Zynski’s Manifesto
Janet Kuypers
4/3/19, written the calendar day
Ted Kaczynski was arrested in 1996
As a journalist, and as a woman
who wanted to share the news
with her literary compatriots,
it seemed fitting to include the
Unabomber Manifesto in the —
get this — electronic version
of my literary magazine. How is
that not a stab in the back for
the man who hated technology.
As a writer, I try to get the
word out to as many people
as I can, so sure, I chose to
sell my soul and succumb
to the World Wide Web
as a means to an end, and
although the expanded
audience is great, you do
lose humanity in interactions
with people on the other
side of the planet you’ll
probably never meet.
By the way, the only reason
I ever got a “smart” phone
was after a move across
the country and looking
for a home when I’m alone.
So, I suppose I’m a luddite
at heart, and I can
totally comprehend
how, when I sometimes
want my space, how too
many people can be
too much of a problem.
If I wanted to be left alone,
if I was trying to shock
the system and I was trying
to keep my space, sure,
I’d remain unkempt. Even
Albert Einstein didn’t worry
about his looks or getting
out of his pajamas, when
he was writing his manifesto.
Now, I still even wear my
“Vegetarian Planet” hoodie
sweatshirt and call myself
the vegetarian Unabomber.
But I lack the sunglasses
from those police sketches
of him... and I suppose
I also lack the bombs.
Unless it’s the bombs
in what I write. If only
people would read my
words. If only people
would react, respond.
I wonder if he knew
what I am only beginning
to understand. That
sometimes words
are not enough.
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