A long time ago, in a land far, far away… Actually, in the 19th century, in the USA… musicians were sometimes carried in a wagon in advance of a political rally. Many people followed the wagonload of musicians as they played, regardless of who the rally was for or what the candidate or party stood for. Sometimes, spectators would jump onto the back of the bandwagon right along. This became known as “jumping on the bandwagon,” which refers to espousing a cause simply because it’s popular, regardless of whether that cause is based on truth or lies.

Not so long ago, in this land, a man was killed in the course of his arrest in Minneapolis. I don’t know whether he was a good person or a bad person or, like most of us (myself included), simply a flawed person who had done both good and bad in life. I do know that the crime of which he was accused and therefore arrested did not warrant the use of deadly force. The police officer who killed him has been arrested and charged with murder. He will be tried and, if found guilty by a jury of his peers, will be punished according to the law. These are the relevant facts.

Notice I didn’t mention any other aspects of the incident, and for not mentioning any other aspects, it is likely that others will attempt to “enlighten” me with bumper-sticker slogans or attempt to make me feel guilty for an evil I did not commit and heartily and vocally condemn. And that is sad, because murder is murder, regardless of the color of anyone’s hair or eyes or skin. I want justice for the murdered man and for the murderer.

Over the weekend, in Salt Lake City, during a “peaceful protest,” people broke into a jewelry store and robbed the place. A “peaceful protestor” threw a hatchet at police officers (who were not involved in the murder in Minneapolis). Perhaps the hatchet-thrower’s aim was just wildly off. Other businesses were robbed and destroyed. Police officers were injured. Protestors were injured and were rescued and treated by police officers, the very police officers who were having rocks, bottles, scooters, a baseball bat, and a hatchet thrown at them.

Many claim that the looting and the attempted murder in Salt Lake City is justified because, someone murdered someone else in Minneapolis. How is the theft of jewelry justified by murder? How is it justified to rob and destroy a business and the business owner’s livelihood? What about the people whose jobs will be lost, many of whom haven’t had a paycheck in months?

In Minneapolis, rioter burned down a 189-unit affordable development. How in the world does that help anyone?

One evil never justifies another evil, regardless of the disparity of degrees of evil involved. “Charley broke my arm, so I kicked Suzie’s cat!”

Slogans are being bandied about and memes posted, reducing issues of right and wrong to a single emotion, attempting to spark outrage or guilt or to make the slogan-bandier and meme-poster seem pious. Why not start with what the Savior taught? “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Doing good unto others, treating others as you would like to be treated would be a good start. Jesus never asked us to post self-righteous slogans or memes so we could appear to be “woke.”

One member of my family is a police officer. He does not live or work in Minneapolis. He has never murdered anyone. He treats people who don’t look like him with respect. Why should his life be in danger? I know him. He is a good man. He doesn’t deserve to have an axe thrown at him. But to far too many people, he is one of them, and thus someone to hate and or be murdered or to incite others to murder.

In Salt Lake City, during the protest, which was no longer peaceful, one protestor was asked by a TV news reporter, “Why are you here?”

The woman replied, “To support the protest. To support what’s going on.”

The reporter then asked, “Why? What are you protesting?”

The woman replied, “I don’t know.”

This protestor had witnessed the violence, and even if she had not actively participated in it, she still cheered it on.

The Bandwagon from Hell is rolling down our streets, pounding out a drumbeat to dance to the devil’s tune and a siren call to violence against those who were in no way involved in the murder in Minneapolis.

And people are jumping on the bandwagon. They are cheering it on.

The day after the riots, destruction, looting, and attempted murder, people of all eye, hair, and skin colors were downtown, cleaning up the broken glass and removing the graffiti in Salt Lake City. They were at the state capitol, repairing the damage done by others. That was an act of true Christian charity (even if they weren’t all Christians). And I am quite confident that they too want justice for George Floyd.