So – a sad day yesterday, the 29th of January, 2017.
Somebody walked into a mosque in Quebec City and opened fire, killing at least 6 people and injuring many more.
That is NOT OK!
It does not matter how much you are frightened by militant Islamic supremacists, taking the law into your own hands is never OK.
No end justifies the means. To the contrary, the means always define the end. People who want to commit violence (or any form of extralegal action) in the name of their ideology should always keep this in mind!
So, whether the shooter was a nationalist supremacist, or a Muslim convert who thought the mosque was not devout enough – murdering people is never justified. That way, blood baths and all kinds of very, very bad results lie.
We live in a land where we have the rule of law.
OK – ours is a highly imperfect system, with many double standards, but that is because it is a human system and humans are imperfect beings. Still, it is our duty as citizens to strive to make the rule of law the best it can be – to work within the framework of our laws to make imperfect human beings enforce the rule of law as best as we can.
My sincere sympathies are with all the victims of this horrible shooting and their families, friends and community.
I may disagree with the teachings of Islam, but I will never condone any form of extralegal action towards those who practice it – and no action whatsoever towards those who practice it peacefully.
And I will fight to the death for everyone to practice their belief system within the bounds of our laws, no matter what my personal opinion of the merit of that belief system may be!!!
Xanthippa's Chamberpot 