IT’S easy to level condemnation at the heartless brutes who shot up the Salmon family, killing five-year-old Christiana and hospitalising her father and nine-year-old sister last Thursday.

Of course they, along with each and every other murderer, deserve to be condemned in the severest terms and brought to justice, for whatever that’s worth in the context of our society, which is still plagued by too many acts of corruption.

At the end of the day though, all the condemnation in the world and opportunistic visits to the families of the victims will not stay the hand of people for whom this type of violence is as natural as breathing.

A man who is prepared to shoot somebody in the back of the head and then cut off that head is not likely to be touched by verbal condemnation, because that’s just not his language. The proverbial horse, in his case, has already gone through the gate.

It doesn’t follow that it is okay to leave said gate gaping.

This, more than anything else, is what we would like those who purport to lead us to grasp as a matter of urgency.

Whatever anyone may have had against Mr Christopher Salmon, a member of the peace council in St James’ Rose Heights community, didn’t have to be resolved by shooting up his family.

There are courts and other forms of alternative dispute resolution that could have settled the contention.

However, the lawless elements didn’t see it that way.

They chose to take things into their own evil, bloody hands.

Not for them, the rule of law.

Nor for others, we might add.

This is something for which we all must take responsibility.

For when our leaders refuse to lead through the appropriate channels, when they reveal themselves to be shameless and unremorseful in their attempts to hoodwink us, ours is the responsibility to call them to book and in lieu of that, send them packing.

It is not, as some people are fond of saying, about whether or not an individual, any individual, is innocent or guilty of unproven criminal charges.

It’s about going beyond lip service in demonstrating that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander.

Last week, we commented in this space that political parties, their leaders and members who contributed so scandalously to the development of the gun culture and the ‘garrisonisation’ of entire communities decades ago need to take responsibility.

While it may be true that politicians, for the most part, no longer have control in the so-called garrisons or over the ‘dons’ who run such communities, it is obvious that the current extradition imbroglio involving Mr Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke is, as we have said, evidence that the chickens have come home to roost.

Until the political parties own up to their misdeeds of the past and disassociate themselves from the dons, criminal gangs and syndicates, we will continue to experience the savagery that was inflicted on the Salmons and too many other families.

Our objective should be to isolate the criminals and bring them to justice, not provide them with shelter.