A city grieves: The societal plague of gun violence hits home hard
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A contagious rage has seemingly possessed America in recent days. The common denominators -- guns in the hands of angry and irrational people -- have been the same whether the scene is a nursing home or a community English class for immigrants.
And, on Saturday morning, in a city that prides itself on its decency, friendliness and common sense, the madness came home. The deadly ambush of three Pittsburgh police officers in Stanton Heights was more than a tragedy for immediate families and colleagues.
These brave men died for us. Nobody doubts that this was an assault on the community, and the community has reacted with the proper mix of anger and deep sorrow. In a city that hasn't seen a police fatality for almost 14 years, three officers were suddenly lost in a single incident for the first time in its history. It was horrible and senseless almost beyond belief.
The person accused of the crimes, Richard Andrew Poplawski, appears to be another archetype loser who was all about rights but not responsibilities and whose mind had been poisoned by drinking deep of irrational anti-government conspiracies and gospels of hate.
On Fairfield Street, no rights of gun ownership or free speech were vindicated. The police were just doing their thankless duty, answering a domestic disturbance call, for which they were caught in a coward's ambush and murdered. It was their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that were lost.
But there will be time enough to consider how lunatic it is that an AK-47 assault rifle can find its way into the hands of a seething fool, to weigh the culpability of politicians who resist sensible limits on guns and to take to task the radio talk show hosts who foment evil by banging drums of hatred.
Today we mourn Pittsburgh's fallen heroes -- Officers Paul Sciullo III, Stephen J. Mayhle and Eric Kelly. God bless them and their colleagues (two of whom were also injured). God bless these United States, where we have come to this.
First Published April 6, 2009 12:00 am
