In 1979 Curtis Sliwa, a night manager at McDonald's in the Bronx formed a volunteer garbage clean-up group called The Magnificent 13. The group quickly expanded and gained ambitions. It renamed to The Guardian Angels and became a real unarmed community patrol devoted to fight against violence. Although the non-profit organization attracted controversy, the Guardian Angels became popular and grew into a worldwide, multi-national group.
In this essay, I’ll try to point out how such a community could possibly emerge in the USA. I’ll also try to explain why, according to my knowledge of the French culture, the Guardian Angels organization could not exist in France.