[mentor2k]

"The point is not to applaud him, but to understand him."

Tell me how I'm supposed to "understand" someone who tries to take innocent lives? Even though no one was killed besides him, the truth is that someone could have been. Someone might not be welcoming home their mom or dad tonight. Seeing their sister or brother, son or daughter again. Tell me how we're supposed to not applaud him, but "understand" that line of thinking?

[Atlas Sneezed]

We need to understand this guy like we understand McVeigh, Stalin, and all other perpetrators of evil deeds.

“Understand” does not mean agree, or excuse.

This is not how mentally healthy people react to what they believe (and reasonable people might in part agree) is government oppression. But some unstable people do, and that’s worth understanding.