In predictable fashion, the storyline on the Mohammed Taheri-Azar attack at UNC-Chapel Hill has shifted to a discussion of his mental competency. I can understand that his family might want to believe he’s ill rather than accept that what he said in the aftermath of his attack is true: that he wanted to kill Americans as revenge for the treatment of Muslims. We should, indeed, have empathy for the impact of all this on his family, and most certainly on the students he targeted that day. However, if we’re not willing to accept what he, or any other attacker has told us, then we simply avoid the ugly realities of life. Based on his comments, it seems the Orange-Chatham DA, Jim Woodall, has experienced this scenario before. It is a reluctance of people to accept that some rational individuals want to harm others for very specific and frightening reasons . Woodall said this of the most recent reaction to Taheri-Azar:
“All indications, frankly, are that he is competent,” he said. “He seemed to be voicing his position. … I think that’s what throws people off. He’s just expressing opinions that most of us would disagree with.”
