Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Coward Joseph Stack

Every time I think about the coward Joseph Stack, I feel my right nostril twitch slightly upwards, pulling that side of my face into a sneer of disgust and unforgiving anger. This is the man who, on the morning of February 18th, 2010, set fire to the house where he lived with his family and then proceeded to fly his airplane into an office building in Northwest Austin, the city that I call home. Since then, it’s pretty much guaranteed that I’ll think about him at least twice a day, as I pass very close to the crash site on my commute to and from work. As of this writing, the access road that passes by the devastated building is still closed.

I saw the news first on Twitter just minutes after it happened, before it was clear that it was a purposeful act against a pre-determined target. I felt a twinge of recognition when I realized that the crash had taken place right down the road from my office, from the very spot where I was standing. Pretty soon, the entire office was abuzz, gathered around monitors with news sites pulled up, messaging links to one another, shouting out updates over cubicle walls. It was not unlike the atmosphere that followed the collisions of two other planes into two other buildings a little over eight years ago.

I can find nothing in the coward Joseph Stack’s actions or motivations that elicits anything even close to sympathy within me. I don’t care about his stupid tax problems or his frustrations with the government. Whatever issues he was having with them, whatever wrongs he felt he had endured, whatever pissy little grievances he had, I consider them all completely irrelevant to the conversation surrounding what he did. I’m sick to death of hearing and reading comments that start off with something like “Well, I don’t think it’s right to go flying airplanes into buildings, BUT...” and then go on to list the ways that the commenter agrees with the coward Joseph Stack. As far as I’m concerned, the coward Joseph Stack made no statement. He put forth no argument. The coward Joseph Stack committed no less than an act of terrorism and murder. Beyond that, one could argue that he committed an attack against his very own family, as he not only burned down the house where they lived, but did so while they were home. Whatever legitimate points he may have had to make during his lifetime, they all went up in smoke along with his charred corpse.

I don’t often write about current events, as I figure the news and other commentators have that pretty well covered, but I can’t seem to stop thinking about this one. This would have been a tragedy no matter where in the world it occurred, but it happened here, and in all honesty, I don’t remember ever being this pissed off about any other such senseless act of violence. How dare the coward Joseph Stack blast this horrid event into my town’s history? How dare he paint himself as some kind of victim? How dare he commit his murder in such a way as to ensure that he wouldn’t have to be around to be held accountable for it? How dare he bring an end to even a single life?

And besides all that, the fact that he even owned a house to burn down and a plane to crash, yet still felt like he was some kind of down-trodden victim, well it just makes me wish I could kick him in the face.

The coward Joseph Stack is done on this planet. He will affect no further change, whether for good or for ill. I write this simply as my own affirmation that what he did was absolutely not okay, not in any way, shape, or form. He was no hero, he is no martyr, and anyone who declares him as such is as foolish as he was.

9 comments:

sybil law said...

100% agreed. What a fucking pussy prick. (My language gets worse when I'm angry!)
Who the hell would ever put a "but" on the end of that statement?!

Kathie Quinn said...

don't forget the $500,000 plane he owned too. America sure was cruel to Mr. Stack wasn't it? He was an evil piece of shit for doing what he did. There are other ways to make statements loud enough for others to hear without risking the lives of thousands of people and taking the lives of anyone. Getting your family out of town and then standing on your roof while holding a megaphone and calling a news conference right before you set yourself on fire sounds like a much more fitting end to a murderous excuse for a human being.

Anonymous said...

And the fact people are pissed off that his victim's family are suing his estate. WTF!? Hell, yes they have the right to sue his estate. They have the right to take every cent that was apparently too little for him.

Yes, it's going to fuck over his wife and daughter. But he did that. Not his victim's family.

Anonymous said...

I don't believe in heaven or hell. But there are times when I wish such things existed. There are times when I wish I had the ability to cast down into the depths of whatever maelstrom hell is supposed to be.
In my anger, there are times I want something that is wrong to want. Power over the fate of other men. This is one of those times.

Jason said...

And of course the Teabaggers are starting to hail him as a martyr.

He was a terrorist. He'll never be dead enough.

Kevin McKeever said...

awesome post, t. me and the things were on the highway on the way to airport when this happened.

Homemaker Man said...

Found you through AHAU. Great post. Much of the press refuses to call him a terrorist. But that is what he was. A bitch-ass one at that.

TwoBusy said...

Totally agree with you & Jason.

Awesome post.

Whit said...

I only wish he had lived long enough for you to get that kick in.