“We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.” - Kurt Vonnegut

Sad news from neighboring York County, Pennsylvania, where a family of three died in a murder-suicide pact. Morgan Daub, 26, and her parents, James Daub, 62, and Deborah Daub, 59, said in notes found at their house in York that they had made a “joint decision” to step away from this life together after Morgan told her parents of her plan to commit suicide, said the West Manchester Township Police Department.

Hearing three shots in rapid succession, a next-door neighbor called police early on January 25, and the bodies were found inside. The family dog was found sedated and a note at the scene attested to the fact that the family did not want the dog to come after responding police and EMS personnel. The note contained information to help a veterinarian treat the animal.

Also found at the grisly scene were documents indicating that this all had been planned for at least nine months, since the family, all enthusiastic supporters of the loser in the 2020 presidential election, despaired of having the vote overturned to re-install their man in the White House. In April, 2022, the Daubs decided on the date of their suicides based on a Bible verse in which two parents give their child back to God. “Samuel 1:24-28 Morgan chose the date! I believe I have to be with her!” Deborah wrote.

She also wrote about the "evil" the family faced, but did not go into detail.

I was fascinated by a YouTube video that Morgan posted last November in which she, if you're ready for this, said she was abdicating the throne and refused to be crowned Queen of England.

Watch the video. See the mirthless giggles and the sad faraway look in the woman's eyes.  Clearly a victim of mental illness, she apparently got no help from her family.  There's no sign that she ever had any sort of job, at age 26. Neighbors said she and her mother were once avid bowlers but gave that up in 2019. Morgan was home-schooled, and neighbors said she did not interact with others, allowing her mother to talk and answer questions for her.

I'm no psychiatrist, and I am sad that these otherwise healthy people chose to depart this life, but I am reminded of what I read about street gangs in rundown hopeless neighborhoods choosing regal names for their crews. "The Kings." "The Lords." "The Young Princes." It would seem that people who have not been allowed, for whatever reason, to establish their own identity, find it comforting or helpful to take on names or titles that confer high rank or nobility.