in west hollywood, california, a wealthy gay political party donor has been arrested and charged with the murder to two black gay homeless men. being connected and in the social justice wheelhouse, it appears that authorities took a blind eye towards him. negative publicity of his conduct arguably could dampen public enthusiasm for lgbt reform.
there were eight allegations against him. there are two dead bodies the result of his alleged conduct conduct. his conduct was well known but ignored by authorities. one of the victim’s mother and the lgbt community sought hard for justice for this victims. charges were finally filed. the uphill battle is documented in a la times article.
why was there such a struggle to bring forth justice? was the fear that the publicity of sorted details of what happened in the lgbt community would be damaging and unwanted? was there the fear of prosecuting a well-connected political donor who happened to be a member of the lgbt community? was there a feeling that homeless lgbt black men were not worthy of justice?
the la times’ article discusses the notion that there were some issues concerning evidence early on and as to whether prosecution was possible. this is very problematic. shouldn’t have lesser charges have been pursued? why did they have to wait for a death to occur? a prosecution for minor offenses could have stemmed off future crimes and death. were the forces of “justice” handcuffed by social justice.
are some murders more equal than others?
george orwell, in his classic, animal farm, has the quote: “all animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” we now live in george orwell’s world.
in the torah, god provides “you shall commit no injustice in judgment; you shall not favor a poor person or respect a great man; you shall judge your fellow with righteousness.” leviticus 19:15.
thus, with respect to murder, the torah demands that all murders are to be treated the same. all murder is prohibited by the ten commandments. there are no exceptions. no murder is more special than any other murder.
those accused should be judged accordingly with no favor. likewise, murder victims and their families should not have their justice subordinated by the standing of the individual who is accused of committing the crime. justice must be served.
in the orwellian world, however, some victims are entitled to more justice than others. in orwellian world, some accused are entitled to differential treatment. is this what social justice system is all about? is social justice a system where the fact that a crime was committed has no meaning? is social justice a system where the only importance is the standing/identity of both the charged and the victim?
one can argue that this type of social justice is a perversion a torah-based justice system. the torah-based system is concerned with the crime. the identities/standing of the charged and the victim are not important.
the ten commandment specifically provides a prohibition against murder. god plays no favorites to either the status/identify of the victim or the accused. a murder is a murder. a life is a life. justice is to be served with no exception.
i hope that the families of this political donor receive the justice they deserve.
justice is not a “just us” system. it is not a “just them” system. it is a “justice for all” system.
be well!
PS: social justice is not the only barrier that can prevent justice from happening. a society or a group’s vanity towards themselves can lead to a blind eye towards criminal conduct. please see information concerning the penn state scandal. society should be judged by how they address crime as opposed to whether there is no crime. no crime may represent feigned ignorance that crimes have been committed.
The Ten Commandments Project 