The Lina Incident was a vivid example.
Someone chased you with a knife, trying to kill you. You did not want to die, so you killed them instead-and ended up in prison.
Did that not sound a little wrong?
Without the right to self-defense, what were you supposed to do in that situation?
Run?
Of course, escaping would be best. But what if you could not get away?
If you wanted to remain innocent, you could not fight back. Any resistance would saddle you with a criminal charge.
Fight back, and it was a mutual brawl.
Kill your attacker, and it was intentional homicide.
So, to remain innocent, you could only do nothing.
Then you were killed, and the murderer was successfully brought to justice-
That seemed to be the outcome the law encouraged.
But would you accept it?
Trading your own death for the other person's punishment?
Obviously not. Why should you be the one to die, rather than them?
Everyone had an instinct to survive.
Resist, and you died. Do nothing, and you still died.
But resisting at least offered a sliver of hope of survival. If you did nothing, you would die right then and there.
Which would you choose?
The Lina Incident caused an uproar among the Temporary Residents.
They shouted a slogan-
Anyone could be Lina!
But that provoked resentment from another group.
These were Giantwood City's original underclass, born-and-bred locals.
They had worked in the factories, but once the refugees from the Southern Region arrived, the newcomers worked for half their wages.
Factory owners, association presidents, and others in the upper strata of society made a fortune off the cheap labor provided by these Temporary Residents.
The middle strata, such as doctors, lawyers, and other high earners, saw no disruption to their work. Instead,