Make no excuses: hatred is not mental illness

Michelle Malkin has a post up about a Turkish-born Muslim man (a young muslim male, for those keeping score) who decided to destroy a memorial to a Queens, NY cop who died responding to the 9/11 attacks. She links to a story in the New York Post on the incident in which we learn that this man ripped down the memorial screaming, “This is political!” What strikes me is the immediate assumption about this man’s mental state:

“There are so many deranged people,” said the officer’s mom, Barbara Talty. “This doesn’t surprise me, but it’s sad.”

Talty’s sister, Patricia Dougan, said the suspect must be unstable.

“I just have to think whoever would do this isn’t right in the mind,” Dougan said.

My deepest respects to these members of Officer Talty’s family. However, I must object to the assumption that this guy is crazy or otherwise mentally ill. There’s no evidence of mental deficiency here, folks. This guy isn’t sick or deranged or anything else except steeped in a sense of hatred. What’s political about a picture of a deceased loved one, a cross – representative of Officer Talty’s religion, thank you – and an inscription that says, “Rest in Peace, Paul. We miss you. God Bless.” Nothing. Nothing, that is, unless one is looking for an excuse to act on one’s existing hatred of non-muslims.

This clown isn’t ill, he’s just a world-class idiot and jerk whose intolerance and inability to respect others’ religions should be confronted as harshly as the law allows. The judge should deliver the maximum penalty under the law and do so immediately.