Dear Christopher Dorner

By Andre’ Haynes

Las Vegas Informer

I have watched your story on the television news, listened to your manifesto read aloud on radio, and read about your troubles with LAPD, an ex girlfriend and others in newspapers.  While I cannot apologize for the actions of others, nor accept responsibility, I am sorry that these horrible things have happened to you.  Although I have never been a peace officer and am not a U.S. veteran, I too have suffered and endured injustice at the hands of individuals and organizations.  I know how it feels to have the truth twisted and how it feels to be lied on.

I have never had an ex bang on my front door or try to hack into my personal bank account, at least to my knowledge.  The truth is everyone, male and female, young and old, Black, White, Asian, Latino, Middle Eastern, etc. have all suffered injustices in our lives.  Everyone has not experienced injustice to the same degree as you but we can relate to feeling disappointment, anger, pain, helplessness, and betrayal.

I cannot tell you what will happen now, or that everything will be okay tomorrow, or explain why these things happened to you.  What I can tell you is that karma is real.  What we put out, comes back to us, and the same applies to people whom have wronged us.  Unfortunately we do not always get to see victimizers get a dose of their own medicine, but they do.  When I was younger and lived in California I got in trouble for fighting at school, even though I was defending myself against racist kids, who often bullied and provoked me.  Nevertheless I was suspended from school several times, kicked off of sport teams, ostracized and was disciplined by my parents.  I hated it.  I felt misunderstood, unappreciated, abandoned and so many other things. Eventually I thought that I may as well be the attacker instead of the one who is always attacked, considering that I end up getting in trouble anyway.

So I became the aggressor, or in today’s terms the bully, and started picking fights with the kids who once picked fights with me.  I beat them up physically and played psychological warfare with them.  I remember telling this story to an assistant principal in sixth grade.  He thought long and hard and stared into my eyes as I told him.  After awkward silence he told me this, “Do not let people change you.  If you do to them what they have done to you, than you become just like them.  Revenge is comforting but may not be the best option.  Nurse your wounds and get back to being the good guy.”  This is ironic because I remember what he said, but not his name.  That stuck with me until now and today I am 35 years old.

I believe in justice and think that we all deserve it.  Sometimes the people whom are in position to enforce justice and the system fail to deliver justice and justice in the manner or degree that we are satisfied with.  However from what I have read you sound like a good man.  I implore you not to do harm to others, especially yourself, because in the end your actions will be the final judge of your character, and I would hate for you to let circumstances and actions of others change who you are as a man.

Praying for your clarity and restoration,

Andre’ Haynes

Andre’ Haynes

Andre’ Haynes is a contributing writer for the Las Vegas Informer newspaper.  Haynes also is a talk-show co-host of Veterans In Politics; and manages Endeavor Media Group, a Las Vegas PR agency that was founded in 2011 and focuses on A&E, Politics, and Sports.

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