Yesterday in California, the physical world and the world of free-floating grievance and ideological bluster met once again, when two teenagers attacked the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two others, before taking their own lives. The attack is being investigated as a hate crime; according to police, the words hate speech had been scrawled on one of the weapons, and a suicide note left by one of the attackers contained discussions of racial pride. The incident exemplifies an all-too-common form of terrorism: attacks by people who have easy access to weapons and a desire to use violence to make a statement. Some of these attacks come from the left, or from people with inscrutable worldviews. In recent years far-right extremism has proved more frequent and more deadly than the left-wing version. The killings in San Diego took place amid the documented increase in anti-Muslim incidents in the United States since October 7, 2023. This reality is not reflected...
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