Quoted from Rolling Stone: Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s remark after the Boston Marathon bombing that it was not the time for “doing sociology” reflects the same anti-knowledge trend. In this atmosphere of denial and accusation, explaining is considered the same as justifying. From this perspective, any attempt to understand what really happened risks opening the door to sympathizing with the perpetrator. Sympathy or understanding is simply not acceptable in a Manichaean world of us vs. them.