his insights and awareness of a later period with his contemporary attitudes. Immediately
after the fiasco of October 7, it seems likely that the perfidy of the Social Democratic mayor
and of the Social Democratic leadership in general was more on his mind than the “indif-
ferent faces” he met on his way home, though the latter image had planted itself in Reich’s
thought, to grow in significance just as the significance of the mayor’s actions would wane.
But in the context of 1928, Reich’s own injured pride required a more tangible target than
the “indifference” of the masses.
Reich’s involvement in the events of 1927-28 highlights his steadily increasing com-
mitment to radical politics. However, he was to shape his own contribution to fit his unique
gifts.
126 Myron SharafFury On Earth