazy they decided to become a bunch of Batmen. So how did this all wind up? Well 2,000 Batmen against anyone is going wind up in the favor of the Batmen, right? The vigilantes destroyed the gang in a couple of months and hanged Plummer from one of his own gallows. There are only so many injustices a people are willing to suffer before they take matters into their own hands. All elected officials should remember they are servants of the people lest they find themselves facing thousands of Batmen.

This Day has been Marked.

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