GROUND ZER0, New York, New York--May 29, 2003-- I was scanning the papers this morning and was struck by a story of the "soccer bandit."   A blonde woman in her '40's was arrested for walking into banks wearing a long blonde wig, handing the teller a pillow case with a note saying she was a survivor of the World Trade Center attack, and ordering the bank employee to fill the pillow case with money.  The note also said she had a gun.

       Allegedly, she hit a dozen banks in affluent neighborhoods before being caught.   She was stopped for not wearing a seat belt, and the officer who ticketed her saw her picture on television, rushed to the police station, found the ticket and handed it over to the FBI who later tracked her down and arrested her.
       The accused bank robber, 43-year-old Pamela Kaichen, apparently was a volunteer after the World Trade Center attack.   She was also moody and distant according to her mother.   A horse trainer and expert rider, she helped people buy horses.   According to those who knew her, she was in financial problems after a series of failed business attempts, but was generally regarded as a "nice person."
       Her mother stated, according to an article in the New York Times today:  "She tried to be strong, but I don't think she was.  She might also have imagined she lost someone (in the Nine Eleven attack.)  I know she didn't, but maybe she thought she did."
       People who know the accused bank robber call her an enigma.   They can't connect the dots between her criminal and personal actions.    The landlady who rented her a room in her house said she "trusted her," and the alleged bank robber brought her numerous gifts.

       There are a number of books out with titles:  "Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People," and perhaps one yet to be written that should be titled:  "Why Do Good People Do Bad Things?"
       Perhaps there is a simple answer that stems from the bowels of Ground Zero.
       It was just a year ago that my wife and I climbed down into the inner perimeter of the graveyard of the World Trade Center.   It was like walking in a grave, a giant one.   You knew your feet were walking on the remains of thousands of souls.
       I was at the World Trade Center that sunny day of September 11, 2001, and witnessed the horror of people leaping from buildings, the ensuing crash of the structures, the madness of people rushing to save themselves, and the horrific aftermath of quiet death as the Beast of Terror rose up from the innards of the earth, growling, hissing, casting out venoms of Fear, Intimidation and Complacency that still thunder through the world.
       On that day, a number of people snapped.
       Some for the good.   Others for the bad.
       In my own case, September 11, 2001, was a wake-up call.   The events startled me into recognizing the Beast of Terror was loose again, or, perhaps had never been corralled.   I had personally become Complacent after Vietnam and the nearly 100 combat operations that made me witness to uncountable number of death and destruction.   Perhaps in my own way, I wanted to think that the Beast of Terror was not within arm's reach, that his fangs and claws were dead and buried.

        But, as I watched the smoke rising and felt the pall of death filter through the air, gagging those of us who thought we were dead following the collapse of the buildings, I saw the Sentinels of Vigilance rise out of the holocaust.  They formed a great ring around Ground Zero, locking arms, creating a Circle of Vigilance and vowing to keep their eyes and ears focused on the presence of the Beast of Terror.
       I made a vow also that day, to eviscerate the Beast of Terror, to carve open his guts so that all could see his ugliness, recognize his beastiality, and thwart his intrusion into as many lives as possible including my own at both emotional and physical levels.

       In the New Yorker, May 26 edition, under the section Letter From India, Larissa MacFarquhar, spells out a horrible story about a man named Bal Thackeray from India who is a fan of Adolph Hitler and uses hate to create violence against Muslims in India.  He accumulates power through violence, using the Beast of Terror to thicken his control over people who seek to be enflamed.
       Like the blonde bank robber, Bal Thackeray feeds on the underbelly of the Beast.
       I thought about the relationships between Terror and acts of violence.
       Here in New York City, in the body of a middle-aged woman, rages a Beast of Terror.  It criminalizes her mind.  It forces her rob banks.
       Thousands of miles away, in India, a man rises to power behind violence.  He promotes it as a tool to bolster his own agenda in life.
       All of this simply means to me that we become what we think about and then are willing to act upon.
       Our "soccer mom" bank robber fed herself the idea she was a victim, and tried to use criminal or Terror Power to achieve compensation.  In India, Bal Thackeray uses violence in others to stir up political power for himself--all at the expense of others.   He feeds on the food of hate, espoused by Hitler's Mein Kamp.
      I got an email from my sister the other day that sums it all up, I believe.  It is a parable about an Indian giving advice.  Here's how it goes.

        I think the bottom line of Terrorism is that it thrives when you feed it.   The soccer mom bandit became a "victim" of life.  She let the Beast of Terror grip her, ravage her.  She fed into the bile of his words.

       In India, Bal Thackeray feeds on the principle of violence and hate to promote power.
       What is the solution?
       I believe it is Vigilance.   Where Fear exists, one must force Courage to take over.   Where Intimidation thrives, one must muscle up Conviction to break free.  And, where Complacency grows, Right Actions in behalf of the Children's Children's Children must take command of one's actions.
        I believe if the soccer mom had taken the Pledge of Vigilance, she wouldn't have robbed anyone.   Instead, she fed herself the fuel of the Beast.
       In India, the Beast may be feeding the people.
       If you haven't taken the Pledge of Vigilance, consider it the food of Good over Bad.   If you are Complacent about taking it, remember, the Beast of Terror will feed you if you don't feed yourself.

May 28--James Brown On America:  "Love It Or Leave It!"

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