This podcast is a presentation of The Meow Library.
Luigi Mangione, The Unabomber, and Literary Radicalization - MEOW Literary Podcast Episode 37
"The mind of the cat is the essence of terror."
-- Hasan-i Sabbah (c. 1050-1124), founder of the Order of Assassins
Alleged United Healthcare shooter Luigi Mangione's Goodreads account has recently been made public, bringing to light a disturbing reading history that includes the works of many controversial authors, most notable of whom is Ted Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber. Luigi left a five-star review on Kaczynski's "Unabomber Manifesto," which included the following paragraph:
When all other forms of communication fail, violence is necessary to survive. You may not like his methods, but to see things from his perspective, it's not terrorism, it's war and revolution. Fossil fuel companies actively suppress anything that stands in their way and within a generation or two, it will begin costing human lives by greater and greater magnitudes until the earth is just a flaming ball orbiting third from the sun. Peaceful protest is outright ignored, economic protest isn't possible in the current system, so how long until we recognize that violence against those who lead us to such destruction is justified as self-defense.
While the free availability of such works is the cornerstone of an open society, we at The Meow Library are disturbed to have come across The Unabomber Manifesto (For Your Cat), a feline-language translation of Kacyznski's seminal work, which ominously promises to “…[arm] housecats with the revolutionary knowledge required to transcend their shameful domestication and make the world a better place — by any means necessary.” Haunting echoes of Mangione’s words permeate the back flap, and the book’s contents are even more concerning. In the interest of open discourse, this week’s podcast offers a 28-minute audio sample of this book. We hope your cat, unlike some humans, can absorb Kaczynski’s insights without acting on them. And if they do choose to act on them, may God help us all.
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