More Than Enough Attention
Eugene Vaters Colegiate
St. John's, Newfoundland

By Allison (grade 12)

On April 3, 1996, the longest and most expensive FBI investigation in history came to a halt. After 18 years and 50 million dollars, the FBI finally apprehended Theodore John Kaczynski, better known as the suspected Unabomber. Years of mysterious letters and packages containing bombs finally led the FBI to the outskirts of Lincoln, Montana.

The Unabomber, a self-taught machinist, had sent letters and bombs to the unsuspecting populace - his reasoning, a hatred towards technology and a dream to live in harmony with nature. Perhaps the most famous terrorist in history, the Unabomber received exactly what he wanted, attention. Kaczynski sent various small bombs disguised as innocent packages to people, killing three and wounding many others. By the time the Unabomber had brought his death total to three, he had all the attention that he needed, for a while. The Unabomber was then quiet for some time, until mysterious letters arrived at the New York Times and the Washington Post. In his "Manifesto" he proposed a sort of industrial revolution, not for, but against the advancement of technology. The Unabomber didn't agree with the existing ways of society and wanted change. This was a view that he saw as correct and demanded publication of his work in both major papers. For 18 years, the Unabomber played games of cat and mouse with the FBI and, for all that time, they had no idea who he was or where they could find him.

This person strongly believed in what he felt was right and he pursued that for 18 years, with the FBI left in bewilderment the whole time. He had a dream to live in harmony with nature and he had a goal for society to live that way. The Unabomber needed to get the people's attention and he did that in the best way he knew how.