ATTENTION TERRORISTS
By Jason D. Grose


What a bunch of idiots!! I do not mean to tell you how to do your business and I surly do not encourage your actions, but for what it was, your morons really pegged the imbecile meter.

OK, you hate us. I do not understand it and do not want to. In your warped reality, you think that killing our innocent people is retribution for the heinous affront we dare to flaunt: our mere existence. Fine, that was your problem and not ours.

But you stupid nitwits. You did the worst thing you could have done: you got greedy with your death wishes. Terrorism, as a means to an end, is only effective if it continues in small doses. You have bombed our ships, hit our embassies, and kidnapped some of our citizens. Because of the distasteful political environment we hamstring ourselves with, we were not willing to go to full-scale war and spin up our powerful war machine for a few, albeit horrible, acts. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few so we complained and gnashed our teeth as you continued your reign or terror. And you could have continued for a long time and likely caused a cumulative higher amount of damage that what you did on September 11th.

But now... you raving animals ... you damned your cause. You made such a spectacle that even if we did not want to go after you, we would have no choice. If only to discourage future attacks, we would have to make an example of you. But that is a moot point because we are coming with extreme prejudice. We cannot, will not, let this act go unpunished. You wanted our attention? You got it and now you will reap it.

You hit New York. Of all places, New freakin' York!! Do you not know what New Yorkers are like? They give beatin's of the week for just looking at them wrong. They are a surly group who are prone to erupting for no apparent reason. And you bomb their most visible symbol of their New Yorkism? The rest of us might not even have to get involved or might only serve to hold them back after the carnage of their rage.

Do you not know who our president is? He is from Texas where their state motto is "Don't Mess With Texas." Second only to New Yorkers, they are a group you really want to steer clear of. They ride agitated bulls just for the fun. They eat pure fire in the form of chili and complain if it does not remove layers of skin from their mouths. They execute more people than any other of our states and those are our own people who go horribly astray. How would you guess they feel about foreigners who perform evil deeds of higher orders of magnitude?

Oh, and by the way, this president is also the son of another president who just happened to kick the snot out of the 2nd biggest army on the planet a decade ago in less than 100 hours. I think he might have passed down some advice to junior and I would imagine that sonny can get more advice at any time.

Did I mention our Secretary of State? He happens to be the Army General who cut his teeth in Vietnam, grew up a black man in a white man's army, rose to the highest position a soldier can, and orchestrated the aforementioned butt-whipping 10 years ago. As a side note: you killed many of his close friends when you bombed the Pentagon.

These are just some of the "high viz" characters you have set the stage for. Behind them are everyday Americans, kind in spirit but outraged by your deed. By bringing out the worst in yourselves, you have brought out the best in us. Everyday people are ready to fight. It will take all of our leadership to hold them back and we will do so for only as long as it takes to choose a path. And then...

I outlined people separately to give you an idea of whom you enraged. Fear New Yorkers. Tremble at the thought of angry Texans. But your very soul should shudder at the thought of a radically unified and frothing mad America. Look at what we call ourselves: the United States of America. Turn on CNN and look at how many American flags you see. We are truly united and guess where that magnifying glass of power is about to be focused.

As brave as you claim to be, as important it is to you to please your maker by your suffering by "heathen" hands, and as much joy in gives you to see us writhe in pain, there is a part inside you, under the layers of bravado, that fears what you have unleashed. Make no mistake, we will come. We will find you, and we will rip that portion of fear inside you wide open. Do not tell me that you are immune from that fear: we know it is there and under the blanket of hurt and rage you have covered us with, we feel a tinge of sorrow. For we know what we can do. What we are willing to do. We know what we are justified in doing. Soon, you will know too.