IRS Crasher Hero or Zero?
Looking back at the horrific events of that fateful Thursday morning February 18, Americans are divided over what to think of Joseph Stack, the angry man who flew his single engine Piper Cherokee airplane into the side of the 7 storey IRS building in Austin, Texas killing one man other than himself and injuring scores of others. Some see him as a hero, others as a washed up coward and anything in between.
Stack’s daughter, Samantha Bell said on ABC’s ‘Good Morning, America’ while she viewed her father’s actions as ‘inappropriate’, she nevertheless thought of him as a hero because ‘now maybe people will listen’. A survey of several Facebook groups Wednesday found many who looked at Stack with scorn or sympathy, some calling him a terrorist while others, a hero. But what if Joseph Stack was a middle-Eastern man with a mustache and beard dressed in a robe and skullcap and prays to Allah five times a day and not a white Caucasian American citizen? And what if his name was So-and-so Ben So-and-so?
Would more Americans consider him a terrorist then?
Are people now listening to the message of Al Qaeda because of what they did on September 11, 2001? Are people now listening to the message of Timothy McVeigh the Oklahoma City bomber because of what he did on April 19, 1995? Do Americans consider these people heroes? Do heroes destroy the lives of innocent people while on a personal vendetta?
To some people, what Joseph Stack did was considered different from other acts of terrorism because he was a white Caucasian American and because his suicide note contained points they agreed with. Even the media has largely avoided branding Stack a terrorist. But Joseph Stack was a man who committed an act of terror. And a terrorist is a person who commits acts of terror. Just because Stack may not have been committing acts of terror as a lifestyle does not make him less a terrorist at the time of the act.
The fact is that Joseph Stack had an issue with the American government, in particular the IRS. Likewise, the Al Qaeda terrorists did as well. The dictionary’s definition of terrorism has always been the same regardless of what the issues are and who committed the act. We should call a spade a spade.
Darrin T. Mish is a veteran, nationally recognized tax attorney who has focused on providing IRS help to taxpayers for over a decade. He regularly travels the country training other attorneys, CPAs and enrolled agents on how to handle their toughest cases with the IRS. He is highly ranked among the top attorneys in the country, with an AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell and a perfect 10 on Avvo.com. Martindale-Hubbell has also honored him with a listing in their Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers. He is a member of the American Society of IRS Problem Solvers and the Tax Freedom Institute. With clients on every continent but Antarctica, he has what it takes to solve your IRS problems no matter where you live in the world. If you would like more information about his practice and how he can help you, please call his office at (813) 229-7100 or toll free at 1-888-GET-MISH.
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