Class War Starts Here
This is what the cops were looking at, craning their necks up. Spraypainted artfully across the white brick side of an ale house:
Class War Starts Here
Beneath, in the same black and silver border colors of the aforementioned phrase, was an arrow pointing down.
“Is something supposed to be under that arrow?” Cop number one asks.
“I dunno. Maybe someone came around the corner and they ran, didn’t finish it.”
They both considered this. Another man walks up; they glance at him, nod. “Detective,” Cop number one said. He didn’t have to flash his badge. He was Detective Peronsky, Thought Crime Division.
Cop number two wanted to be promoted to Detective, so he always tried to show off his investigative skills when an actual detective showed up to take over the scene. Cop number two: “We was wondering about the arrow – either something was supposed to be lying under it, or the criminal tagger ran off before the thing was finished.”
Peronsky shook his head. “No, the arrow means you, the viewer.”
The cops furrowed their brows.
Peronsky: “The class war starts with you, watching the phrase now. The revolution starts with you, the little man. Etc.”
Cop number one: “I don’t get it.”
Peronsky: “It’s a thought crime, inciting revolution. A thought bomb, meant to upset the established order.”
Cop number two spat: “Fuckin’ mental insurgents.”
“You got that right.” Peronsky said. He spat in agreement, and Cop number one trioed the assent.
“They’re all over the fuckin’ city this morning. The same message. ‘Class War Starts Here’. With a fuckin’ arrow pointing down.”
Cop number one got out his truncheon and slapped it across his palm. “Let’s go beat some hippie heads.”
“Nah,” Peronsky said. He turned and motioned up to the street light cams. “They immobilized the cams and we got no footage. We can stake out the same vandalism victims but they’re probably not dumb enough to hit the same two spots twice.”
Cop number two: “You assigning intel to these yahoos?”
Peronsky grimaced. “Yahoos don’t build thought bombs. All mental terrorists have intel.”
Cop number one tapped a finger to his nose. “Intel is the enemy.”
Peronsky: “You got that fucking right.”
This was September 8th, 2009. The era of Java Joe had begun.
