Joe Stack's kamikaze mission to the IRS

Joe Stack's kamikaze mission to the IRS

By now everyone has heard of Joe Stack and his kamikaze mission to the IRS. So much has been said and there is little I can add. The thing that has surprised me is that most of the commentary I have read has been in at least partial support of his actions. I never expected that.

I can understand the sentiment. The IRS is an agency established solely to conduct theft and fraud against innocent people on behalf of an illegitimate, coercive "government". Dealing with the IRS can be very frustrating for the average person because these thieves are backed by the armed agents of government and keep getting away with their fraud and aggression, case after case, decade after decade. There can be no "justice" when the courts are owned by the same thugs who direct the IRS. There comes a point where a person recognizes they can not act in a civilized manner and expect to come out ahead, or even in a draw. The option of simply agreeing to disagree is not available. Not only that, but the simple act of initially standing up for what is right marks a person as a target for "official" harassment and intimidation for the rest of his life.
Some people, when subjected to this kind of pressure, snap.

An act like this is unequivocally wrong. There is a chance that innocent people could have been in the building, and "collateral damage" is always wrong, whether committed by government agents or by freelance aggressors like Mr. Stack. It is what makes "us" different, and better than, "them".

I read a comment posted elsewhere that claimed that Joe might have been justified in his actions, except for the fact that "the IRS doesn't kill people over unpaid taxes". Really? If you think the IRS doesn't kill people over "unpaid taxes" I have a lot of examples I could point you to. If you are interested in correcting this misconception, you might be interested in reading "The penalty is always death." But Joe wasn't face to face with his attackers when he struck. To me, that makes a world of difference.

Reading over Joe's "manifesto" I can't honestly tell for sure if he had ever been a friend of Liberty. The enemy of my enemy is not necessarily my friend. Especially when they just don't seem to get the fact that there is no excuse for ever turning your back on the Zero Aggression Principle. I can't help but wonder; if he had been my friend, could I have gotten through to him and made him see things in a different perspective?