As was par for the course after the Patty Hearst kidnapping, the Symbionese Liberation Army issued a taped communiqué to the news media following a bank robbery in which Ms. Hearst (now calling herself "Tania") had been involved. The SLA released a taped statement by her, in an attempt to quell discussions in the media about her having been brainwashed or coerced into her "gun moll" role. A video tape, made up of the time-lapse security camera photos, showed her carrying a gun, but there was no evidence of where the gun was pointed, and, of course, no sign of what was inside her head during the robbery; some alleged that there was an SLA gun trained on her during the heist, as a means of keeping her "on message".
The tape was shown over and over again on television back then, and the ambiguity fueled the media's and public's Pattymania for a little while. Patty: Urban Guerrilla or Innocent Victim?
Greetings to the people. This is Tania.
On April 15th, my comrades and I expropriated $10,660.02 from the Sunset branch of the Hibernia Bank. Casualties could have been avoided had the persons involved kept out of the way, and cooperated with the people's forces until after our departure.
I was positioned so that I could hold down customers and bank personnel who were on the floor. My gun was loaded, and at no time did any of my comrades intentionally point their guns at me. Careful examination of the photographs which were published clearly show that this was true.
Our action of April 15th forced the corporate fascist state to help finance the revolution. In the case of expropriation the difference between a criminal act and a revolutionary act is shown by what the money is used for. As for the money involved in my parents bad faith gesture to aid the people, these funds are being used to aid the people and to insure the survival of the people's forces in their struggle with, and for, the people.
To the clowns who want a personal interview with me - Vincent Hallinan, Steven Weed, and the pig Hearsts:
I prefer giving it to the people in the bank. It is absurd to think that I could surface to say what I am saying now, and still be allowed to freely return to my comrades. The enemy still wants me dead. I am obviously alive and well. As for being brainwashed, the idea is ridiculous to the point of being beyond belief. It is interesting the way earlier reports characterized me as a beautiful, intelligent liberal, while in more recent reports I am a common girl who has been brainwashed. The contradictions are obvious.
Consciousness is terrifying to the ruling class, and they will do anything to discredit people who have realized that the only alternative to freedom is death, and that the only way we can free ourselves of this fascist dictatorship is by fighting, not with words but with guns.
As for my ex-fiancé, I am amazed that he thinks that the first thing I would want to do, once free, would be to rush and see him. I don't care if I never see him again. During the last few months, Steven has shown himself to be a sexist, [garbled] pig. Not that this is a sudden change from the way he always was. It merely became more blatant during the period when I was still a hostage.
Frankly, Steven is the one who sounds brainwashed. I can't believe that those weird words were from his heart. They were a mixture of FBI rhetoric and Randy's simplicity.
I have no proof that Mr. DeBray's letter is authentic. The date and location he gave were confusing in terms of when the letter was published in the papers. How could it have been written in Paris and published in your newspapers on the same day, Adolf? In any case, I hope that the last action has put his mind at ease. If it did not, further actions will.
To those people who still believe that I am brainwashed or dead, I see no reason to further defend my position. I am a good soldier in the people's army.
Patria o muerte! Venceremos!