Friday, March 11, 2005

Still Sad, Still Tragic, Lessons to be Learned

An update came today in the case of the Lefkow murders in Chicago with the suicide of a man in West Allis, Wisconsin. Read the whole story in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

It is a relief that it appears that white supremacists were not involved. If they were, the news media seemed afraid to call these people what they are...domestic terrorists. It is good that their evil grasp is not seeping through the walls of our jails, at least not in this case.

It seems to be a desparate last act of a broken man who blamed Judge Lefkow for his personal problems. This is, naturally, a developping story and should be watched closely.

What can we learn from this?
  1. Our federal officials, especially in the justice system, are vulnerable. They make enemies quickly and must understand that their jobs include a great amount of risk. I suppose that they know this. They must not live in fear; I am not hinting that all do, but it must be a concern.
  2. If adequate security is not available, how about a concealed carry allowance for federal judges? Remember, an armed society is a polite society. I know that this was just the family of a judge, but just to know that there may be an armed person involved may have influenced such a decision.
  3. Broadly, we live in a dangerous world filled with potential and real harm for all people. Grim but true. We must all learn to assess risk, understand it and then live our lives. Living in fear is the greatest enemy of freedom. There is something that I think we can all agree on.

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