Murder Is No Solution To Systemic Injustice

There is no justification for the murder of any police officer – as happened in Brooklyn, NY on December 20, 2014. Such an act only becomes an excuse for hateful supporters of oppression to shout louder in their quest to repress others. We should not want a society where, by killing others that we dislike, we all become blind to the direction of the hand of justice. 

The killer of the 2 NYPD police officers who we now know were both wonderful individuals was, as we also now know, a mentally ill man with documented evidence of multiple psychiatric hospitalizations who was able to get his hands on a gun. One of the murdered cops was a recently married man whose wife is now a widow even before she experiences the joy of marriage to the love of her life. The other, a recently certified Christian Chaplain was a father of two. 

The same people who always tell us after every mass murder that the only issue at stake is mental illness now prefer to deny that mental illness played a part in these murders. They want us to believe that the only issue here is revenge killing by a man with some race-propelled vendetta against police officers.  Here is the truth: the only issue here is the infinite availability of guns in our society. We should stop giving cover to the NRA and their supporters whenever these senseless but avoidable tragedies occur. 
Now, we have two good men who will not be at the table with their families this Christmas. As a society, we should all bury our heads in shame. May their souls rest in perfect peace. 

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