IMHO, we're worse off today than they were in the 1770’s. Their chief antagonist was the King and his troops. Crime was practically nonexistent, at least to the extent we have today. Citizens today are caught in the middle, the ‘law’ on one side and violent criminals, armed to the teeth, on the other. Like the Tennessee Ernie Ford song of the 50’s said “If the right don't get you, then the left one will!”
This is a situation where everyone involved needs to be frozen where things are and send in an investigative team with the ability and authority to find out what happened. Let the chips fall where they fall. That team should come from someplace as far from there as practical.
The incidence of these situations is increasing at an alarming rate across the country. If we don't get a handle on it pretty quickly it will soon be beyond control.
As with EVERYTHING government does any program, plan or policy they instigate, regardless of how appropriate it was to start with, eventually outlives its usefulness and becomes a greater threat to those it is supposed to benefit than the original problem.
How true. When I'm the victim of one of these tribes, I can't call the other to help.