Synopsis Part 2A

Eventually, many of the townspeople that have seen or bought the CD (because of Joe's amazing salesmanship, he has been able to sell many) begin talking about the bizarre cover and the music. A couple of them get an old reel to reel tape recorder, record the album, and play it backwards. They hear many suggestive and "satanic" messages. Gossip and rumors spread. Many say that Joe Gimmel, a seemingly decent guy, is really Judith Goliath, and that he is the creator of the music. Some believe that Gillem is the cover model. People speculate about the purpose of the fruit. A rumour spreads: Gimmel gets high by smoking dried out banana peels, and creates the ludicrous, offbeat noise-music while in this state of mind. Students at a nearby college try banana peels and claim to feel something.

The CD that Joe inadvertently dropped at the home of Ms. Gerald Beck has become a favorite of hers. Ms. Beck regularly plays it and stares at the cover, though she is furious at Joe for rejecting her. When Mr. Beck, an attorney, finds the CD, he believes that the cover has a hidden, symbolic meaning: Violence against women. They spread the word about Joe.

The local media reports on the banana peel scare. The story is picked up and reported in the national news. The media descend on Peachpit and track down Joe to interview him. He denies everything, but the media brings out all the rumors and accusations that the townspeople are reporting. A national hysteria is whipped up by the banana peel rumour. Many young men and women ("20-somethings") begin to declare that they really feel something when smoking the peels. They begin to believe that the practice has been a heavily guarded secret among the Ultrapseudohip for centuries, and cite the Andy Warhol "banana cover" from the first Velvet Underground album. A professor at a major university calls the claims about the effects false and the result of mass hysteria and the power of suggestion. He blames the media for the national hysteria. His story receives NO COVERAGE. The peach growers in Peachpit are angered, as banana sales skyrocket and the sales of other fruit drop. They contact the ultra-conservative senator from SC, Jerry Hale, who begins a campaign against bananas. He calls for an immediate ban, and once banned, mandatory testing of all citizens on a regular basis for evidence of banana use. Many companies begin designing bright yellow paramilitary jumpsuits and banana shaped battering rams to be used in the future war on bananas.

Meanwhile, Mr. James has given a section of the surveillance footage from Joe's visit to his house to his attorney, Mr. Beck. It shows Joe making negative remarks about cats. Mr. Beck has also discovered that Joe stayed at a motel near the cat shelter the night the killings took place. He leaks this to the press. Many people now accuse Joe of the cat crime. Many animal rights organizations vehemently speak out against Joe and call for his arrest. Joe continues to deny the rumors and accusations, and denies that he is behind the creation of the album. No one believes him. They feel someone proud enough and insane enough to show, play, and sell this "music" to anyone MUST BE THE CULPRIT.

Mr. Beck continues to spread the belief that the symbolic photographic imagery of the cover advocates violence against women. Soon MAW, the Massive Alliance of Women, begins a national campaign against Joe. HAHA, Heathens are Hungry Also, jumps on the bandwagon and makes posters of  "The Bully" cover, claiming that it shows someone blatantly wasting food for their own selfish reasons, while laughing at the millions of hungry people in the world. Joe is blamed for many great famines.

Many conservative and religious leaders begin to speak out about Joe, urged on by Jerry Hale. They accuse Joe of spreading the word about bananas and corrupting people through the addictive power of the fruit. Many of their followers begin to make and distribute pirated backward recordings of "The Bully". They claim to hear many satanic and suggestive messages in the music. Even though bananas aren't yet illegal, many small companies form overnight and solicit hundreds of millions of dollars from investors. These companies claim to be working on ways to detect evidence of banana use in a person's urine. Major drug testing firms also advocate the prohibition of bananas. Intense lobbying takes place in Congress. Jerry Hale presents two "slackers" at a national press conference, and they tearfully recount in great detail how they have ruined their lives with banana peels. Joe Gimmel is declared "Public Enemy Number One" by many national conservative groups.

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