From Wikipedia: In 1958, while he was an airman first class, his commanding officer recommended him for an early honorable discharge. “In summary, this airman, although talented, will not be guided by policy,” chief of information services Colonel William S. Evans wrote to the Eglin personnel office. “Sometimes his rebel and superior attitude seems to rub off on other airmen staff members.”
His books of letters from that time are well worth reading if you’re interested in that time in his life, very interesting.
I will have to find them, thanks.
Please share where you found them, if you do.
https://annas-archive.org/search?index=&page=1&q=The+proud+highway&sort=
Use slow option #3 (the first 2 normally work but wait list is long atm)
The book is called The Proud Highway: Saga of a Desperate Southern Gentleman, I should have mentioned that before!
And it’s followed by Fear and Loathing in America: The Brutal Odyssey of an Outlaw Journalist
“superior attitude” is an obnoxious way to describe someone rebelling against shitty rules because they have standards. “you’re not special” etc is the usual bullshit I get – and of course I am not – what I think we rightfully think is that nobody should be beholden to shitty practices and standards.
Being an anti-authoritarian is narcissistic. That’s why I developed the theory of anarcho-narcissism.
https://medium.com/@viridiangrail/anarcho-narcissism-b647c8062173
If you want to call it a theory then I suggest working to have it peer reviewed. Otherwise, just call it a hypothesis. I see issues with it, personally, but I’m just one person and am not an expert. I’m finishing my undergrad in psych, but the rest of my comment is based purely on recreational study following experts in personality disorders and extensive therapy myself.
Main thing I’d note is that most people will show some level of narcissistic traits, but meeting the full criteria to label anyone anti authoritarian as narcissistic goes against the point you make in the first few paragraphs that we shouldn’t be so quick to throw the term around. Feeling entitled to better pay on it’s own can be justified, especially if it’s in tandem with wanting fellow workers to receive that same benefit. Quite empathetic, actually. Turning off empathy in specific settings also suggests it’s not a pervasive trait, which is an important piece of the DSM that was not mentioned.
I definitely see the argument that some anarchists will meet the criteria. And I agree with a good, maybe even majority of the points, like reducing stigma. Plus, it’s expensive to get through an offical peer review process, and you’re right that many folks with NPD could never afford that. But I think it would help to at least include some expert opinions and case study examples to support what seems to be mostly anecdotal testimony. Or if you have been diagnosed yourself, build on that as a primary case study example (cuz you do call yourself one, but it’s not clear if you went through an assessment for it).
Super interesting idea, though - I’m gonna save it to reread and mull it over some more. Props on getting it published, for sure!
Ninja edit: Holy shit this turned into a much longer comment than I intended, sorry!
Eh, if I’ve learned anything living in a shitty little town; you are special. A deeply distressing number of people have no morality, standards, or thoughts of their own.
Not guided by policy is a very nice thing to say about the man.
Thompson was known for his lifelong use of alcohol and illegal drugs, his love of firearms, and his iconoclastic contempt for authority. He often remarked: “I hate to advocate drugs, alcohol, violence, or insanity to anyone, but they’ve always worked for me.”[3] Thompson died by suicide at the age of 67, following a series of health problems. Hari Kunzru wrote, “The true voice of Thompson is revealed to be that of American moralist … one who often makes himself ugly to expose the ugliness he sees around him.”[4]
I always thought he killed himself when Bush got reelected
Sounds like Jack O’Neill. With 2 Ls 👌.
As a dude that served, fuck yes
As a dude that’s been served, fuck yes.
Yeah, back then you were not allowed to rub off on other airmen.
That dude was a G. His whole fucking life.
Looks a lot like someone else who got discharged from Army
I’m rewatching this now. Still getting plenty of laughs out of me
There’s dozens of us! Dozens! (just started a series rewatch too lmao)
I’ve gotta hand it to you, that’s a good comparison
I thought that’s who was in the picture before I read the caption.
How is that not dishonorable?
It’s army speak for “spc4 was smarter than most first Lt.”
Honorable and dishonorable are official designations for the US military, and a dishonorable discharge is tantamount to a criminal conviction for many professional purposes and veterans benefits.
My brother was a huge fuckup in the Marines, but they waited until he sprained his knee and then gave him a medical discharge, which doesn’t carry the same stigma as a dishonorable.
Dunno, dishonoring the US military seems like a badge of honor
Honestly, you gotta be a real piece of shit to get a DD normally, think rape or murder… Well, enough rape and murder they don’t cover it up.
That or smoke some weed.
Either way, “less than honorable” is the ‘easiest’ way to get rid of a complete fuck up.
The real monsters have an honorable though.
So either you’re a bad, bad person or a totally normal person who did nothing wrong. Sounds like a useless label, then. Like a felony.
Drug use on its own usually doesn’t result in a court martial, which means it normally isn’t a DD.
Drug use would be a less severe separation like an OTH or general discharge.
The commander must have liked HST at least a little bit to have gone through the trouble of an administrative discharge, but not even downgrade from “honorable” to “general”.
Usually if somebody is a minor pain, everybody just waits it out until their contract ends and denies them the ability to sign a new one. If they are pain enough to discharge early through a pure admin discharge (as opposed to medical), there is usually enough hard feeling for a downgrade.
