Reply #23: In that area, resentment against the Feds goes back to the 18th century Whiskey Rebellion, at least.

[foxfeet]

It was a cultural issue as much as a political one. Scots-Irish settlers had a long history of distilling their own whiskey long before the government imposed a tax. The topography of the area lent itself both to clandestine distilleries and to isolation from the "outside" world. It's clear to me that this death was a homicide, but it remains unclear how much of the motivation we can attribute to RW hatred of the Feds versus long-standing tradition, not that the two are mutually exclusive. The tradition and attitudes surrounding moonshining have been extended to marijuana cultivation and meth labs. Drug sales provide a source of income in an area sorely lacking in job opportunities. Until we have more facts, it remains possible that Sparkman was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time and fell afoul of some nasty drug runners. As a native of the area, he was almost certainly aware of the dangers, so is unlikely, IMHO, to have taken unnecessary risks.