Stranger Than Fiction

Here's a plot for a western movie. A small gang of thieves and killers has been roaming the west, creating all sorts of trouble, including murdering large numbers of people.

One town wants to protect itself and maintains a large posse of heavily armed gunmen. One day a few members of the gang ride into town, shoot up the place, kill a few residents, take one as a hostage, and ride away.

The posse quickly organizes, perhaps forty men, and pursues the fleeing outlaws. Suddenly some neighboring communities launch a huge protest. It is excessive force, they say, for forty armed men to pursue only five. The posse is labled as aggressors and terrorists.

Soon the posse overtakes the gang and a fierce gunfight ensues. Now the neighboring communities become more outraged at the posse and start demanding an end to the violence.

These neighbors meet independently and hammer out a plan to end the shooting. They decide the fighting must stop and they will send some weak and helpless enforcers to guarantee that the gang will never again raid this community. The gang is asked if they will comply. They agree, but openly declare that this community still must be wiped off the face of the earth. With the gang's agreement in hand, the posse is now pressured to accept as well.

The gang is not charged with having raided the community in the first place, and everyone ignores all their past crimes. Protected from the posse, they are now provided time to heal their wounds, rearm and plan further conquests. The posse is widely criticized for responding so aggressively.

(Not) The End.

What? You think that story line is ridiculous? I guess you are right. I've just been watching too much news coming out of the Israel/Lebanon border.