Diane Di Prima

 

Revolutionary Letter 80

subtitled “GOOD CLEAN FUN”:

What happened to the Hampton family in Chicago—

Fred Hampton blown away in his bed—

would you call that terrorism? Or the move kids in

Philadelphia

bombed in their home. Or all the stories we don’t know

buried in throats stuffed w/ socks, or pierced w/ bullets.

Wd you call it terrorism, what happened at Wounded Knee

or the Drug Wars picking off

the youth of our cities—as they already picked off

twenty years ago—or terrified into silence—the ones who shd

be leading us now—

you know the names.

What was COINTELPRO if not terrorism? What new initials

are they calling it today?