Silflay Hraka

Let it Burn, Let it Burn...

Insty notes that today is the 20th Anniversary of the MOVE bombing, when the Philly P.D. dropped a massive tear gas or incendiary grenade into a rowhouse fortified by squatter/separatist/Rasta Stalinists MOVE, igniting the house and 60 surrounding rowhouses. That building was unoccupied and while some automatic weapons were found there, the suspected cache was never recovered. The fire spread partly due to the extensive stock of high explosive and ammunition in the surrounding houses, tunnels that had been dug between some of the houses (rowhouses are like a solid block of townhouses, for my suburban friends) which encouraged the rapid spread of the fire. One of cops on the scene, Chief Sambor, said "Let it burn," which later became a great song lyric for the excellent but short-lived band Sublime.

It was a pretty weird event, to be sure. The revolutionaries had it coming - they were low rent scum, violent luddite Marxist terrorist rhetoric aside, and 24 hour loudspeaker harrangues of their neighborhood notwithstanding. But the cops were wayyy out of line, too, and some of the MOVE members, including a couple kids, died in the fire, which is pretty much how the MOVE membership had designed it to happen for political reasons. (They had apparently hoped for a conventional raid, but hey, any route to martyrdom and political advantage will do, right?)

So how do we commemmorate an event like this? Hard to say. Maybe I'll eat a cheesesteak for lunch. On the one hand, it'll be tasty and satisfying on the surface. On the other hand, it'll leave a greasy, nasty aftertaste in my mouth for a good long time, and given my too-large waistline, I'll wonder whether it was all worth it. That seems fitting.

And while we're on the subject of Philadelphia... Fry Mumia!

Or is that supposed to be "Free Mumia"? I can never keep it straight.