Dear Norm,
The evangelical band has set up in the parking lot
across from the church; their amplifiers and PA system
point into my building, peppering apartment windows like
the famous double slit experiment. Drum check woke me.
My next door neighbors’ blasting mariachi techno I enjoy
through the wall, but this crappy vanilla bilingual evangelical
jam fest is too much: you cannot drown it out even with
Megadeth and Ministry. They draw too much power.
Both in English and Spanish, it’s almost a U2 song, what
Bono’s been singing about looking for these pallid zealots have
found: “Santo, santo, santo,” and God. They’re advertising
at 90 decibels. An arena full of hormone laden virgin teen fans
would sway, holding their lighters up, hot for Jesus. Which
Brings me to terrorism. Section 2331 (5) of Title 18 defines
domestic terrorism as involving “acts that are dangerous
to human life” in violation of the laws, and “appear to be
intended” to “intimidate or coerce” or influence the
“policy” or “conduct of a government.” Norm,
if Thich Quang Duc had achieved his extinguishment in
Lafayette Park instead of a Saigon street, and done it
last year instead of forty years ago, the definition would fit.
The Venerable Thich Quang Duc is a light to the world.
Having an open fire without a permit
violates the laws, as does sitting in the street,
leaving a certified gasoline container unstopped
in the street, and publicly committing suicide; obviously,
these violations were dangerous to human life (assuming
Buddhists are human); and in light of his letter,
intended to influence the policy of governments.
if Quang Duc had done it yesterday, frustrated
in his FBI informant payoff, and been arab
and lived, he’d be just nut to point at. those funny arabs,
or north africans, or east asians, or whatever, at it again,
and, now, of course, ad ante facto, eh, norm?
another SAP