The Bleat ruminates about John Walker, the American-turned-Taliban, and the media coverage given him.
After noting the following,
Imagine if he’d popped up in Idaho in a compound with a shaved head gripping a shotgun on behalf of a pure Christian state. I don’t think we’d be spending a lot of time wondering about his spiritual journey, since it would be quite clear: troubled boy fell in with God-bothering brutes who presented him with a simple worldview, one that explained everything from the roots of evil to why he didn’t get a bike on his eleventh birthday.
He goes on to do one of those “compare and contrast” riffs that should be making some folks uncomfortable.
I bring this all up just for comparison’s sake:
1. Johnny Spann, the CIA agent who was killed – where was he from?
2. What book changed his life?
3. What sort of world did he want to bring about?
4. How does his family remember him? What were his personal spiritual beliefs?
I listen to the news 24/7, read the wires constantly. I’m sure there’s just as much info out there on Spann as on Walker. I must have just missed it. Sure, that’s it. I missed it. I’d hate to think that the story of Johnny Taliban was more interesting to news editors than the story of Johnny Spann.
Now, it’s possible that the CIA hasn’t released that much info about Mr. Spann. But, somehow, I doubt it.