Across the street, at the North Battleford Fire Department, the Maple Leaf has been flying at half-mast for more than a week.
It is a constant reminder of the tragedy that unfolded in Moncton, N.B. June 4 when three RCMP officers were killed and two were seriously wounded in what has been described as an ambush by a heavily armed man with a violent agenda.
If the shooter - 24-year-old Justin Bourque is charged with three counts of first degree murder and two of attempted murder - was seeking media notoriety, he has succeeded. His violent outburst has received international attention, as did the ensuing 28-hour hunt to track him down.
A regimental funeral for the three slain officers was held Tuesday, bringing closure to that chapter of this sad story.
While our hearts go out to everyone touched by this senseless act, it is impossible to suppress a spark of rage that threatens to override the dismay. What makes some individuals, like this young man in New Brunswick, think they are above the laws that have been enacted for the protection of everyone in our society. They don't deserve to live in our country, our communities, my neighbourhood.
And then we have to take a deep breath and remember it is anger, rage and a sense of entitlement that lurks behind violence such as this. To begin to emulate the mindset of the perpetrators is to begin to feed into a culture of violence and rage, and to move away from calm, sober evaluation and action.
I'm not saying we should turn a blind eye to crime and violence in our community. I commend every single individual who is working to bring attention to the problems that lurk on the dark side of the law here. But when those who have been victimized lash out with vigilante sentiments, they are slipping over to the side they are trying to fight against. Anarchy is never the solution. Anarchy is what we saw in Moncton last week.
Violence fuelled by a sense of outraged righteousness is always going to end with the victimization of the innocent.
