The suicide bombing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, reminds me of a drama that has long taken place on American soil. It has to do with crimes committed against the bourgeoisie in areas Americans euphemistically refer to as “bad neighborhoods.”
In the Tom Wolfe novel Bonfire of the Vanities, an investment banker inadvertently takes a wrong turn and finds himself fending off hoodlums who mean to do him harm. The novel tapped into public consciousness because of the general necessity in American life to stay out of harm’s way. Americans watch where they go, and when we hear of investment bankers who are beaten up in a crime-ridden urban area, the first question we ask is: what the heck was he doing there?
In a similar vein, we might ask: if US government personnel are so anxious to avoid becoming victims of terrorism, what the heck are they doing in Mecca? George W. Bush said the terrorists did what they did because “their only faith is hate.” That is not precisely true. Their faith is very likely Islam, and they don’t like the infidel hanging out in their neighborhood and variously bombing from the skies and invading. If you want peace, the surest way is to avoid conflict is by getting the heck out.
