Do you have a grudge against IRS? You do? I do as well. They force me to pay astronomical taxes. I'm a U.S. citizen and I do want to show my loyalty to the state, but the IRS is the end of me. There must be another solution. Perhaps, destroying an IRS building will do the trick. Surely, it will attract the attention of the government. Maybe they will reconsider their tax policies.
Obviously, I'm not serious. Unfortunately Joseph Stack, an Austin resident, thought otherwise when he flew a small aircraft into and Internal Revenue Service building in Austin, Texas. Personally, I'm a bit bothered by this incident. Have Americans become so irrationally incompetent that we must utilize extreme measures in order to fell better about ourselves and our situations? Honestly, what did this act of violence solve? Nothing. Stack killed himself and another, while also managing to cause near fatal harm to others. Does this change anything? Hell no. We all still have to pay taxes. The law is the law, and it is our duty as citizens to abide by these laws, despite any of our personal protests. It certainly didn't solve any of his problems, unless he believed dying was solution to avoid paying taxes.
It's sad.
It's also disturbing.
I'm more perturbed, however, by the media's reception of this incident. Stack, has been portrayed as a easygoing, hard worker engineer and musician. The crash is described as an isolated incident, one not driven but the ideologies of a terrorist conspiracy. Yet, he left behind a vicious suicide note condemning the government (especially the IRS) and bluntly implied he would take aberrant action. Flying a plane into an IRS building was a blatant act of terrorism. Undoubtedly this act was a premeditated crime against the government , one based on an obvious political motive. He depicted clear disregard for 200 innocent civilians working within the building and was determined to weaken a government agency. He even burned down his own house. Joseph Stack is a domestic terrorist.
Americans tend to associate terrorism with Al Qaida and other Middle Eastern leaders. Hopefully this unfortunate event will help us recognize other forms of terrorism unlike the terrorism we have become familiar with these past few years. Americans and our government must be more cognizant of dangers that exist within before placing extreme emphasis on the dangers without.
Click below to read the suicide note:
Click below to read the suicide note:
-Free
1 comment:
I read his suicide note while watching the events transpired that day...and honestly, Joe Stack made some statements that had me nodding in agreement. That being said, that is in no way an excuse for doing what he did. No innocent person deserves to die or be harmed...ever. And I agree with you that it's strange that the govt is not calling this a terrorist act. This was a prime example of a terrorist attack on a government building. What's the govt's motive? Not to cause panic maybe? Or do they believe only Muslims are terrorists? Makes me wonder...how could this have been prevented? Obviously Joe Stack felt there was no other way to be heard and by the sounds of his suicide note, this animosity has been building up for years and years.
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