Ok, but what if it really is him? I mean if we’re assigning moral blame then you’re right: many, many people are responsible. But negative outcomes for evil beliefs aren’t a given. What if people are always just this stupid, and it took a certain person with certain traits to bring this out of them? Did people change, or were they just latently stupid but mostly harmless this entire time? Things were going pretty well for a while there, so what if we were teetering on the edge that whole time?

His death might also give some of the smarter fascists an off-ramp, which could reduce their critical mass. I’m NOT saying they deserve an off-ramp, but if it means society starts heading in the right direction again, maybe it’s worth it. We’d all prefer to excise the tumor completely, but sometimes that seems impossible. Remission would still be a blessing.

I guess what I’m saying is, let’s not be too cynical while we’re celebrating this person’s death.