Quote:
Originally Posted by Fire of the Phoenix
Maybe he was a schizophrenic? Maybe he just plain crazy? Maybe he was lying? Maybe he did convert?
Who knows? I'm not sure why we should we take a person like this at their word though. Just because he said something doesn't mean he was telling the truth. No one will ever truly know what was going on in his head.
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We only doubt peoples' word in this specific context. If a guy is murdered in his home, and his neighbour says he did it because he wanted to steal his money, or because he hated the guy, we don't doubt them for a moment. When a right-wing facist kills a black guy and says he did it for the glory of his race, we don't doubt him. When an evangelical blows an abortion doctor's head off with a shotgun, we don't doubt his motivations. Just here.
Now, maybe he was crazy, or a schizo. We don't know that. If the evidence comes out that that's the case, that there's good reason to disbelieve what his own account of his reasons are, that's one thing. But there's none. We have a guy who says he killed people in support of the Caliphate. The Caliphate endorses his actions in their name. This is one of the things they do - try to inspire lone-wolf attacks. They explicitly CALLED for those attacks during Ramadan this month, for believers to take matters into their own hands on US soil.
If there's a psychological failing here it's the refusal to accept what's right in front of you.