Attacking the tax collectors

18 February 2010

Taxmen and women are not popular. They are not despised for their attributed personal failures associated with a certain profession, such as corrupt politicians and avaricious bankers, but for their function, which is taking away money for the state. Most of us don’t like to pay taxes, even though we know that they are needed. Tax men and women may be perfectly decent and sociable people. Even accepting the existence of taxes and integerity of the collectors, many of us still feel we’re unfairly treated. It’s not that we’re against taxes per se, but we don’t like to pay the unfair taxes imposed on us and not on other groups in society.

It is unclear what led to a man to crash into the IRS building in Texas, from air. There will be reviews about security, and how he managed to ram the aircraft into the building. Was this a suicidal attempt to make a protest against taxes? Or revenge? What was he trying to achieve, other than destruction and causing death?

This is an inexplicable story, but more details will emerge, and perhaps we may be able to learn something from it.