The man on the roof,  Thomas Matthew Crooks, will, in innumerable references, be labeled a coward. This misnomer, associating evil with cowardice, detours  from consequences that follow by a brutal but impeccable logic. The man on the roof was evil, stupid, and brave.

The extreme right will also label the man on the roof a coward. But it will start an itch in some of their inferior minds. The man on the roof did not merely talk the talk, if, indeed, he talked at all. He walked the walk. This event will jar some small but significant statistical fraction of the extreme right from the obsessive comfort of their hates, to reciprocal acts that prove that they, too, can walk the walk.

We were introduced to this misnomer, “coward”, on 9/11, when terrorists first hurt us beyond comprehension. Terrorists and assassins willing to die for their evil beliefs are not cowards. They inspire loathing beyond words. Exceptions may be made for GRU/KGB poisoners.

Courtesy of the man on the roof, the risk of political violence is now enhanced. I am at a loss for an appropriate label. If you need a description that elevates the rest of us by comparison,  try animal.