So we have a smug trio of misguided privileged white guys, starting with a drink and drug induced college prank, acting out mother rage against another peoples sacred places of gathering – the boldness of their aggression growing in scope and repetition as the awesome power of the destructive act is realized. Unchecked they continue to manifest explicit hatred of people of lesser means and people of color with tactics that include violent destruction of property directed to induce fear and in order to disrupt, intimidate and destroy peoples’ lives. As the scheme unfolds they pretend to their associates that nothing is wrong while covering their traces with still more diversionary acts of violence intended to throw off their critics.

What’s the difference between what is happened in Alabama and what is going on in Arabia at the hands of Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney?

Answer 1: The young men in Alabama, when caught, have admitted wrongdoing.

Answer 2: The young men in Alabama did not rig their acceptance to the college where they met.

Answer 3: Nor were they abetted in their act by the US Congress.

Answer 4: They did not profit financially from investing in the gas to start the fires.

Answer 5: Nor the construction contracts to rebuild the burned churches.

Answer 6: They were not draft dodgers, nor AWOL from the National Guard at any time.

Answer 7: They didn’t use anybody else to enact their violence and stupidity. Nobody died.

Answer 8: The spree in Alabama lasted only a few months.

David Stocker is a teacher and writer in the Midwest.