Bothersome News Items

There are a couple of stories in the news lately which are seemingly unrelated but intriguing.

The first story is about a guy who calls himself Clark Rockefeller, and after being in the news for 10 days, no one can figure out who he really is. Rockefeller became news because he allegedly kidnapped his own 7 year old daughter in Boston and sparked an "Amber alert" last week. He was captured in Baltimore a few days ago.

The most intriguing thing about him is the fact that he has managed to maintain a level of anonymity that I would have believed to be impossible in this information intensive society. No drivers license, no social security number, no job, no past.

He "forgets" what happened before 1992, but does not claim clinical amnesia. How do you do that? I know what many of you are thinking: "Lets waterboard the bastard and find out what he knows." Maybe Keifer Sutherland should "interrogate" him? A bullet in the kneecap would undoubtedly bring back a few pertinent memories. Detectives in LA have declared him a person of interest with a potential link to a col murder case in California. Others think he might be the mysterious German Exchange student who dropped oout of sight in Connecticut. Undoubtedly, he will eventually be linked to the Jonbenet Ramsay case. And before long the media circus tent will be both large and noisy.
He has steadfastly refused to provide any explanation about his past or where his money comes from. Reportedly he uses gold coins to fund his activities. (Doesn't that attract attention?)

So far, none of the people in charge can figure out who he is. He says that he cannot remember his past further back than his marriage in 1992. As the SNL church lady would say, "How convenient."

I find it incredible that someone can exist among us without the government's (nor the media's) ability to trace their whereabouts or activities. If he can do it, so can crooks, rapists and terrorists. I find this a bit disturbing.

In the old TV series "The Fugitive" Dr. Kimball was able to exist on the fringes of society, keeping a low profile supporting himself by taking menial jobs. But this guy Rockefeller was no shrinking violet - a Director at the exclusive Algonquin club in Boston, reportedly participated in local theater productions. Yet there are few pictures of him that have come to light. Judging from the newspapers Even his wife could only produce one photo. until the mug shot was released.


The second story is about the Anthrax researcher. The Government lays out the case against Anthrax researcher Dr. Bruce Ivins. They say he (conveniently) committed suicide as the prosecutors were closing-in. Others are questioning whether the feds were targeting the right guy this time After the government's ongoing series of fuck-ups and cover ups, we remain confused, bothered and bewildered by the conflicting stories and our basic distrust of our own security agencies.

I think the bothersome thread of these news items is that the stories remind us of the fragility of our sense of order and safety. If this guy Rockefeller can move untraced in our society, so can a lot of other bad guys. The Anthrax case is equally disturbing not only because of the helplessness we feel to biological attack, but also that it took so long to come up with mainly circumstantial evidence. I'm as much a proponent of the ideals of liberty, right to privacy, etc. as the next guy, but there are some adult realities that need to be acknowledged.

A very small number of individuals can disrupt society in a dramatic way.
witness how a few flat tires and fender benders on the city highways can tie-up traffic for hours. One bad accident on route 95 can ruin the day for thousands of people. Back in September 2001, nineteen bad guys were responsible for over 3000 deaths and the inconvenience to a minimum of 2 million people every day - everyone who has passed through any US airport - since Sept 11. How about the two Washington D.C. area snipers who paralyzed the whole region for weeks, randomly shooting people while they refueled their cars or emerged from grocery stores?

These incidents illustrate how a few malevolent actors can bring mass chaos in a free society. The irony is that each such act tends to make us choose safety over liberty. The citizens of an open society deserve both security and freedom.

The essential problem is that we do not know where to turn for the Truth. Despite all the information that is available to us, we still cannot discern the truth because we cannot trust the source. The traditional source for truth has been scientists and journalists. But not anymore. We don't trust these purveyors of facts these days, unless they are on our philosophical/political wavelength.

The bothersome Reality of modern society: Facts are what you/I agree on. Truth exists in the mind of the beholder.