Pimple pills, not fanatic ideas, blamed for suicide pilot

By Michael Medved

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Can pimple pills magically transform a teen-aged honor student into a suicidal al-Qaida terrorist?

A new lawsuit in Hillsborough County, Fla., insists that they can, as a grieving mother blames a drug company for her teen-aged son’s deadly mission as a self-professed backer of Osama bin Laden. Instead of citing Islamic fanaticism, or her own deficient child rearing, Julie Bishop points an accusing finger at the popular acne remedy, Accutane.

On Jan. 5, 15-year-old Charles Bishop stole a plane from the airfield where he’d been taking flying lessons and deliberately crashed it into one of the tallest skyscrapers in Tampa – a structure that sustained relatively minor damage because of the small size of the aircraft. Three months later, his mother filed suit for $70 million against Hoffman-LaRoche Inc., the makers of Accutane, claiming the prescription medication caused psychosis that led to her child’s death. In a public statement, Ms. Bishop declared, “The side effects of Accutane are not worth it.” Actually, if she succeeds in collecting all – or part – of the $70 million payoff she seeks, some observers might disagree with her assessment.

Unfortunately for Ms. Bishop’s cause, her son left behind a suicide note allowing little doubt as to his true motivations. Though nervous authorities took weeks before releasing the text of his flamboyant farewell, his words make clear his own self-image as part of an ongoing jihad against America.

“I have prepared this statement in regards to the acts I am about to commit,” the teen-aged suicide pilot declared in his hand-written statement. “First of all, Osama bin Laden is absolutely justified in the terror he has caused on 9-11. He has brought a mighty nation to its knees! God blesses him and the others who helped make Sept. 11 happen.”

Described by his teachers as a bright, quiet, but intensely opinionated boy, the young Mr. Bishop went on to provide a global context for his act of personal destruction. “The U.S. will have to face the consequences of its horrific actions against the Palestinian people and Iraqis by its allegiance with the monstrous Israelis – who want nothing short of world domination!

“You will pay – God help you – and I will make you pay!

“There will be more coming! Al-Qaida and other organizations have met with me several times to discuss the option of me joining. I didn’t.

“This is an operation done by me only. I had no other help, although, I am acting on their behalf.”

The FBI doubts Bishop’s claim that he met “Al-Qaida and other organizations,” but in light of the impassioned political content of his last letter, it’s hard to justify press attempts to downplay the boy’s America hatred. It’s even more difficult to excuse the total refusal to come to terms with his Arab heritage. The original family name was Bishara – changed by Charles’ mother to “Bishop” in order to avoid anti-Arab prejudice following the Gulf War. The dead boy’s father, a Syrian national, abandoned the family several years ago and reportedly returned to his homeland. Teachers and classmates reported that young Charles felt a keen, personal identification with the Arab cause.

Nevertheless, in a lengthy article about the lawsuit over Bishop’s death, the New York Times never mentions his Middle Eastern ancestry, or his father’s alienation from the United States. Instead, reporter Dana Canedy focuses with deadpan earnestness on the absurd argument blaming Bishop’s fatal flight on acne medication. More than 13,000,000 Americans have used Accutane since its introduction in 1982, but only one of those patients has stolen an airplane and purposefully crashed it into a building.

The lawsuit by Julie Bishop illuminates several disturbing trends in contemporary culture, including the willingness of sleazy lawyers to launch even the most ludicrous litigation in hope of cashing in on some pre-trial settlement. More dangerously, our guarded discussion of the case demonstrates a reluctance to acknowledge that ideas have consequences – and that the current trendy mix of hysterical leftist slogans may prove especially dangerous and poisonous. Bishop’s invocation of “the monstrous Israelis – who want nothing short of world domination!” should worry his Jewish neighbors in Florida, and all other Americans of good will.

Finally, mainstream media attempts to ignore the salient role of Arab ethnicity represent the worst sort of cover-up. President Bush and all other responsible leaders properly insist that we recognize the loyalty and patriotism of nearly all Arab Americans in this time of crisis, but that doesn’t mean that we must hide those rare cases where Middle Eastern ancestry helps turn citizens against their country.

In the sad case of Charles Bishop, Syrian roots seem to have combined with anti-American and anti-Semitic attitudes to do far more damage than his prescription pimple pills.


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Michael Medved

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Michael Medved hosts a nationally syndicated daily radio show focusing on the intersection of politics and pop culture. He's the author of eight non-fiction books.

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