Blogs by Flo Fitzpatrick
The Why
1/26/2026 4:26:12 AM
I’m a huge fan of Midsomer Murders. Acting, directing, writing…all top-notch. Add humor, loveable dogs, great scenery and what’s not to like? But, to me, one element that helps the show stand apart from other mysteries is that it’s primarily character-driven. Rather than stories being “whodunnits”, they’re more “Why’dyadoit?” And the writers are very creative in providing motives. Yeah, greed sometimes comes into play but so does the desire to protect someone else, or revenge for a past wrong, or good old-fashioned jealousy.
Motivation. I learned it in Acting 101 and, as a writer, do my darndest to understand it when I’m creating my own characters. I want to know Why? What’s behind taking the life of another person?
Yesterday’s Facebook threads were like entering a bi-polar universe. I was smiling as I watched at a reel of Aloka the peace dog resting in the van . And then came the headline. “Another ICE Kililng in Minneapolis!” I literally, physically ,felt a wave of despair. I had to get away from the computer, wander aimlessly around the house, hug my own dog who did her best to comfort me (mainly by providing numerous face licks). I finally managed to read several accounts of the murder of Alex Pretti, and even tried to stomach reading the respond from Homeland "Security".
Then I wanted to know WHY?
What motivates someone to deliberately end the life of another human being? The agents who shot this man…were they bullied as children? Is this revenge for not hitting back when someone shoved them into a locker in high school? They’re not all orphans…do they really believe their parents would be proud that the child they raised is now appearing on the nightly news caught in the act of murder? Did they miss the day in Sunday School when “Thou Shalt Not Kill” was taught?
Did they take a second to consider the grief that would follow from those who loved Alex Pretti as they fired those bullets? When Jonathan Ross murdered Nicole Good did he experience even a split second of remorse or horror at his actions? What in hell goes through someone’s mind before he pulls the trigger and does what civilized, decent people throughout history have considered to be unthinkable and unpardonable?
And how and why have we ended up with a government filled with people who not only sanction cold-blooded murder but actively encourage it? Why are the “leaders’ villifying the victims with malicious, malevolent glee? ICE agents are being told they have “immunity” for murder. Which explains why they believe they don’t have to concern themselves with any consequences. but does nothing to explain their motivation, their “why” for choosing to kill.
I make up villains for my novels. Physical characteristics, backstory…and a ‘why’. I was never a “Method” actress and I’m not a method writer so I don’t feel what a killer feels. I have NO desire to feel what a killer feels. I just try to come up with reasons why someone turns to murder. How and why and when in that person’s life they made the decision. The motivation behind “ I will kill.” Yet in today's America...I can't understand, can't conceive of the why.
Half the country is either in the middle of, or about to experience, what is expected to be one horrific winter storm. Technicians working for utility companies will be leaving the warmth of their own homes and spending too much time in nasty conditions as they tirelessly work to restore power and heat. First responders will be braving the weather and dangerous roads to provide medical assistance. ERs and ICU units will be filled. Doctors and nurses and staff will be working overtime…to exhaustion. The motivation for these folks isn’t fame or money or power. Their “why’? It’s pretty simple and it proves there are good people still striving to help others. They just want to save lives.
But a nurse named Alex Pretti won’t be joining his colleagues at the hospital. He won't be comforting an elderly man who suffered a heart attack following a road accident. It's very possible others will die because Mr. Pretti isn't in the ICU looking after them.
A mom named Nicole Good won’t be at home making cocoa for her young child or wrapping him in numerous layers to make going outside safe.
I’m not naive. I’m well aware there’s no sane answer.
Yet, maybe in the hope that understanding motivation in order to end the killings, I think we all need to keep asking…why?
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