TIME

THE ONLY WAY FORWARD

Bob Ossler, a fire department chaplain from Cape Coral, Fla., comforts Melissa Kirchner outside the Tree of Life synagogue

Hate, among all our base instincts, is the most distinctly human. In animals, violence and venom are tools of survival; in humans, of supremacy. Small, scared people hate, self-hating people hate, bullied and betrayed people hate, as though hate will make them large and safe and strong. The twisted writings of this latest class of attackers suggest they felt called to their hatreds as a duty. Robert Bowers allegedly blamed Jews for their outreach to refugees and vowed to repel “invaders” moving north through Central America as he set off to the synagogue: “I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered,” an account matching his name posted, like a martyr dispatched to a massacre. Accused mail bomber Cesar Sayoc stalked George

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from TIME

TIME2 min readPolitical Ideologies
The Party Of Mandela Fails To Deliver
The African National Congress has led South Africa’s government since the end of apartheid in 1994. But as voters go to the polls on May 29, there’s good reason to wonder whether the ANC might be in real trouble. During the ANC’s most recent term in
TIME5 min read
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo Is Reimagining The Olympics
When Paris kicks off the Olympic Games on July 26, it will be with athletes floating on an armada of boats down the Seine River, rather than marching in a stadium as it has always been. That will be the first of many breaks with Olympic tradition. Ke
TIME6 min read
Titans
Last May, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory about the profound consequences of loneliness and isolation—a departure from the type of standard medical conditions his predecessors prioritized. While traveling the country, Murthy had

Related