Sunday, July 31, 2005

A good man dies in the north side of Minneapolis

News reports of international terrorism, global conflict, and internecine wars fill the newspaper front pages daily. The horrors can seem less immediate, even remote, to many of us ensconced here in the midwest of America. We do know, however, somewhere in the back of our minds, that it is only through blind luck that these events have not prevailed themselves upon us yet.

What we forget is that evil exists and has always been here, albeit on a different scale.

Martin Ruiz was an immigrant from Mexico, working long days, with his wife Paulina, at McDonalds to put food on the table for their family, which included 4 children. They are among the many hard-working people who work in the shadows, doing the work many of the rest of us wouldn't do. Mr. Ruiz' life would be essentially unnoticed by the larger community until May 27th, 2005. The Red Star reports:

Martin Ruiz and his wife, Paulina, had just walked off a bus in Minneapolis after a long day working at McDonald's when a man and a teenager started to follow them.
Lamarr "Lucky" Smith and Anthony R. Lee allegedly came out of the night and into the lives of the Ruiz family. Lamarr and Anthony, if proven to be the guilty parties, represent the other side of the community they share with the Ruiz family. They likely do not work or contribute to society, instead they represent the dark side, the evil that lurks on our city streets, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Lamarr and Anthony allegedly saw an opportunity at 10:30 pm at 39th and Dupont Ave N. in the Camden neighborhood of Minneapolis. They saw an opportunity to rob a young couple coming home from a long day at work.

According to the news report, Lamarr Smith was wearing a mask and had a long-barreled gun. He and his accomplice approached Mr. and Mrs. Ruiz. Lamarr took Paulina's bag, and rifled through Mr. Ruiz' pockets. We can only imagine the terror that Mr. and Mrs Ruiz experienced as they were confronted by the two animals. Mr. Ruiz did the right thing, and voluntarily gave up his wallet when it was demanded of him, and then he began to walk away. Lamarr allegedly shot him in the back of the head, killing him instantly as Paulina watched.

A nexus of good and evil. A hard working man and woman confronted by the bottom scrapings of society. An innocent life taken for no reason.

It's difficult for good people to grasp the concept of wanton destruction of life in the pursuit of evil. What drives a man to become an animal? If found guilty, would Lamarr "Lucky" Smith and Anthony R. Lee be any different from Islamist terrorists, in that they prey on the good and innocent? There is arguably no difference.

Rambix is deeply saddened by this event. There are many good, hardworking people like Mr. Ruiz who toil in obscurity, who may be poor, and who may have many burdens to bear, but they manage to maintain their morality and human dignity. Rambix has enormous respect for those people.

Presumably the suspects shared many of the same burdens as the Ruiz family. They could have worked hard and taken advantage of the myriad opportunities available to the "disadvantaged". For reasons only they and God will know, they chose the dark path. And to no one's surprise, there is a violent criminal history:

On Thursday, Smith was charged in another case with first-degree aggravated robbery for allegedly putting a gun to the head of an acquaintance while taking money from him.
The public is currently safe from these monsters:

Smith and Lee are being held at Hennepin County jail in lieu of $1 million bail in Ruiz's death.
They are accountable to their maker, and this provides the only shred of satisfaction to arise from this crime. This horrible, inhuman crime.