VLVL UHURU

[jbor]

>> "Uhuru", by the way, means "freedom" in Swahili, and is used in the name of
>> various world-wide organisations devoted to democracy and equity for African
>> peoples, including an organisation which began in California in 1981
> 
> I wonder if Pynchon knows that. I don't know any brothers who  speak or
> read Swahili, but reconnaissance in Black English means,  to police and
> area. And, it kinda makes sense, don't you think?

I think the word "uhuru" is well-known enough to be an intentional pun on
Pynchon's part, and, yes, I think African-Americans would know that word.
And, by contrast to Cesar Chavez and 1966, it's actually there in the text.

I don't question the fact that there's irony in the name that the BAAD boys
give to the car -- self-conscious irony on their part even, perhaps -- but
"reconnaissance" means checking things out. I realise that it's important to
your interpretation that the BAAD brothers are violent, and pre-emptively
so; unfortunately there's nothing in the text to show that they are.

best