ATD SPOILER p. 93, 95

[Jordan Fink]

I don't think it's about "terrorists" it's about resistance to the power.

take this quote for example from teh Reverend Moss. I beleive that there
are connections between Moss and Cherrycoke and, since Cherrycoke was
obviously Pynchon himself (sent into exile for "posting annonomous
messages") there is, i feel, a bitting, biter clarity to it:

"If you are not devoting everybreath of ever day waking and sleeping to
destorying those who slaughter the innocent as easy as signing a check,
then how innocent are you willing to call yourself? It must be negotiated
with the day, from those absolute terms." ATD-87

The whole book is an arguement for fighting in the realm of possibility
that invisably lies outside the control of the Power. This is not a
commentary on suicide bombers, but a call to resist corporate evil both in
the Gilded age and in our own.

Pynchon want US to stop the Bush administration with every waking and
sleeping breath.





















'   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@[omitted]
> 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@[omitted]>
>
> >
> >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."
>