ATD SPOILER p. 93, 95

[robinlandseadel at comcast.net]

Or start reading earlier:


























'   He was trying to pass on what he thought they should know, when he had a 
minute, though there never was the time. "Here. The most precious thing I own." 
He took his union card from his wallet and showed them, one by one. "These words 
right here"---pointing to the slogan on the back of the card---"is what it all 
comes down to, you won't hear it in school, maybe the Gettysburg Address, 
Declaration of Independence and so forth, but if you learn nothing else, learn 
this by heart, what it says here---"Labor produces all wealth. Wealth belongs to 
the producer thereof." Straight talk. No double-talking you like the plutes do, 
'cause with them what you always have to be listening for is the opposite of what 
they say. 'Freedom,' then's the time to watch your back in particular---start telling 
you how free you are, somethin's up, next thing you know the gates have been 
slammed shut and there's the Captain givin you them looks. 'Reform'? More new 
snouts at the Trough. "Compassion" means the population of starving, homeless,
and dead is about to take another jump. So Forth. Why, you could write a whole 
foreign phrase book just on what Republicans have to say."   '


Thomas Pynchon, Against the Day, page 93


 . . . .pretty much taking down the Neo-con "God Squad"  talking point 
by talking point. So if you read "terrorists" or "suicide bomber" in the next 
passage, you've been prepped for it. It's true that self-destruction for its own
sake is also being invoked here, but Webb's anger with "the system"
---pretty obviously Pynchon's anger as well---rules this section.
 -------------- Original message ----------------------
From: kelber at mindspring.com
> I go more with the suicide bomber interpretation.  See if you don't agree after 
> you've read further.
> 
> Laura
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> >From: Andrew Pollock <ahpollock at gmail.com>
> 
> >
> >In context, this passage seemed much less (if at all) about suicide
> >bombers and much more about adolescent daredevils/malcontents.  I
> >agree that 9/11 and the murkiness of political terrorism seems very
> >prevalent in this first section (which is all I've read), but if it's
> >present in this scene it seems more present as the ghost not of
> >politics, but of attraction to violence period.  In other words, young
> >Traverse is only in danger of being a suicide bomber because he's
> >young, dumb and full of cum...which implies a question about the
> >purity of motive for self-identified ideologues, a notion borne out in
> >the other major bombing set-piece in this section.
> >
> >Andrew
> >
> >
> >"Subject: ATD SPOILER p. 95
> >
> >"a radius of annhilation that, if it could not include
> >the ones who deserved it, might as well include
> >himself" [95]
> >
> >...hair-raising to see Pynchon put the suicide
> >bomber/terrorists back in the US where they also have
> >a home; the effect also to make them (the suicide
> >bombers over there somewhere - Afghanistan, Iraq,
> >etc.) a bit less foreign, an to make ourselves, good
> >US citizens, appear foreign to ourselves.
> >
> >September 11, 2001 and its consequences seem obvious
> >on this novel, at least in these first 95 pages."
>