Novel Inspired James J. Lee’s Action?

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SILVER SPRING (GaeaTimes.com)- James J. Lee, the suspected gunman who was shot dead by the Montgomery police on Wednesday after he took three employees of the Discovery Channel hostage, was no terrorist, but a man with an idea that did not match with the rest of the world. Reports have surfaced that the gunman was highly inspired by the series of novels written by Daniel Quinn that dealt on a surreal plane with the issues of overpopulation. James J. Lee had mentioned “My Ishmael”, a 1997 novel written by Daniel Quinn at the top of his list of 11 demands. However, the author of the novel has held that James J. Lee had grossly misinterpreted his novel.

Daniel Quinn, the 75-year-old writer has maintained in front of the media sources that he is baffled by James J. Lee’s interpretation of his book. The author who spoke to media sources on telephone from his home in Houston seemed stunned and tried to explain the parts of the novel quoted by the gunman. He maintained that he was attending a physical therapy session when he heard about the relation of his novel to the gunman.

In an online manifesto, James J. Lee has gone on to quote long paragraphs from “My Ishmael” and maintained that Discovery Channel “must” run daily prime-time shows based on the novel’s sayings. He had quote a six-page long discussion from the novel in which Ishmael and his 12-year-old pupil discuss not only the Industrial Revolution but also what made people of that time creative and resourceful. James J. Lee had held that the Discovery Channel must focus on “solutions to save the planet…done in the same way as the Industrial Revolution was done”.