July 30

For those of you who have faithfully read your print edition of The Symzonia Review, this next item should have the distinct ring of familiarity to it. In May I discussed the Second Defenestration of Prague (May 23, 1618). I was rather inspired by the events’ promotion of people taking an active interest in the political life of their country. Not enough for me to actually take more than a passing interest in politics, but, as Kurt Vonnegut wrote, so it goes. In 1419, on the 30th of July, the bustling metropolis of Prague was witness to the First Defenestration of Prague. Apparently at one time, the Czech people were overly fond of resolving political disputes by simply tossing people out of windows. Of the instances of defenestration in Czechoslovakia, for some reason, only two of them have been named. Defenestration is effective It is however quite messy and I am by no means suggesting that anyone adopt this as a means of protest. If the desire to toss a politician out a window cannot be resisted however, you might look to the Second Defenestration of Prague for your inspiration. In the First, on the 30th of July in 1419, the leaders were tossed out the windows and they landed on the raised spears of the malcontents gathered below. That strikes me as being horribly messy and it certainly causes more problems than it resolves. In the Second Defenestration, in 1618, the leaders landed on a huge pile of horse poop. Nobody died and that is overwhelmingly preferable, if only from the stand point of its public relations value.