Human loss seems inevitable when we decide who's expendable
By Tim White / Herald Forum
Last Sunday, Alex Pretti, a 39-year-old critical care nurse in Minneapolis, was shot and killed during a public protest. A man trained to save lives became another death absorbed into a national argument.
Two days earlier, video circulated showing five-year-old U.S. citizen Liam Conejo Ramos, his face nearly hidden beneath a blue winter hat, being taken from Minnesota and later transported to confinement in Texas. The footage unsettled people across the country; not because it clarified policy, but because it revealed fear and confusion no child should have to navigate.
And in December, 20-year-old Sarah Beckstrom, a police officer serving with the National Guard, was ambushed and killed while on duty in Washington, D.C. A young woman sworn to protect the public became another name added to a growing list of national tragedies.
Add to this another stark reality: On a single night in 2024, more than 770,000 people in the United States were homeless, many priced out of both rent and homeownership, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. That reality is visible in communities across Washington, including here in Snohomish County.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/forum-human-loss-seems-inevitable-when-we-decide-whos-expendable/