The Symbionese Liberation Army mailed the SLA letter just a day or two prior to the kidnapping of Patricia Campbell Hearst, seized on February 4th 1974. It was postmarked February 3rd 1974 - so unless it was delayed significantly - there is an argument to be made it was relevant to the actual kidnapping itself. But why would the Symbionese Liberation Army invoke the "Old Norse" language in a rather benign and meaningless message? The SLA letter stated "Dear Mr Editor, Did you know that the initials SLA (Symbionese Liberation Army) spell "sla", an old Norse word meaning "kill". a friend". The message itself would be totally irrelevant but for the inclusion of the North Germanic language - once spoken predominantly in Scandinavia. Old Norse was divided into three dialects: Old West Norse, Old East Norse, and Old Gutnish. Old West and East Norse formed a dialect continuum, with no clear geographical boundary between them. For example, Old East Norse traits were found in eastern Norway, although Old Norwegian is classified as Old West Norse, and Old West Norse traits were found in western Sweden. Most speakers spoke Old East Norse in what is present day Denmark and Sweden.
The Symbionese Liberation Army (much like Zodiac) were often reactionary to the injustice they perceived had been burdened upon them - often responding to newspaper articles, or referencing them, directly or indirectly within their correspondences. This is the approach we will take regarding the SLA letter, bearing in mind the Scandinavian element and the impending kidnapping of Patricia Campbell Hearst. In other words, we have to look backwards at recent newspaper articles in the preceding months that encapsulated these features, especially considering one SLA associate, Sara Jane Olson (born Kathleen Ann Soliah), had Scandinavian ancestry.
On August 23rd 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson entered the Sveriges Kreditbanken in Norrmalmstorg Square armed with a submachine gun and took three women and one man hostage, demanding the release of his friend Clark Olofsson from jail. In a strange turn of events, an unlikely friendship formed between the hostages and captors, in what was eventually dubbed the Norrmalmstorgssyndromet by Nils Bejerot and the "Stockholm Syndrome" by overseas media in the latter months of 1973 and early months of 1974. It is therefore ironical that the Symbionese Liberation Army would then mail a communication using a Scandinavian translation of the word "kill" just one or two days before Patricia Campbell Hearst was to also be taken hostage. In an uncanny turn of events, her case too was argued to have exemplified the term "Stockholm Syndrome", as she formed a bond with her kidnappers and eventually 'assisted' them in the Hibernia Bank robbery on April 15th 1974, also armed with a high capacity weapon.
The definition of "Stockholm Syndrome" is a condition which causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance or friendship with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity. The SLA letter has the key ingredients of "a friend", a Scandinavian language and an impending hostage situation. The Symbionese Liberation Army would soon mail another letter demanding the release of two apprehended SLA members (Joseph Remiro and Russell Little), much like Jan-Erik Olsson successfully demanded the release of his friend, Clark Olofsson. Joseph Remiro and Russell Little had been arrested and charged with the murder of Marcus Foster who was gunned down with cyanide laden bullets on November 6th 1973 in Oakland. The following Symbionese Liberation Army communication contained all the key ingredients of threatening "to kill" Patricia Campbell Hearst if their demands were not met, akin to the SLA letter, while also highlighting the word "FRIEND". The comparison can be noted below.
On August 23rd 1973, Jan-Erik Olsson entered the Sveriges Kreditbanken in Norrmalmstorg Square armed with a submachine gun and took three women and one man hostage, demanding the release of his friend Clark Olofsson from jail. In a strange turn of events, an unlikely friendship formed between the hostages and captors, in what was eventually dubbed the Norrmalmstorgssyndromet by Nils Bejerot and the "Stockholm Syndrome" by overseas media in the latter months of 1973 and early months of 1974. It is therefore ironical that the Symbionese Liberation Army would then mail a communication using a Scandinavian translation of the word "kill" just one or two days before Patricia Campbell Hearst was to also be taken hostage. In an uncanny turn of events, her case too was argued to have exemplified the term "Stockholm Syndrome", as she formed a bond with her kidnappers and eventually 'assisted' them in the Hibernia Bank robbery on April 15th 1974, also armed with a high capacity weapon.
The definition of "Stockholm Syndrome" is a condition which causes hostages to develop a psychological alliance or friendship with their captors as a survival strategy during captivity. The SLA letter has the key ingredients of "a friend", a Scandinavian language and an impending hostage situation. The Symbionese Liberation Army would soon mail another letter demanding the release of two apprehended SLA members (Joseph Remiro and Russell Little), much like Jan-Erik Olsson successfully demanded the release of his friend, Clark Olofsson. Joseph Remiro and Russell Little had been arrested and charged with the murder of Marcus Foster who was gunned down with cyanide laden bullets on November 6th 1973 in Oakland. The following Symbionese Liberation Army communication contained all the key ingredients of threatening "to kill" Patricia Campbell Hearst if their demands were not met, akin to the SLA letter, while also highlighting the word "FRIEND". The comparison can be noted below.
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