It is amazing how it has not been 24 hours, the building is likely still smoking, and the act of terrorism by Joseph Andrew Stack is already being politicized. Yes, I believe his suicide flight passes the terrorist litmus test. Radical views? Check. Desire to make a political statement? Check. Views violence is the only answer? Check. Terrorist. This is one label that needs to be quickly made. The other labels I am referring to are the quick efforts of both sides to begin the blame game. Is he a right-wing, anti-tax, anti-government extremist tea bagger? Or is he a left-wing, anti-corporation, anti-Bush, anti-capitalism radical? The answer is yes.
If the "suicide note" proves authentic, this gives us insight into the duplicitous mind of Stack. He spouts off rants that resemble the extreme of both extreme sides of the political spectrum.
On the right hand, he quotes the founding fathers "taxation without representation". On the left, he refers to big business as "thugs and plunderers" who hope "dead people don’t get in the way of their corporate profits rolling in". On the right, he slams the big bail outs of GM. Then on the left, he bemoans " the joke we call the American medical system, including the drug and insurance companies, are murdering tens of thousands of people a year". On the right, he spews hatred for the murderous rich or "incompetent cronies". On the left, he writes about his rage regarding "the recent presidential puppet GW Bush and his cronies". He is anti-government, anti-taxes. Yet anti-big corporation, anti-Bush and his cronies, etc. He opened with a more right-wing paragraph, yet his final two anti-capitalist sentences lean across the aisle saying "The communist creed: From each according to his ability, to each according to his need.
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed."
The capitalist creed: From each according to his gullibility, to each according to his greed."
He sounds like he is just anti-life and wanted to blame everyone and anyone for his problems. From big corporations to Big Brother. So to label him as a right-wing extremist, as many news organizations already are, is inaccurate. He is not right wing or left wing, he is the crazy wing of the psych ward. And unfortunately, he saw this desparate act of violence as the only solution.
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Another note of mis-information. I was watching GMA this morning, and in their report they claimed that there were "fan pages" or groups supporting Stack on Facebook, with "thousands of members". And I couldn't find one that upheld him as a "hero" or viewed him in a positive light with over 100 COMBINED! There wasn't a fan page with thousands. Most of them were calling him a terrorist or [expletive]! Why media are you playing into people's fears? It is ridiculous!
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