On balance

On a dark day recently, if only one of too many, two men died.

Both were the innocent, unwilling victims of violent people who do not value human life, and through some warped view of their own and their position in society decided (either with malice aforethought or spontaneously, with perverse rationality or under the influence of something... I really do not care) to attack without thought for the consequences.

Their intention, sadly successful in both cases, was clear.

Which made them murderists. Nothing more. No other 'ist' or 'phobe'. The clear, main linking fact was that they sought to kill, and need to be caught and prevented from doing so again to protect the rest of 'us'.

But somehow this plain fact has somehow been obscured by a media-driven society and an overly sensistive and reactive governing system. Hence these two deaths, the circumstances, the protagonists and the follow-up has taken two very different paths. One has become a circus; the other all but forgotten already. Yet the simple facts remained the same.

But that does not provide nearly enough for an angle to be found; a way to spin things out, then analyse and comment. To stir things up and then reap the ratings from the consequences.

So the coverage was not balanced, and hence neither was the response. Labels had to be applied. Pigeonholes filled. Agendas promoted at the expense of the only real issue.

Innocents deprived of life by Murderists.