There's not a lot in the manifesto that I can disagree with. I disagree with the action he took but his idea of two sets of laws, one for the extremely wealthy and one for the rest of us, the idea that all but the ultra-wealthy and mega-corporations (ultra-megas) have no representation in government, the idea that our government is ultra-punitive against anyone who makes a mistake except the ultra-megas who get nearly instantaneous and massive government aid... yeah. That's all pretty true.
The man suspected of intentionally crashing an airplane into a Texas office building today appears to have posted a lengthy online diatribe attacking the Internal Revenue Service and declaring that, "I know I'm hardly the first one to decide I have had all I can stand." The six-page manifesto, which you'll find below, is dated "2/18/10" and is signed "Joe Stack (1956-2010)." Andrew Joseph Stack, 53, has been identified as the man who flew a small plane into an Austin building housing IRS offices. The statement was uploaded to the front page of a web site that was registered in 2003 by a Joe Stack, who listed an address in San Marcos, Texas, which is about 35 miles south of Austin. The online posting is titled "Well Mr. Big Brother IRS man... take my pound of flesh and sleep well."
But it's the lawmakers (and apparently his accountant and bad luck to a large degree) that screwed up his life, not the poor fuckers that work for the I.R.S. The vast majority* of those people do not deserve to have an airplane crashed into them. It's like beating up your sink because your water got turned off. Why didn't he aim for his Senator's house? Those are the people we know for sure are fucking us for the benefit of the ultra-megas. None of us can walk into our Senator's office and most of us will not get satisfaction if we have a complaint. But by god if the head of Morgan Chase drops by to ask a favor he is whisked in from his limo straight to the office. We can't have men of his stature kept waiting. But if you're a working person who's had your entire income and savings wiped out due to a change in tax language you might as well be a flea for the impact you'll have.
*I would suggest that there are a few people at the I.R.S., just as in the general population, that do deserve having an airplane, bus, or other vehicle crashed into them. But very few. Most people are pretty OK most of the time. My fear is that copycats will attempt something like Oklahoma City. Most of those involved in that bombing are still free.
The only thing that really surprises me about this is that it hasn't happened sooner. Maybe the problem is that most of the people who would fly into the IRS building can't afford planes or flying lessons.
ReplyDeleteGood point. How many people have crashed their cars into IRS buildings and we just don't hear about it?
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