Monday, January 19, 2015

The Time I Undermined the Spirit of a Government Trained Killer Worshipper

Mark Alvarez, of the Jerusalem Institute for Market Studies,  posts at WEB Commentary:
I've made up my mind. I will go watch American Sniper. I will do so for two reasons. One is because of the despicable ways people have hated on Chris Kyle. Another reason is that I believe Chris Kyle is a hero.

As wrong as our foreign policy has been, I separate the politicians and policy makers from military service members. It's why I don't spend time trashing the police. Or even VA employees. You don't blame those in the employ of the government for failing policies. What does make me feel good is to remind myself there are a lot of good people in government. The problem is policies, not the pawns.

Chris Kyle did not deserve death. To say so is to say that all members of the U.S. military deserve death. An attack on Chris Kyle is an attack on everybody who has served and is serving in the military. There. Now call me a bad libertarian because I don't hate Chris Kyle.

I never thought I would have to say this, but I believe there are Ron Paul types who hate military service members. I can give you an example. Earlier in 2014, when I wanted to make a case against the VA Accountability Act from a free market, libertarian perspective, not even advocating any veteran get anything, I submitted a piece to EconomicPolicyJournal.com. I stood with VA executives on that issue, and I believe it was an important one. That's the right of Wenzel to not run it, but this was his response I received:
"Thanks, but I see veterans as retired government trained killers. Thus, discussing any kind of gvt help for these people is not a libertarian or free market topic." -Robert Wenzel
What that did to me? It undermines my spirit, as I think about how I was treated as if I hate the troops because I care about the troops. But standing up to these people rejuvenates my spirit. It's self-evident to me that working with or through these Ron Paul type elements within the GOP requires having to hate military service members. I can't go along with that. I challenge these people like Robert Wenzel and William Norman Grigg and several others, especially in the Nevada GOP, to get over their hatred of military service members. Questioning the policies is bad, but attacking the character of, and putting a guilt trip on, the troops is fine?
For the record, I don't hate members of the military. I think many of them are simply misguided and believe that the adventures of the Empire are somehow battles to "protect America." That's all nonsense.

I know a few military men, who are libertarian leaning and that's for the good, we need libertarian infiltrators everywhere.

That said, military personnel are all government trained killers or work in support of government trained killers. That's a fact, not hate.

-RW

12 comments:

  1. Don't blame me, I just drive the train.

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  2. Oh good for you buck a roo. Mark of course will watch it clutching the American flag. Why they are just pawns. This whole American sniper thing is really starting to remind me of the fictional Nazi film from in glorious bastards. Just surprised there wasn't a special screening for heads of state and military.

    I know it's cliche by now but the German soldiers in ww2 were just pawns too.

    Iraq has been invaded, occupied, blockaded, no fly zoned and bombed for 24 years now. Its starting to look like Iraqis are just 21st century savages for 21 century manifest destiny empire lovers. Kyle references Iraqis as savages btw.

    Oh and the Secretary of state has said starving 500,000 iraqi children with sanctions was worth it. (Madalin Albright )

    So yea celebrate a pawn who only killed 160 savages. Wrote a book that anybody should question what is real and imaginary in. Jesse venture won a libel case against the book for crying out loud.

    Propaganda.

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  3. I wonder if he reads Laurence Vance at all

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    1. He's probably never heard of Vance. He doesn't seem to be that kind of "libertarian".

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    2. Probably but you would think if he's heard of Grigg and Wenzel he would've stumbled onto LewRockwell.com at some point. Thats how I found out about about both Grigg and Bob

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    3. I think he's the kind of "libertarian" who would deliberately avoid LRC the way a vampire avoids sunlight. He seems like a CATO "libertarian".

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  4. I wonder if Mark Alvarez (of the Jerusalem Institute of Market Studies) holds the same view with regard to Nazi concentration camps guards and officers?

    ...You don't blame [the Nazi prison guards and officers] in the employ of the government for failing policies. What does make me feel good is to remind myself there are a lot of good people in [the Nazi] government. The problem is policies, not the pawns.

    I wonder...

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  5. In France, I probably just committed a hate crime...

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  6. "We're soldiers. Soldiers don't go to Hell. It's war." - Tony Soprano

    People who murder for a living always have a way to justify their immoral actions. I'm Marine veteran too and enjoy reading Lawrence Vance and William Norman Grigg. They speak the truth.

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  7. A libertarian doesn't support benefits for troops because it becomes a subsidy for war. If there are no benefits, few people will want to join the imperial army.

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  8. Chris Kyle also claimed that he was paid to shoot looters in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (http://www.startribune.com/entertainment/movies/289024911.html), which creates a problem for the neocon fans of his who always are appalled by conspiracy theories. Was Kyle a speaking the truth that he was asked to do this during Bush's tenure or is he a crackpot conspiracy theorist, Bill Kristol?

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  9. So much negativity just because Chris shot people in the head for a living. Sure killing is bad when you do it on your own initiative, but if a politician tells you who to kill, honor demands that you pile up as many bodies as possible, and that's the very definition of heroism.

    So go ahead and hate on Chris, but then you hate on everyone in the military, and Ron Paul was in the military, therefore you hate Ron Paul. Now call me a bad libertarian because I don't hate Ron Paul.

    Sincerely,
    Surprised Mark Alvarez Didn't Go There

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