In a delightful bit of poetic justice, a white supremacist approached a synagogue with plans to burn it to the ground. What actually happened was the man nearly burning himself to the ground — and the best part is that it’s all on video.
Ever heard the phrase ‘fight fire with fire’?
When we talk about groups that dispel hate and are formed on a foundation of violence, any groups, a common piece of advice is to ‘fight back’ at them using the same methods that they use against others.
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In terms of morality, it isn’t the best advice to actually practice.
Why stoop to the level someone who is looking to harm others?
However, the universe has a funny way of doing what we can’t, and giving people the karma they deserve on a very, very , literal level.
Fire is dangerous.
I shouldn’t have to remind anyone of this, but it’s a simple lesson that’s forgotten every Fourth of July, every campfire and, apparently, every time an idiot racist tries to launch a hate attack.
Let’s break down the tape.
The scene? Exeter Synagogue . The guy you see there? White supremacist Tristan Morgan. The date? July 21st, a Jewish feast date that recognizes, among other things, those lost in the Holocaust.
He bashes a hole in the door.
It might look like a simple break-in, but that isn’t this guy’s objective. He has a plan here, a multi-step scheme that he surely thought was well thought out.
Next step: gas.
After a brief pause to fetch his gas container, Morgan returns to the scene. The hole in the door makes sense now, as he proceeds to carefully empty the gas into the building.
Now for the last step.
With the hard work done, all Morgan has left to do is light a match and toss it inside. Will it burn the building? Will it shoot flames directly into his face? We’ll have to wait and see.
Frozen in time.
This freeze frame captures the split second between the time he dropped the match in and the moment he became fully engulfed in flames. I wonder what was going through his mind.
This deserves the gif treatment.
When I first saw this headline, I thought maybe his clothes got too close to the fire or something. But it turns out he literally created a flamethrower that was aimed at his face.
Scorched.
In this moment, I like to think that Morgan was rethinking why he ever thought it was such a good idea to go an commit a hate crime in the first place.
Smokin’.
Burned, discombobulated and still emanating smoke, Morgan hurriedly gets his stuff together and leaves the scene. It wasn’t long before he was caught, though, and authorities made sure to throw the book at him.
I mean…karma sucks?
Again, when you intend to harm others, you can’t be surprised when the higher powers of the universe give you a taste of your own medicine. I don’t make the rules.
He’s been ordered to stay in hospital indefinitely.
Morgan issued guilty pleas to charges of arson and terrorism. If he’s ever released, police say they’ll closely monitor him, given his links to far-right and white supremacist groups.
