Leo Traynor is a class act

1. This heartbreakingly beautiful ending to a horrifying story.

2. I agree with those who have commented (on Twitter) that what happened here is not “trolling.” Feigning controversial opinions to get other people fighting, being deliberately obtuse and provocative, and so forth is trolling. What this young man did is intimidation, stalking, bullying and terrorizing. Let’s call a spade a spade.

3. The disconnect between the elaborate, horrifying campaign of terror and the apparent lack of real malice is utterly chilling. It’s not hard to imagine a demonic influence here.

4. It’s also not hard to think that this young man may be a sociopath, or a sociopath in the making.

5. Traynor’s approach — humanizing himself and his wife to the boy — might be enough to awaken empathy in him and turn him from his path. Or the boy might be shedding crocodile tears and biding his time before picking another victim, perhaps one less capable of fighting back. Follow-up and verification are called for. Mercy is a beautiful thing, but not if someone else is victimized as a result.

I noticed in the link that The Guardian has an excellent environmental section.