By Stacie Adams at The Smirking Chimp:
Joe Stack, the man who recently flew a plane into an IRS building in Texas, has been described as everything from a true American hero to a ‘lone wolf’ style domestic extremist. However, most are reluctant to brand him with the label of terrorist, although that is the most apt description of Stack and his activities.
I saw a segment on the news this morning where some talking head was going to great pains to distinguish the difference between an act of terrorism and a so called ‘spectacle murder’, which sounds like something he just made up in the green room before he came on.
Apparently Stack’s crime is not considered terrorism because he only meant to call attention to his plight, not terrorize people into changing their lifestyles. Never mind that just seconds before the anchor offered this profundity an excerpt from Stack’s manifesto basically stated exactly that (i.e. that Stack wished to alert people of government corruption and push them to take action).
Let me whip out the moral hand book and play devil’s advocate for a moment; the underpants bomber was, apparently, beset by the awful treatment of Muslims the world over, which is why he attempted to blow up a plane. Whether or not you agree with his beliefs, you must admit that his cause rung a bit more noble than a wealthy Texan who flew his very own private plane into a building because he was sick of being fucked about by the IRS. Some are hailing the IRS terrorist as a hero, while in the same token the underpants bomber was derided as evil, even though he didn’t actually manage to kill anyone.
This guy isn’t a hero, he was just some rich asshole. Had this guy been a successful entrepreneur, he would have been the same kind of immoral robber baron everyone rails against. I love how a man with his own plane is being described as desperate. If only I could be so ‘desperate’…
[continues at The Smirking Chimp]
