If “root causes” were to blame for the massacre in Saskatchewan authored by Myles Sanderson, our streets would be awash in blood.
That’s a fact.
Every tiny corner of this country would be a terrifying killing zone.
But the homicidal Sanderson is a rarity.
Pulling out that old Annex trope does a grave disservice to the millions who have overcome trauma in war zones, lousy childhoods, physical and sexual abuse and all other manners of horror.
The planet is crawling with deeply damaged people but it is a pittance who pick up a gun, a knife, a 2×4 or use their bare fists to lash out at a cruel, unjust world.
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Instead, 99% manage life through their pain and try to be better than their abusers. Without excuses.
And still, social media is alight with allegations of colonialism, racism and the whole kitchen sink of woke cliches. This is what is REALLY behind this tragedy that saw 10 people butchered by a maniac, they tell us.
I am brushing none of the harrowing issues that Sanderson and his brother Damien dealt with in their short lives. Abuse and incarceration are often an endless cycle demanding a breaking point.
Sanderson, 30, a grey, throbbing muscle of rage and resentment began the alleged killing early Sunday morning in the tiny north-central Saskatchewan reserve of James Smith Cree Nation. The place he had called home.
By sunset, 10 people had been stabbed to death by the brothers Sanderson. The next day, Damien Sanderson was found dead.
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As the Prairie province quaked in terror, a massive manhunt was underway for Myles Sanderson. Along the way, reports leaked out about his 59 convictions. About someone thinking he might fit nicely back into the community he no doubt terrorized.
But by Wednesday afternoon, he had been run to ground, yet not before inflicting injuries upon himself that would be fatal.
He knew some of the victims, cops tell us, others were complete strangers.
In fact, records reveal that he tried to kill one of the dead in January 2015.
That man was 66-year-old Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry veteran Earl Burns. He was Sanderson’s father-in-law and in the previous incident he had been stabbed multiple times by the alleged mass killer.
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Sanderson got sentenced to two years less a day for that bloody escapade. On Sunday, Burns became one of the 10 dead who, according to Veterans Voices of Canada “gave his life to save his wife and grandchildren.”
There was another double stabbing in 2018 against two other residents of the reserve.
Then there was Sanderson’s long history of domestic violence. Mixed in was a smattering of conditions and probation. Orders were drawn for counselling for anger management, domestic violence and addictions.
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More conditions. More probation. More counselling. More charges. Rinse. Repeat.
Even though Sanderson lied about living with his former wife and was sent back to the slammer last November, he was sprung again in February.
He was not considered “an undue risk to society.”
An often-used Portuguese proverb is that “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” It fits in neatly with the tragic events in Saskatchewan during the awful September of 2022.
It’s an idea that works much better at explaining the evil actions of the Myles Sandersons of the world than snatching the “root causes” chalice.
Just ask the people of James Smith Cree First Nation.
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