There was a horrible incident last week here in Grand Rapids, and although it didn't affect me directly, people I knew were involved.
Three men dead, leaving children fatherless and wives widows.
It's hard to know what to type, thus this monthly installment of TOL.
From the point of view of the law-abiding, I'm startled and horrified at the sudden and blood-thirsty death suffered at the hands of these criminals. The officer was attempting to prevent an incident from escalating where civilians and more were hurt.
A family relative was one of the first on the scene to identify the officer who was killed. Words cannot adequately describe the nightmare that enused.
The typical anger swelled inside me at the viciousness, selfishness and destructiveness of the criminals who committed these acts.
Then I found out who one of the criminals was, and my anger combined with a sense of sadness, frustration and loss.
He was the stepson of a former co-worker. I knew him when he was just a little boy, a cute kid that would make funny faces, give me hugs, and earn a piece of candy or gum. I haven't seen him in 20 years, since I graduated from college and moved on from that job.
Watching his dad's press conference, a man I didn't like then, was heartbreaking. It takes guts to stand in front of the press and law officers and offer a public apology on behalf of your deceased son and denounce his actions. His shame was plain to see.
I don't forgive or condone his actions, and given the violence of his actions and potential to hurt many more, his punishment was justifiable. Oh, but don't you wish at moments like these for a time machine? Even as a fringe player in his life, I wish I could go back 20 years and use my thin shred of influence to show him a different path.
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