The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

The independent student news site of San Diego Mesa College.

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The Mesa Press

The Mesa Press

The Anti-Iron Man

With $40,000 gone, ten years wasted and retirement savings at zero, Joseph Stack refused to be passive and decided to take control of his life by flying his plane into an IRS building in Austin, Texas.

Currently there is little financial freedom in the U.S. and Stack’s desperation resulted in an attack on the IRS. Although the attack was radical, the past years of the government’s disregard to use taxpayer’s money appropriately should be addressed. Stack is a good guy who has done a bad thing.

Joseph Stack, a computer engineer, considered his life a lie since age 18. In his 3,000-word suicide note, written before bombing the IRS Office, Stack rambled about his struggles with the IRS.

Stack wrote about his realization that the American ideology is a complete fabrication. Stacks had enough of the IRS, which he called “Mr. Big Brother IRS Man,” so he flew his two-seater plane into Austin’s IRS Building. Stack alluded to Shakespeare in the last lines of his letter telling the IRS to “take my pound of flesh and sleep well.”

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There were two people taken to the hospital, one being Stack and the other an IRS employee. A total of 13 were injured and one side of the IRS Building was left dismantled.

Stack identifies as a tragic, anti-hero. He is tragic for not seeing the failures of his means and is an anti-hero for doing ‘good’ in all the wrong ways.

It’s not only the federal government that makes it hard for taxpayers; there is also the local government. It wasn’t a long time ago since San Diego City Council voted to give themselves bonuses on their salaries in a depleted bankroll.

Stack was right about the IRS being greedy but they are not Big Brother. They are the Monopoly Man that is dominating all the Avenues and collecting everyone’s $200.

Maybe it is time to ask the country to do something for its citizens. The government seems to be taking advantage of the stay-at-home mom attitude that taxpayers have all inherited in the U.S. The people will always clean the spilled milk that the government continually dumps on the floor.

But who can blame a desperate man when the country’s historical declarations for independence have turned into a single declaration of dependence. The U.S. is so appeased with having freedom of speech that they are blinded by the fact there is no financial freedom in this country.

Joseph Stack is an attempted murderer, a man that has mentally cracked and a radical that has gone beyond the extreme. Stacks should have sought help for both his mental and financial health before taking matters into his own hands.

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About the Contributor
Andrew Fergin, Editor in Chief
Co-Editor in chief for The Mesa Press  (alongside Gisela Lagos), Andrew Fergin is working on a degree in journalism.  Having enjoyed writing for most of his life, The Mesa Press gives Andrew an outlet for his creative energy.  Though he favors writing reviews and opinion articles because they give him the most freedom to be witty, Andrew has written a broad range of articles including news reports, sports articles, and staff editorials.
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