by Thomas Russell

Created on: October 17, 2008

You ever wonder what it would be like if the tables were turned on a malicious robber where he was the victim and not the aggressor? I proposed that question to my wife who suffered a fearful encounter with a man who stormed into the bank while she was working and thrust a gun in her face demanding money. In discussing this, it proved to be a cathartic way for the both us to deal with this traumatic event. So, here is the letter I wrote to that nefarious criminal.

Imagine, if you will, what it would feel like if you were at work and you get a phone call from someone, telling you that your wife was a victim of an armed robbery. Armed! Immediate thoughts of potential gunplay flooded your mind.

Imagine how helpless you would feel that you weren't there to embrace her, weren't there to shield her from such a traumatic experience.

Now, imagine this if you were the one staring down that gun barrel, not knowing whether the person holding that death tool had any intention of using it. You may have already experienced such a scene, given your propensity for vicious behavior, so you feel comfortable in dishing out the same punishment to many innocent bystanders.

But let's talk as if you haven't. Think of how you might have felt to know that your life hung in the balance. Time stands still. What seems like minutes actually only transpires in mere seconds. But in those scant seconds, what thoughts would prevail? "What's going to happen to my family if I perish in meaningless gunfire?" "How will my family survive without me?" "What can I do to save my life from this madman?" So many thoughts enter your mind in what most would consider just another second in time that just vanished, never to be experienced again.

Life is so precious...and in the whole scheme of things, what we accomplish in life most would think is inconsequential. But you know what? Our lives are not inconsequential! We matter. So I ask you, what right do you have to squash our hopes and dreams in such a manner that we have to wonder what's around the corner for us? Do we cower in fear with the least little provocation with someone? Do we look at every person with a little more trepidation and mistrust because you have taken whatever vestiges of inner security we may have possessed?

What gain, other than a short financial, unearned windfall would you hope to get from this? You not only violated my wife but everyone who worked in the bank that day. How dare you take it upon yourself to alter the perception of everyone's lives.

In each person's life, he must be held accountable for his actions. You will be judged on this heinous act by a higher power than us...and something tells me that 45-second span that you chose to wreak havoc just so you could show your puny courage will condemn you to a lifetime of pure hell, a hell that no earthly bounds can come close to matching. May God have mercy on your soul.

When all is said and done, though, I think what is most important is to let you know that you may have won your own personal twisted battle, but my wife and I have won the war...and we will continue to do so because we absolutely, irrefutably refuse to let you dismantle our faith in the human condition. You are the scourge of society, and you will suffer the consequences of your actions. In the meantime, I will swat you away like a weak, defenseless flea and move on. So will my wife.

Learn more about this author, Thomas Russell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.