Bandits and Outlaws

Bandits and outlaws have been around forever, there is always someone who wishes to take advantage of the world by not necessarily legal means. Someone who wants to be that lump of turd on the bottom of everyone’s shoe, the only difference between them and the turd is that pretty much anyone with any self respect will remove the said excrement.

Bandits take many different forms; only few of these types of outlaws get given enough press to give themselves a true name and even a nickname, some are very infamous, these being couples like Bonnie and Clyde who held up banks and stores with little regard for anyone they came across, sometimes even gunning down the innocent.

To highlight a very famous bandit/outlaw/highwayman I would always reference Robin Hood. Why? For the simple reason that anyone you say the name to you will always get the same description, this being that he was an honourable man who stole from the rich and gave to the poor, oh and don’t forget that he was an absolute ace with a bow and arrow. After a little research you can find out a lot about Robin Hood and his merry men.

Robin Hood was not all he is cracked up to be. He did indeed used to steal from the rich, but he also stole from the poor as well, just not the poor that he knew and liked, almost an honour among thieves sort of idealism, of course this was not the sort of thing that you would want to tell your kids about and would surely not want to read to them before a full night’s sleep. So the story was adapted and morphed a little to fit the more idealistic views of the public and to make it more accessible to others.

Now I’m not saying that Robin Hood was such a bad guy, he did what he needed to do survive which is understandable. If you were forced to live on the streets and were given an opportunity to steal some money to keep your family out of the gutter, can you honestly say you would turn it down because you didn’t want to steal?

Bandits and outlaws get quite a lot of coverage in the media, especially those who reach a high degree of infamy, these can even get themselves their own movie, for example Tom Dillinger in ‘Public Enemies’. Some even get put into other pop culture such as Bonnie and Clyde who get featured in many different projects, from music videos to movies and television, almost always being referenced if a man runs away with a woman with the intent to commit a crime.

The idea of this person who does not abide by the law is cherished by a lot of creators of all shapes and sizes, from movie directors to game designers. This is generally because of the air of mystery that surrounds such people and the fact that the average people among us will never witness or take part in any of the activities that we are told about in the age-old crime stories.

For more information on some famous criminal couplings have a gander at:

http://listverse.com/2007/11/01/top-10-partners-in-crime/