Unthinkable

Abstract

This chapter studies the conclusions reached by the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission, more commonly known as the MOVE Commission, to trace the process by which the MOVE Bombing evolved from event to history to memory. As in the construction of any historical narrative, the asking of some questions precluded the asking of others. And those with the power to shape the process of historical construction ensured that some stories were highlighted and others suppressed. For many, the MOVE Bombing is unthinkable, and for this reason, many of the story’s details—and often the story itself—have been forgotten.