Stardate 20021026.1430

(On Screen): I suppose it is inevitable, now that the Washington sniper has been captured, for people to wonder why he did what he did. I can see why some would want to try to understand it.

But I, personally, don't really care, and on some level this kind of examination can actually be harmful. You saw the same thing happen after the Columbine shooting, where people tried to understand what could drive two high school kids to go on a murderous rampage. The problem with it then was that the people doing the looking were looking for targets for lawsuits, among other things. There's a difference between trying to understand and trying to find someone else to blame. It's just too easy for the former to transform into the latter, leading some to conclude that the murderer was actually the first of the victims, rather than being the victimizer.

Let's be clear about something: unless it can be demonstrated that John Muhammad is clinically insane, then he bears full responsibility for his actions. Even if he has had a tough life, he's certainly not the only one, and no one and nothing forced him to start killing people. He made that decision for himself and he alone bears responsibility for it.

The problem with "root cause" analyses is that as a side effect they relieve the malefactor of responsibility for his own acts.