We can’t imagine that anybody who has watched even 10 seconds of Jeremy Joseph Christian’s rant during his first court appearance on murder charges in Portland would contend that he has any coherent or consistent beliefs about society or politics.

Yet this hasn’t dissuaded some people from writing letters to newspapers or posting comments online contending that Christian, who has admitted murdering two men on a Portland MAX train last month, is not merely a lone madman, but that his acts are symptoms of America’s racist culture.

Dante J. James, director of Portland’s Office of Equity and Human Rights, wrote in a letter to The Oregonian that Christian’s fatal attack on Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Rick Best “was fueled by racism and white supremacy, period.”

We believe the evidence is ample that Christian was fueled by nothing but his own warped views — not about political matters, but about the value of human life.

We’re not suggesting there aren’t racists among us. To dispute this would be profoundly silly.

But however pervasive such noxious beliefs might be, it’s exceedingly rare that a man, even one who expressed racist beliefs, as Christian has done, will fatally stab two strangers who try to intervene when he verbally accosts two young women.

Christian’s Facebook page shows a man whose antipathy also extended to Hillary Clinton and to Donald Trump. But should we presume that because Christian’s preferred presidential candidate is Bernie Sanders that the Vermont senator’s candidacy is contributing to the culture that James and other commentators have tried to blame for these two murders?

Of course we shouldn’t.

We understand the temptation to try to explain someone like Christian. But we shouldn’t be misled simply because his maniacal ravings happen to mention politicians. They are no more responsible than Portland is for the tragedy. The guilt here belongs to one man only.

From the Baker City Herald editorial board. The board consists of publisher Kari Borgen, editor Jayson Jacoby and reporter Chris Collins.