Here’s What We Know About The Hanukkah Stabber That Targeted Orthodox Jews | Talking Points Memo

A Hanukkah party at the house of an ultra-Orthodox rabbi outside New York City on Saturday night was interrupted by a man with a machete.


This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://talkingpointsmemo.com/?p=1281992

Authorities said Thomas was covered in blood and had a bloody machete in his car when he was arrested.

This guy watches no television. You ditch the weapon, strip naked of your clothes and change into something clean, and flee in a stolen vehicle that you quickly abandon en route to a pre-arranged hiding place, where you lay low for a week, never going outside or talking to anyone. Sheesh.

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Someone who knows him played on his mental illness.
Not any different then those who will vote for Trump a second time.

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Just points to his mental illness.

Reverend Wendy Paige, who the Post said was Thomas’ pastor of 10 years, said Thomas “is not a terrorist, he is a man who has mental illness in America and the systems that be have not served him well.”

Just grateful that he didn’t have a high capacity assault weapon.

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But in some places in this country having periodic hospitalizations for mental illness would not preclude one from owning a high capacity assault weapon. Because, because 2A and more 2A.

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Punched a police horse. Wow…

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Spare a thought for whatever poor sap in the Public Defender’s office is about to have this case land in their inbox.

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Sans money to litigate this the perp will plead to some charges, probably involving diminished capacity or other mental illness related assertions. He’ll be locked away for many, many years, whether it be in gen-pop or psyche.

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Alex, I’ll take “transinstitutionalization” for $200, please.

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That’s one bad-ass Rabbi though. Seriously, that guy is awesome.

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Most sane people avoid messing with 1500 lb. animals.

The alt-Right is having a field day with this one. The most ‘liked’/upvoted/awarded post on most major new outlets and discussion boards is some form of ‘black on jewish crime is the real problem’. It’s sickening how they are able to manipulate online discussions.

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Why don’t we all wait and see.

A mental health exam is de rigueur in a case like this. Violent anti-semites and other haters most likely can claim some mental illness when they act on their hate— it does not absolve them nor usually mitigate their culpability.

They may not be the only ones, but Jews get it from both sides— the Linda Sarsours and the Richard Spencers. That is why I for one will not tolerate anyone- Democrat or Republican— who communes with them, as they put the ideas into the crazies’ heads.

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That was my first thought, too. Tragic & horrifying we have come to this. Meanwhile, my other browser tab reads “2 Killed, 1 Crit…”. Yes, it is much harder to defend against a gun than a knife.

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Animal abuse on top of everything else?

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True dat. Even if all he had was a shotgun one or more people would most likely have been killed.

The attack occured on the 7th night of Hanukkah.

Nes gadol hayah sham.

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Except some folk in that Texas church were armed and reacted to that shooter. It’s a sad day indeed when people go to their House of Worship armed.

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But against a knife, reacting with an antique table had some success.

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And even with the whole place apparently crawling with “good guys with guns”, we’ve still got one dead (plus the perp) and one critically injured.

Guns are more deadly than knives. Even having to explicitly say that feels strange, because it should be as obvious as fire being hot and water being wet.

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