The vigilante is a recurring archetype in American entertainment and can be seen from comic books from the beginning of the 20th century to films released in 2010. Robert B. Ray in his article about the vigilante clearly shows that the vigilante constitutes a large part of American entertainment and culture. The vigilante is the one who believes that he is above the law and that the law is inadequate. This idea that the law is inadequate or unjust stems from Henry Thoreau's Civil Disobedience. Thoreau believes that when the government is unjust, we must do what we believe to be moral or right, even if it means breaking the law. The vigilante often takes violent and dangerous action to create justice in his world and, in doing so, raises a moral question about our society. If we often idolize vigilantes in movies and comics, do we do the same with the vigilantes we have seen throughout our history and who are currently “creating justice” in our cities? Although the vigilante is a popular archetype in our entertainment, the vigilante is not seen in the same light when it comes to reality, the "real" vigilante in American society is seen as a threat or danger and is dissolved in most cases. This idea poses a serious problem to Thoreau's belief, because the negative perception of vigilantes is proof that society's problems should not be solved by the individual, but by legal and civil means put in place by our government . When examining the Vigilante, it is clear that the Vigilante's ideals and actions stem from Thoreau's ideas presented in Civil Disobedience. Thoreau begins Civil Disobedience by asserting “The best government is that which governs not at all” (). This quote is important because much of Thoreau's argument relies on the middle of paper... who believed that all black people should be armed. Conflicts sparked by the Black Panthers often led to shootings and other outbreaks of violence in California, New York and Chicago. The Black Panthers quickly lost support due to their violent tactics and disbanded in the 1980s. The disbandment of the Black Panthers shows that when individual moral values, even righteous ones, when left unchecked, do not lead to positive change, they do the opposite. After their disbandment, political leaders who once supported the Black Panthers began to bring change to black neighborhoods using methods such as providing social services. The Black Panthers shows a serious flaw in Thoreau's logic. The belief that when people are left to their individual morals, it will lead to a better society than one where morals are stated by society or government..