Don’t Get Behind Adam Kokesh (March on Washington)

My take at that time was that Kokesh, in that episode, was wrong, and obnoxious, and mainly just an attention-seeking upstart who sought the spotlight under the auspices of protecting civil liberties.  But I learned that he had also entered a congressional primary race in New Mexico as a Republican in 2010, so I was willing to give him a bit of benefit of the doubt, as far as his youth and apparently friendly political alliances.  I also figured his service as a Marine on behalf of our country in a theater of a hot war earned him some of that benefit of the doubt.  I strongly disagreed with his activism against the Iraq war when I read less complete reports of it then, but again, I basically thought he was a mostly harmless loose cannon.  

I came across the more unsavory details of Adam Kokesh’s activities and associations only recently.  I don’t trust him, mainly because of his close collaborations with anti-American Marxists and Muslim groups.  He seems all too eager to adhere to our enemies. 

One blogger included some interesting quotes from Kokesh himself, about his post-traumatic stress as a result of having been in Iraq, particularly regarding his reaction to being in crowds:

 I had a number of anxiety attacks those first few days back [from Iraq].  I didn’t feel comfortable getting drunk, and crowds made me nervous.  When dealing with crowds in Iraq, I was always armed and I always had someone watching my back, usually with a machine gun.  A cardinal rule for interacting with crowds was never let anyone get behind you.  We had all heard the horror story of a Marine who was killed with his own pistol.  When crowds got close around me I would often just leave my hand on my pistol and let my rifle dangle on the sling in front of me.

Kokesh goes on to describe similar feelings at college:

Every time someone bumped into me from behind at a party I instinctively reached down for my pistol and had an awkward moment of panic before realizing I was being absurd.

I’m not saying not to get behind Adam Kokesh’s planned protest because of whatever residual PTSD he might have.  Based on my own experience working in crowds, and having to protect my sidearm and watch my back, I can relate to a completely understandable degree of habitual vigilance, and I even see it as somewhat of a good thing. 

What I do take issue with is the Kokesh taking it upon himself, now, to pose as the leader of a defiant demonstration by patriotic Americans, when the abundance of information is that in recent years he no longer even has America’s back.  

Instead, like the younger John “winter soldier” Kerry, along with an assortment of communists and Islamo-fascists, Kokesh has spent most or all of his post-discharge civilian life figuratively stabbing America in the back.