Yes, it is, because taking up arms is not how we deal with social problems in civilized society, and civilians are not authorized to use force against other civilians except in extreme circumstances involving a direct threat against one's life.

I can imagine arming myself if I felt my neighbors or myself were in danger, but the idea of arming myself and my friends to drive to some other neighborhood or city to “protect” them is beyond anything that makes sense to me.

You really can’t imagine why vigilates’ sense of citizenship would extend beyond a neighborhood? And if we are assuming only selfish self interest, what happens in one neighborhood doesn’t stay there. I’m not saying their actions were right, but they’re not hard to understand.

Would you please stop using HN for political and ideological flamewar? As you know, this is not what HN is supposed to be for.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html