Joe Stack and the Rise of American Terrorism
Posted by Jeff Pruitt - 2/19/10 @ 5:04 pm - Filed Under Uncategorized
For those that don’t know, Joe Stack was the man who flew his plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas yesterday killing two people. Stack ran an IT company and posted a manifesto/suicide note on his website that you can read here.
I don’t link to this because I condone the behavior or think Stack’s version of justice is appropriate in any way. However, I do think it gives some insight into the nature of terrorism and why we should expect more violence here in the United States.
I think many people believe that the terrorists of the Middle East are radicals instigated by some dangerous religious indoctrination, but I think that’s a distortion of cause and effect. Economics and the unfairness of what ever system they perceive is controlling their economic plight is the real driver of their radicalism. The religious organizations simply take advantage of these feelings of rage and fuel them to the next level.
I believe as more and more people begin to suffer economically here they will begin to cast a critical eye on our government and other economic powers. When this happens there will always be a minority of people who resort to violence in order to “send a message” to spur further acts of violence.
Again, I don’t believe acts of violence like Stack’s will solve the problem but I couldn’t tell him what would. Where would you tell him to turn to - the American Justice System? Does anybody even believe in that shit anymore? We take it a priori that we’re all more civilized than those crazy middle-easterners and perhaps we are, but it’s a slippery slope into the abyss and the perception of economic injustice can and will breed terrorism here just as it has around the world…
Comments
2 Responses to “Joe Stack and the Rise of American Terrorism”
Leave a Reply
Jeff, that’s an interesting take you’ve got on the Joe Stack story, but I don’t think it’s terrorism; I think it’s just more proof of the old adage: “You can’t fight City Hall”.
Have you ever had to try to fight City Hall? (Or, just the same, “County Hall”?) It really is frustrating enough to drive a guy to drive a plane into a building. Bureaucrats rarely even respond to your overtures, and it’s a given that they always win. Witness Phil Marx, for one; me, I’m an experienced another.
1. There were domestic terrorists during the 1990’s, when the economy was better than it is now. You can’t chalk this up to the current economic state of the country.
2. Joe Stack was just another frustrated lunatic. He is a murderer who has accomplished nothing of any lasting value.
3. The nut wasn’t even destitute. He still owned a plane and a mansion right up until he destroyed both.