It's an interesting discussion, though it would be fair to say that the show hasn't done as good a job in ironing out this issue and likely will do little more than scratch the surface on it.
ARGUS' work is every bit as murky and bloody as anything Oliver has done, but they have the official consent of the gov't to do such works. Some of the stuff they do is morally wrong by any standard -- more so -- but they have the legal green light to do a lot of it.
Oliver never had that green light officially, barring some ARGUS-sanctioned tasks, though we could also argue he's also had the implicit consent of the local authorities to do much of his actions aka they'll look the other way. He might not be as "official" as when Capt. Lance had a press conference to praise the Arrow's deeds back in S3, but he's been given access to crime scenes, evidence, etc. -- though, again, some of that stuff was under the table too. In principle he is a vigilante or do-gooding outlaw. I would say he's one level below Batman in terms of having the consent and/or outright cooperation of the local police after five seasons.
In the field, he's more like a privateer with a letter of marque in his pocket during the age of piracy -- he seems to have a quasi-legal presence in the city (in practice, even though he doesn't have the papers or badges of officialdom) ... at least among the cops and authorities. As mayor (for the moment), he has more clout now to smooth over any hiccups and can leverage the actual political power he has to make GA and his deeds appear more legitimate in SC.
As for the people of SC, it's always been a love-hate relationship. They embrace him when he stops the chaos, they loathe him when his deeds cause chaos. They actually stood with him and fought by his side, TDKR-style, in the S4 finale. The number of charges Joe or Jane Citizen (or the cops!) pressed against GA for killing Damien Darhk in cold blood: zero.
IRL, he is a killer and murderer. In the fantastical world of the Arrowverse (where IRL standards don't apply), he's the morally grey vigilante/anti-hero that the cops, authorities and even the citizens themselves are willing to accept to protect them in a city full of madness. The city itself has allowed him to operate like this with increasingly wider latitude. (Same could be said for The Flash in CC or SG in NC.)
Maybe it's collective indifference at what he does, but it's also tantamount to consent -- even if the state governor hasn't passed a Green Arrow bill to officially legalize his vigilantism.
ARGUS' work is every bit as murky and bloody as anything Oliver has done, but they have the official consent of the gov't to do such works. Some of the stuff they do is morally wrong by any standard -- more so -- but they have the legal green light to do a lot of it.
Oliver never had that green light officially, barring some ARGUS-sanctioned tasks, though we could also argue he's also had the implicit consent of the local authorities to do much of his actions aka they'll look the other way. He might not be as "official" as when Capt. Lance had a press conference to praise the Arrow's deeds back in S3, but he's been given access to crime scenes, evidence, etc. -- though, again, some of that stuff was under the table too. In principle he is a vigilante or do-gooding outlaw. I would say he's one level below Batman in terms of having the consent and/or outright cooperation of the local police after five seasons.
In the field, he's more like a privateer with a letter of marque in his pocket during the age of piracy -- he seems to have a quasi-legal presence in the city (in practice, even though he doesn't have the papers or badges of officialdom) ... at least among the cops and authorities. As mayor (for the moment), he has more clout now to smooth over any hiccups and can leverage the actual political power he has to make GA and his deeds appear more legitimate in SC.
As for the people of SC, it's always been a love-hate relationship. They embrace him when he stops the chaos, they loathe him when his deeds cause chaos. They actually stood with him and fought by his side, TDKR-style, in the S4 finale. The number of charges Joe or Jane Citizen (or the cops!) pressed against GA for killing Damien Darhk in cold blood: zero.
IRL, he is a killer and murderer. In the fantastical world of the Arrowverse (where IRL standards don't apply), he's the morally grey vigilante/anti-hero that the cops, authorities and even the citizens themselves are willing to accept to protect them in a city full of madness. The city itself has allowed him to operate like this with increasingly wider latitude. (Same could be said for The Flash in CC or SG in NC.)
Maybe it's collective indifference at what he does, but it's also tantamount to consent -- even if the state governor hasn't passed a Green Arrow bill to officially legalize his vigilantism.
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