It ain't us.

Who has the right to declare what can and can't be said?

The same ones who claim the sole right to kill.

Would you pay your taxes if you weren't afraid of going to jail?

And would you refrain from killing your enemies if you weren't scared of the consequences?

Nah. You know it. You live under the constant thorny feeling that you're under their thumb and too scared to make a move.

There's a problem here, and it couldn't be simpler to define. Couldn't be harder to solve, either:

1) They have the power.

2) You don't.

And they won't give it to you. Not on their lives. And there's very little you can do about it. You're at the wrong end of the gun barrel.

So you have two choices:

1) Obey them.

2) Kill them.

Murder is always a personal act. Often, it's a political act. Sometimes, it even manages to be a religious act.

The information has always been there. The techniques have always been in place. The controversy, really, is over who has access to the means of disposal.

Ultimately, you're the one who makes the decision. No one can tell you what to do. I wind up sounding like your mother here: If Johnny Johnson told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it? What about if he told you to become a contract killer? Would you do THAT? And if you were stupid enough to listen to him, would Johnny Johnson really be to blame?

Hit Man is a book that was published by Paladin Press from Boulder, Colorado. Paladin has issued other gems such as Be Your Own Undertaker--How to Dispose of a Dead Body; Ultimate Sniper and Guerilla's Arsenal: Advanced Techniques for Making Explosives and Time-Delay Bombs; and Contingency Cannibalism: Superhardcore Survivalism's Dirty Little Secret.

Hit Man was initially released in 1983 and sold 13,000 copies. It was written by "Rex Feral," who is actually a woman of undisclosed identity who has two children and a property-tax bill which drove her into book authorship. She was not a hit man, but the gal sure had a knack for playing make-believe.

Hit Man justifies itself by stating that we live under a corrupt, unresponsive system where the justice-seeking individual "must step outside the law and take matters into his own hands."

It lovingly describes the ideal hit man as "a special man for whom life holds no real meaning and death holds no fear...a man who faces death as a challenge and feels the victory every time he walks away the winner."

Hit Man is subtitled A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors, and it's this dispassionate description of the hit man as someone just doin' his job that is perhaps the book's creepiest element. It describes the murder scene as the "jobsite." Each contract killing is an "operation" which allows the hit man to "move up the ladder of professionalism and become accustomed to success":

The kill is the easiest part of the job. People kill one another every day. It takes no great effort to pull a trigger or plunge a knife. It is being able to do so in a manner that will not link yourself or your employer to the crime that makes you a professional....Give the employer what he has paid for: the cleanest, most efficient and professional services possible....Just remember, a satisfied customer may be your best source for future employment opportunities....You will find that most of your jobs will come as a direct result of personal recommendations from previously satisfied customers.

There's some helpful info here, to be sure, if your goal in life is to perform "efficient, quiet kills." The authoress informs us that "dynamite is nice,"
"poisons are sweet, silent and effective," and "women are highly emotional, rarely rational creatures." (TELL me about it, sister!) We are told that "quarter-inch plywood is only a little stronger than the human skull," and "if you are the only one running around in camouflage garb, you are more than likely to draw attention to yourself." And hey, if you're having trouble getting rid of the cadaver, "you can always cut the body into sections and pack it into an ice chest for transportation and disposal at various spots across the countryside." The author, however, is not a simple murderous pedant who's content to tell us how to do it her way: During an inspirational moment, she nudges us to "Let your imagination soar!"