Last night I was busing it around town, musing at the eight different security posters and three different security announcements over the audio system. This caused me to think about the extra scrutiny of pedestrians cops have been practicing in my area and the announcement in the movie theater to look around for suspicious people before relaxing for the show. Vigilance is a word that is often evoked in the announcements. Now, I have known thousands of people, hundreds of them being combat athletes. But I can only recall two who I would consider vigilant in any way, and one of those was clearly insane. I suspect that this is not a real effort to make us vigilant but to condition us to accept the vigilant examination of our daily life, and I think it is working.

I do not have the stomach for American domestic news: the politicking is organized lying and the celebrity news is vapid spelled with D-Cups. If you can make voluptuous women a boring subject for me, then you have achieved a state of social apathy. I do view foreign news channels to get an idea of what is happening in other nations, Like Syrian rebels chopping off heads and eating enemy hearts!

Recently a bit of news about some disloyal American geek with snow in his last name [I do not want to get clogged in some Federale filter over this article. I’m not even being paid.] has gotten all over the BBC and Russian TV. I did see a couple of U.S. news casts and polls about it when marooned at a relative’s house. My impression was that all of the talking heads have just picked sides and are only using the subject to continue their perennial debates. I did note that the two polls I saw had over 50% of Americans fine with the Federales gathering any and all intelligence on all of us so long as it was done for our protection.

After considering what Patrick Henry once said about Liberty being a good worth paying the price of death for, I began to wonder. Then, I recalled that 99% of martial artists [all ostensibly fighters] are terrified of physical contact, and that every person that I know is terrified over the possibility of walking more than two blocks. I suspect that the 300 million strong heard of American herbivores have exactly the masters that they have begged for. My opinions here are well-known to my readers so instead of spewing more of my crackpotology I decided to seek out the opinions of some Harm City dwellers, ordinary post-modern souls.

My method was to approach a random mix of people who I regularly have contact with through work [customers and employees with salaries ranging from 10 to 100K] in a food market, which is about as broad-based an informal sample as you get in a given area. I asked them if they were familiar with the case. If they were not aware of the controversy I briefly explained the particulars known to me. You may best judge how well I did here by noting the answers of those who I had to so inform. The first set of answers is from people who did not know about this viral bit of news. The second set is from previously informed people.

Note: Few of these people would speak on this subject until I promised repeatedly not to name them. We settled on street names and middle names. Five of those interviewed expressed real fear of being named, even by just their first name.

Bubba, 19 [His actual middle name!]

“He’s trying too hard for something that either way won’t get changed.”

Steevo, 29

“Stow ‘im in Guantanamo. If it’s true fuck ‘im.”

Lee, 31

“I don’t see him as a traitor. He told the American People something. He’s telling us what the Government is doing. It is not a betrayal but an exposure of a betrayal.”

Thomas [T-Dawg], 22

“Don’t call me by my slave name!

“To me he’s just a guy who blew a whistle on something that ninety-five percent of us already knew was going on. He’s no hero to me. What the Government does is none of our business. If you want to change the Government, join the Government. If you were in the Government you would want to know what everybody is doing all the time. Ain’t no big homo serial killer got my ass yet, so I’m cool with it. Congratulations snitch, you just confirmed what we believed anyhow! That’s America—deal with it bitch! If you don’t like it get the fuck out and go to some piss poor country where they hate Americans—have fun with that asshole.”

Daisy, 35

“I wish him the best of luck. He’s looking to get in real trouble—they killed that California reporter that was investigating the FBI.”

Ann, 70

“What is he stupid? He had a nice job with benefits and now he is on the run!”

Marlene, 54

“Why did he go to Hong Kong? What do you think?”

[I’m asking the questions here lady!]

“Is it really espionage to tell us they are tapping phones? That is brave to give up the job. But it is not brave to run. He is definitely going to end up dead somewhere. The FBI killed that one reporter just recently—please don’t use my real name!”

Ali, 57

“Do not use my name—I don’t want to die. In my country they kill you for talking, or put you up in the prison on the mountaintop to die. No light—just darkness. Even if you escape you starve to death on the mountain. In my country if a man knows people and he doesn’t like you, you disappear. He’s [the Articulate Snowman] a man of his word, I think; free to say and free to go anywhere. That is what I believe. Please do not use my name. In my country everybody is named Ali. Use that name.”

Big Chev, 43

“You have to be oblivious not to know who this idiot is! A traitor, and personally I think he is a pussy, a coward—blabbing away and then skipping town! Nail his nuts to the ground and set him on fire!”

Let’s nominate Big Chev for President.

Streets, 21

“Shit, what you expect! It the Govoment—dey job is spyin’ on our asses! Dat dummy gave up two hundred grand a year to tell us what we already know! How stupid can one nigga be?! [Looks to heaven and holds up hands] Yo Govoment, I got yo back! I ain’t no snitch. Shit, I’m jus’ sayin’ [looks to heaven] in case you listenin’ in Govoment that I graduated from high school. I could use a good-payin’ job!”

Joe, 57

“I don’t know what to think. On one hand he is heroic letting us know the Government is spying on us. On the other hand it is none of our business what the Government does to protect us. We want one hundred percent protection so that means no privacy. We don’t want another Nine-eleven. Now, if it turns out he sold information—hang him for a traitor.”

Lee, 54

“He seems intelligent. But there is such a lack of details I am on the fence about the [three-letter acronym for the security agency that was ratted out by the fugitive]. Now if Putin has him, there is no way he’s giving him up except as a bargaining chip. At least he is a man with some conviction and balls. Why go to prison when you are just going to get raped?”

This last comment reminded me of a stat from 2008 that I read in an old article titled Hatefacts on Takimag. I do remember some of the talking heads saying that if the whistle blower was really a patriot he would turn himself in and abide in the wonderful U.S. prison system. I thought I would put the following fact to the interviewees that I could contact again.

According to the U.S. Department of justice, 216,000 men were raped in U.S. prisons in 2008. What do you think of that in light of the possible incarceration of this alleged traitor?

Lee, 54

“Wow! Like I said, why go to prison.”

Joe, 57

“I’m certain rape is used as a control mechanism in prison.”

Steevo, 29

“Fuck that! I’ll pack razor blades up my ass!”

Big Chev, 43

“That’s a lot of buttercups. [weak gay males]”

Daisy, 35

“Really? Wow. I understand how it feels. I was raped, my sisters were raped…my daughter was raped. Sorry it happened, but therapy does help. Talk about it.” [With Big Chev as your therapist I suppose.]

Marlene, 54

“That’s really disgusting. That should not happen—unless he is a rapist or a child molester—then have at it!”

Ali, 57

“Really, the prison system in any country is messed up—really bad.”

Lee, 31

“That is uncalled for to happen to anybody. That would be particularly horrible if it happened to a guy who was betraying his government for his people, who were betrayed by their government.”

I do not want to just conjure up criminal stereotypes in the process of invoking an American traitor’s possible cellmates. Let me use a couple of friends of mine who were also criminals I interviewed for The Violence Project.

Who, Mister Traitor, or Mister Hero, or Mister Fool, whoever you may become known as, if you had your choice, would you rather bunk with: Chico Diablo de La Raza! [He’s just a little guy but can make a knife out of nearly anything.]...or ‘Big’ Earl ‘Bro Train’ Johnson?

This is America after all, so have it your way.