Searching for truth is a full-time job. A quest that this feeble blog will never complete. The chances of convincing an individual that they are being lied to, manipulated, or played for a fool is approaching statistical insignificance. Nonetheless, many people still commit themselves to learning and trying to pass on their knowledge and wisdom to the larger world. In a classroom this activity is usually met with blank stares and indifference, but in our hyper-polarized political climate it can be downright dangerous.
I have mentioned before that I am a former Army Tanker and
a member of a tanker group on Facebook. I am also one of the very few anti-fascists in a sea of wannabe brown shirts. What started as an innocent way to keep in touch with my former brothers in arms has become embarrassing. The only reason I have not unfollowed the group is that it is enlightening to observe right wing memes and comments from some members. In between posting generally nasty memes about liberals or women or Democrats, scantily-clad women or downright terms of service violating nudie pics, or boasting about their guns, or taking pot shots at other branches of the military, there are people posting some outrage or another along with as much personal contact information as they can come up with about the perpetrators and urging others to "go get 'em." Outrages like standing on the American flag, saying something negative about veterans or guns, generally anyone exercising the freedom of expression that all of these guys claim to defend but when it comes right down to it are hypocrites. So far none of these angry vets have actually attacked any of the targets but every mass shooting that occurs in America further de-stigmatizes the idea of political violence. I feel it is important to try and draw the authoritarian aggression sometimes on display into the open because it is harder to build up the resolve to do something one might regret outside the epistemic self-reinforcing system of closed Facebook groups. The potential for violence is what concerns me. Political or religious violence is the most dangerous road a society can travel.
I don't know anyone who has
stood on the flag as an act of protest and find the phenomenon counter-productive, not worthy of comment. Nor do I get ruffled by other idiots flapping their gums about veterans being dishonorable,
or impersonating a soldier. And I could care less about porn put up by anyone. But when the threats start rolling in about someone I do kind of know and respect, it is time to speak up. Rick Perlstein is a fellow historian who has written some great books about the era I study and I have learned a lot from his work. His latest book is The Invisible Bridge: The Fall of Nixon and the Rise of Reagan and should be considered required reading for everyone interested in contemporary politics and why the reactionary right is as off the spectrum as it is today. But books are for people whose attention spans exceed those of fruit flies.
However, an article Perlstein wrote
for the
Washington Spectator that attempted to untangle one of the great con jobs of American propaganda in the service of authoritarianism, got the attention of 'wingers all over the place. This is part of a very important and as yet unfolding story of the American "stab in the back" surrounding the Vietnam War. You know the one "if only the damn 'libs had let us nuke Vietnam" and so on. Perlstein's essay is an abridged version of a chapter in his book mentioned above, "
a bizarre psychic reversal" as he puts it about the POW-MIA flag and how it has been used to buttress America's victim status and cruelty by the North Vietnamese. And the propaganda symbol value this sympathy provides to American authoritarians. To the right wing authoritarian follower, it is a symbol of solidarity with phantoms that he will never admit do not exist. To the social dominator seeking to lead them, the flag is a cudgel to smear and demonize anyone who does not go along with the mythology. He originally tied this flag to the racist history of the Confederate flag and that is where the trouble started.
Karoli already wrote up the fauxtrage and pearl clutching on display from Fox and Friends and the reactions from 'wingers. I just wanted to add how violently the so-called defenders of freedom reacted to Perlstein on a personal level. In case anyone actually believes that our brave men and women in uniform "will not obey unconstitutional orders, such as orders to disarm the American people, to conduct warrantless searches, or to detain Americans as “enemy combatants” in violation of their ancient right to jury trial" if ordered to by our tyrannical government.
From the M1 tankers group [closed] on Facebook:
This is the civilian shit bag that wrote the POW/MIA story. Feel free to contact him and let him know how u feel. .
[Picture of Rick Perlstein's Facebook page]
Angry, well-armed, self-righteous, and ready to attack anyone who disagrees with them. This is not what I was taught in the military, apparently things have changed. Having to issue a lengthy apology for presenting a not patriotically correct historical theory based on actual empirical research is something I doubt Rick Perlstein was taught in graduate school either. Having to then make himself scarce on social media due to threats was probably not something he contemplated when he submitted the article.
Update:
The author of the post in question found my response. As you can guess it was not well-received. After looking at Tim's page briefly I take back what I implied, he is not a fascist, just a vindictive special snowflake. I do not know why Rick Perlstein's article got him so angry. As you can see from the discussion he wasn't the only one, but there is no criticism of why the flag isn't what Perlstein argues it is, a demagogic propaganda symbol designed to cut off and prevent debate, which is exactly what happens in these exchanges. Juvenile character attacks and random, arbitrary name-calling as proxy for argument. As though simply mentioning keywords should trigger a Pavlovian response of aggression. I wonder if the information was presented in a less-antagonistic manner, would this untold story of the POW-MIA flag get a less rigid, knee-jerk, and aggressive response? I took this post down for a few days to edit it, because it was kind of unfair and was written in haste. After initially publishing I did a google search of responses to the original article for comparison, and whoa my findings make the comments I recorded here look civil by comparison. I am not going to link to anything ranting about "hate-filled kike demons" or "Faggot Jews" but you could probably guess where the real fascists would go with language like that. It plays right into the fantasy land of all-powerful liberals and conservative victim hood constructed by the right-wing where a barely noticed opinion piece from a free lance historian somehow equals all liberals calling for and immediately receiving whatever they wish for. The world does not work that way.
In case you read this Tim, I am not a blue falcon or any of the things you accused me of. I could care less if you or anyone else posts pictures of boobies. I have never reported anything to Facebook, nor do I know anyone who did. Facebook does not share my concern about political violence and I do not share their interest in making social media safe for elementary school kids. I do not care about sexy pics or off-color jokes or even the continuous outrage from certain members of that group. A group of which I am no longer a part of, by the way. After some reflection I realized that everything about it is a waste of my time. When I first joined, there was serious discussion between master gunners, interesting stories about our brothers' experiences in the field or on deployment, and general camaraderie. That is pretty rare to find now, and I'm tired of sifting through the garbage to find anything interesting. So thank you for convincing me to move on. I'm too old to find that Friday night grab-assing at the barracks style amusing anymore. And your since-
removed post with screen grabs of my writing just confirmed that I am correct in my concern over the potential for violence.
I have often felt annoyed that my service, in the opinion of people like you, did not count because we disagree on one thing or another. But by all means keep the crusade going. Being in a perpetual state of outraged and self-righteous victim hood is great for your heart and I hear it can even prevent ulcers.
However, an article Perlstein wrote 
What a pathetic self hating loser.
ReplyDeleteThanks, great stuff. I appreciate the support. That was a horrible few days, and included me making a police report about the death threats.
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, I'm sorry all of that happened. It is an ugly time when thinkers have to defend not their ideas but their lives from authoritarians. I was shocked at finding all that stuff on the wider internet attacking you so personally and with such viciousness. I hope things are better now and that you keep up all the great work!
ReplyDelete