Kieselguhr Kid (206 words)

[peterthooper at juno.com]

Bombings in AtD:

The Kieselguhr Kid legend in AtD doesn’t exactly replicate anything I know of in American history. Close cognates are George Metesky, around whom Abbie Hoffman tried to build a legend, and the Unabomber. But each of these legends devolved into an individual and lost its mystery. 

Reasonably fair justice came their way. 



I think the Kieselguhr Kid in AtD is meant to (among other things) point up the futility of such acts in the pursuit of a goal. 

At first Webb seems to be the Kid, but other bombings accrue to that account as the Kid acquires legendary status, some even possibly done by anti-labor forces.

Not much exists to explain them, so not even those who might be susceptible to tortuous logic can claim them as part of their cause.

As Dr Strangelove said, the whole point of the Doomsday Machine is lost if you keep it a secret.

In AtD, the Kid’s failure to produce a narrative allows the forces of reaction to construct one in keeping with their goals.

But what true narrative could make sense of such acts? Pynchon’s depictions of Webb and his world make an emotional and sensual case for viewing it, however sympathetically, as an aberration.

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1 Trick "Kills" ED - Wives Are Speechless
Med Journal
http://thirdpartyoffers.juno.com/TGL3131/5dbbcd6b38b1d4d6a21edst01vuc