Tony Carr, ala John Q. Public, has informed me that the debate we were to have (debating Tony's view that it is okay for government to violate constitutional rights, and that no rights in the constitution are inviolate but that somehow cutting military retirements is a breach of contract) is now off the table. Tony has banned me and unfriended me on social media, only to take me back like a high school girlfriend, roughly a half dozen times since we have been corresponding.
Is the breakup for real this time?
I think it is. After all, I really messed up on this one. Can I have a mulligan? No, there are some things we do that are just too serious. So what was it? The straw that broke the camel's back came in the form of a response on his JQP Facebook page. Tony posted that military people who have killed the enemy in combat are mentally unhealthy. Tony, of course, never killed the enemy during his career so I figured he would be open to a different perspective. I happened to strongly disagree with his insinuation that I, and a great many others I know, are somehow mentally defective because we did our nation's bidding at the tip of the dagger.
My disagreeing with Tony somehow then got translated into me bringing up the irrelevant topic of killing and mental health, rather than me responding to a comment he made introducing that topic, and Tony then pronounced my view (that military professionals can kill the enemy without becoming mentally defective) as somehow offensive. And he did this on his social media page which purports to discuss martial matters through debate. Tony deleted my "offensive" comments, then the next day posted a black and white photo of a military aircraft dropping bombs on people below. I remarked that I hoped that image didn't offend anybody on his page, and he then banned your humble blogger. Tony then posted about how he had removed me, after his long and gracious and ever so thoughtful determination that I was just one heck of a bad guy with my crazy views. It's a familiar narrative that I have heard from others who removed my ability to disagree with them and present a differing viewpoint. A trend item, if you will. There is a discussion to be had, but some views are just not tolerated...
After Tony removed my ability to respond on his page, scores of my fans from the Digital Clown Show (known as flyingsquadron.com) joined in on the thread, and commented about how I had been banned on that forum too. Tony certainly shares an audience, and some moderating principles, with the always entertaining and yet saddening Digital Clown Show. It is a shared audience to say the least, and Tony's opinions are held in high regard by the high ranking, as well as the average guy in the trenches. He is gifted in the art of politics, or as he calls it, "consensus."
Ever since I read Tony's first blog post about how he was incredible, and destined for flag officer rank, but chose to turn it down and get out, I have been corresponding with, and carefully evaluating, his opinions and his character. I have some very strong opinions about Tony, yet those wouldn't be worth sharing in the realm of ideas, if it weren't for the fact that he enjoys a significant pulpit in the digital discourse.
For those reasons I look forward to sharing what I have learned from my interactions with Tony, in as academic a manner as I can muster. Tony has already made me aware that if I stray one bit and slander him, that there are some great lawyers in his neck of the woods. I explained to him that the term he was looking for was "libel" rather than slander, and I'm expecting some tuition to be sent my way since I have educated Tony quite a bit over the last year in basics of the law. Tony also let me know that he might call my commander if he deems my comments over the line, in our online discussion and debate over ideas. That for some reason stirs yet another memory, and I thought it was interesting to note how his thread quickly resulted in some disparaging me because of my civil suit against a couple Border Patrol agents.
So many dots to be connected in this discussion of public service. It's an important discussion, and friction produces light.
At any rate, I think Tony Carr provides an outstanding opportunity for discussion when it comes to officership and public service. He provides a wonderful case study of words, which he is ever so gifted in employing, and how those words relate to tangible reality. Put another way, I believe Tony Carr is a living, breathing, embodiment of the Officer Performance Report (OPR).
When clowns across the internet run their pie holes, only after banning me from the discussion, I will respond to them on my new Facebook page - Martial Matters.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment