The saga of the commie West Point graduate took a rather strange twist yesterday when the officer who achieved a degree of fame for his scorching sworn statement about then-Cadet Spenser, with an 's,' Rapone's epic insubordination and disrespect, Lieutenant Colonel (retired) Robert Heffington released a letter calling into question what is actually being instilled in young men and women . vltD+u Notifications from this discussion will be disabled. He said that we need to do something about this Rapone guy. The incoming class of 2023 also includes cadets from an array of backgrounds. The Armys statement comes days after some media outlets reported that Rapone had received an other than honorable discharge from the Army. Theres no doubt that some of the generals and higher ranked retired officers and defense contractors had avoice in this. Vice President Mike Pence called the class of 2019 the most diverse in West Point's history during the commencement address. He didnt want all these honorifics. Rapone is shown here during graduation ceremonies at the United States Military Academy at West Point with the phrase "Communism will win" written on the inside of his hat. "I figured maybe I could change things from inside.". [from Resolution #34] Amplify the perspectives & insights of impacted communities through national media platforms. Episode 19: No War But The Class War w/ Spenser Rapone (Podcast Episode 2018) Parents Guide and Certifications from around the world. The Daily Caller | 1775 Eye Street NW | Suite 1150-290 | Washington, DC 20006, West Point said in a statement released Tuesday. The U.S. Military Academy strives to develop leaders who internalize the academys motto of Duty, Honor, Country, and who live the Army values,West Point said in a statement released Tuesday. But the service declined to disclose what investigators found, how Rapone had been disciplined, or even if he has been allowed to stay in the service. He was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 and was assigned as an assistant machine gunner in Khost Province. The Army wont say. Rapones Twitter account, where he tweets as @punkproletarian, was previously set to protected while the investigation ran its course. Rapone is scheduled to speak in July at a Socialism 2018 conference in Chicago, where he and fellow far-lefty Rory Fanning, an ex-Army ranger, will appear together in a "War Resister in the . 2?pe5 uxk+qeO/jiez,&V%?`L"[A
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Although Im not apacifist, Inever called for any explicit violence. Go to the main page of ISO Socialism Conference Democratic Socialists of America Veterans Working Group, Democratic Socialists of America Wholesome Meme Stash, DL DSA Veterans Working Group Statement on Afghanistan Posted by Dsa on 08.22.17, https://www.facebook.com/groups/DSAWholesomeMemes/, https://keywiki.org/index.php?title=Spenser_Rapone&oldid=519567, GNU Free Documentation License 1.3 or later. Id have to do ashow cause board, which is essentially me convincing them why Ishould stay in themilitary. Then-Lieutenant Rapone put his own continued service on the line in order to speak up in support of blacklisted ex-49ers quarterbackColin Kaepernick. First Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. ", "I consider myself a revolutionary socialist," the 26-year-old Rapone told The Associated Press. 3 0 obj
Spenser Rapone is a former Army Ranger and Infantry Officer who resigned his commission in June 2018 due to his opposition to United States imperialism. Low around 35F. About 37 percent of the class of 2023 were minorities, equivalent to 443 people, according to the military academy. "At the time, he was an outstanding, well-rounded student who . We have one of the most technologically advanced militaries of all time and all we were doing is brutalizing and invading and terrorizing a population that had nothing to do with what the United States claimed was a threat.. Amendment on the Red Deal and Rejecting a Green Military by Sofia Arias (NYC), Sydney Ghazarian (Los Angeles), Brian Ward (Madison), Rory Fanning (Chicago), Spenser Rapone (NYC), Joe Allen. Today, his Twitter account is again public. Don't Threaten. The military website SOFREP reiterated on Thursday that Mr. Rapone was an advocate for the long march through the institutions of power., This [philosophy] entails burrowing inside the institutions of society, including the military, and subverting them from within and ultimately setting the conditions for a communist revolution, wrote Jack Murphy, a former Army Special Operations veteran. He applied to be a West Point cadet and at that time he as not selected. And youve heard from other veterans and servicemembers? Occupation: Organizer: A Critical History of Community Organizing in America, Breaking the Impasse: Electoral Politics, Mass Action, and the New Socialist Movement in the United States, Bigger Than Bernie: How We Can Win Democratic Socialism in Our Time. After the photo garnered widespread attention on Twitter, West Point quickly issued a statement distancing itself from Rapone. He went viral after posting a photo to Twitter of himself in support of professional football player Colin Kaepernick, where Rapone is seen in his West Point uniform at graduation holding his cap that contains a piece of paper that says Communism will win.. The United States Army is so impressed with Spenser Rapone, they decided to promote him to first lieutenant. In addition to classic socialist theorists such as Karl Marx, Rapone says he found inspiration in the writings of Stan Goff, a retired Special Forces master sergeant who became a socialist anti-war activist. UQuIgR0-8Z4m5D_pY`ucWl
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-f=l@u?H}^Zuj2')`gdzhg~pwwNcEATk,.sWChKggdsCxsA#/aU.8$D^x^@3k;=:V'EQzBju:&XRc]Y|}U.>$mco-/RgxyR\/KA{wz9@Y2]nSQa0baEA~Uws83tF SOI5jraML/ua;s y~D /A' l9~:' The Superintendent of West Point Military Academy, Lt. Gen. Robert L. Caslen, Jr., released a letter on Wednesday. I have not been in touch with him in the years since the appointment, and I was shocked and extremely disappointed in the recent reports of his indefensible actions., The behavior of 2nd Lieutenant Rapone is symbolic of a larger problem in our society the epidemic of incivility in our public discourse, Altmire continued. Joe, but he wanted none of that. He also stated publicly that Vice President Mike Pence is a fucking medieval, cold-blooded killer.. In many ways, youre even moredisillusioned. I was still idealistic, he said. I figured maybe I could change things from inside.. In 2021 Spenser Rapone was hired at the University of Texas in Austin in the History Departments New School for Social Research. But they kicked it back and said Iwould go before aboard of inquiry, which is an adversarial trial where Ipresent my case and they present theirs. He explained that he took the offending selfies at his May 2016 West Point graduation ceremony and kept them to himself until last September, when he tweeted them in solidarity with NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was taking heat for kneeling for the national anthem to raise awareness of racism. The GNDCC will make direct connection with The Red Nation, dedicate one person to serve as the main point of contact, and collaborate with the comrades on joint actions, statements and local, national and international campaigns around indigenous liberation and climate justice. The more important thing is that alot of other veterans and active duty personnel have had similar experiences to me and have come to similar conclusions, if not the same, and Ihope that by speaking out. A search of Rapones page shows they are still Facebook friends. Ithink it was just him seeing the word communist made him draw his own conclusions fromthere. Rainmixing with snow overnight. Aside from his recent West Point graduation, Rapone was an infantry officer in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, New York. At West Point, Hosein had mentored Rapone. As weve seen in the recent past, ideological actors working inside the system such as Edward Snowden can do a tremendous amount of damage to national security. Second Lieutenant Rapones actions in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. Army. West Point released a statement after Rapone posted the photos, saying his actions "in no way reflect the values of the U.S. Military Academy or the U.S. accounts, the history behind an article. Iwas in the field at the time helping at afire range and so they took me out of the field, met with my attorney and was told Iwas under investigation. Douglas Ernst can be reached at dernst@washingtontimes.com. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, By Debra Heine 10:26 PM on October 05, 2017. racist or sexually-oriented language. And U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, a Florida Republican, called on the secretary of the Army to remove Rapone from the officer ranks. [emailprotected]. At the time, he was an outstanding, well-rounded student who came from a good family. "I was still idealistic," he said. At that point, again, Iwanted nothing to do with the military because Ifind their rule morally reprehensible and ethically unsound, so Isubmitted my resignation. There were no red flags of any kind.. But Ihad no desire to serve any longerI disagree with what the United States military is doingso Isubmitted aresignation in February with the condition that, as long as Idont receive anything lower than ageneral discharge, Iwould go. When you study the role of the United States and the British and the French pre-dating them, you start to understand what imperialism really is. Top brass at Fort Drum accepted Rapone's resignation Monday after an earlier reprimand for "conduct unbecoming of an officer." Its not illegal to be acommunist in the military, but since Iwas in uniform, and in their mind, making apolitical statement and posted on social media, they lumped it all together as this nebulous unbecoming conduct charge and said Iwas advocating forviolence. that is degrading to another person. The academy is prepared to assist the officers chain of command as required.. ", Rapone said his journey to communism grew out of his experiences as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan before he was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy. Its atypical right-wing canard with communism that its atotalitarian entity, but thats not what it is. Hosein brought Phi Alpha Theta members, including Rapone, to Orlando, Florida, for a national conference in February 2016. Officially, the Army said in a statement only that it conducted a full investigation and "appropriate action was taken. Rapone was an infantry officer in the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y. The day after Iposted the pictures, my chain of command approached me, read me my rights, and told me Icould talk right now or wait for an attorney, so of course Iwaited for an attorney. In an interview with In These Times, Rapone tells his story of his journey from GI Joe to an anti-war activistand why Rubio got himwrong. Since the class of 2012, the percentage of women entering West Point increased by about 10 percent, according to data on class characteristics. Rainmixing with snow overnight. Among other activities, Soldiers are encouraged to vote in elections and express their personal opinions on public issues. https://t.co/c3SW0QJsBl https://t.co/c3SW0QJsBl, My eyes are seriously about to roll out of the back of my head. Even while still a cadet, Rapones online postings alarmed a West Point history professor, who wrote Rapone up, saying his online postings were red flags that cannot be ignored. Rapone was disciplined but still allowed to graduate. He then deployed to Afghanistan, where he earned a combat infantryman badge. The term communism itself seemed to engender acertain response from Rubio. He was nominated out of high school by then-U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire in 2010. "During the interview, he expressed patriotism and looked just like a top-notch candidate. Oops, this content can't be loadedbecause you're having connectivity problems, - The Washington Times - Friday, June 8, 2018. One of six children growing up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rapone said he applied to West Point, which is tuition-free, because he couldn't afford college. Its my belief when he returned back from Afghanistan there was a notable difference in his political views, Richard L. Rapone said. This time Rapone's father himself publicly weighed in on his son's gross comments and anti-American sentiment, according to the Daily Caller. The two apparently traveled together to India together in 2014 and maintained a close relationship until Rapone graduated in May 2016. For his part, Rapone became infamous in 2017 after his photos and tweets made the internet rounds. Its a call for action beyond the scope of the US colonial state. He is a man of above-average stature. Now through Monday, sign up to become a Sustainer for just $5 a month and you'll receive your choice of one of three booksas well as an ongoing subscriptions (10 issues a year) to the print magazine. Former Democratic Rep. Jason Altmire of Pennsylvania told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Rapones long history of extremist tweets, which include calling Mattis an evil, vile f****, is shocking, disappointing and abhorrent. 2 0 obj
Rapone, whose Twitter handle is punkproletarian, recently retweeted posts from Rory Fanning, an ex-Army Ranger who says he will be interviewing Rapone at the conference Socialism 2018., At Socialism 2018 Ill be sitting down with with Spenser Rapone, the US Army Ranger, Afghan-war combat vet, recent West Point graduate, and now war-resister, who sparked nation-wide fury after publicly supporting Colin Kaepernick and Socialism during his West Point graduation. Sign up to become a Sustainer before the deadline and take advantage of our best offer ever. The class of 2022 included 400 minority cadets, among them 186 African Americans, 104 Hispanic Americans, 99 Asian Americans and 11 Native Americans, according to West Point. Release Calendar Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Browse Movies by Genre Top Box Office Showtimes & Tickets Movie News India Movie Spotlight. Have thoughts or reactions to this or any other piece that you'd like to share? 1 0 obj
He was in the army for 26years and was in special operations. Spenser Rapone, the former Army second lieutenant whose "Communism will win" photos went viral in 2017, has received an "other than honorable" discharge. Lt. Rapone, a member of the 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, first drew attention when he tweeted an image from his Twitter account, @punkproletarian, with "Communism Will Win". or anything. Top brass at Fort Drum accepted Rapones resignation Monday after an earlier reprimand for conduct unbecoming of an officer., Rapone said an investigation found he went online to advocate for a socialist revolution and disparage high-ranking officers. The saga of communist sympathizing Second Lieutenant Spenser Rapone keeps on going, and with every turn it looks worse for Rapone. Trump and other right wingers also still trot out Pat Tillman as asymbol. Then, theres anumber of people who Icant name because they might face repression themselves, but anumber of active-duty service members and enlisted soldiers who Im trying to help work through things and counsel them and hopefully inspire them to take the measures to stop serving the AmericanEmpire. In this case, it came from Altmire, who served as a membr of Congress in Pennsylvanias 4th congressional district from 2007 to 2013. Many other military personnel also tweeted in favor of Kaepernick, although most were supporting free speech, not communism. One of six children growing up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rapone said he applied to West Point, which is tuition-free, because he couldnt afford college. And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of the academys Long Gray Line.. Latest. Share with Us. On February 11, he posted an article titled Know Your (Gun) Rights! Chance of precip 90%.. Ithink some people are more anti-Trump than they are anti-war. Spenser Rapone, U.S. Army. Don't knowingly lie about anyone Prospective Students; Undergraduate Students; Graduate Studies Nearly a year ago, the story of Army Lieutenant Spenser Rapone was a big item. No matter what you did in these imperialist conflicts, theres arole you can play in ending them and try to help emancipate and liberate people. ", An unrepentant Rapone summed up the fallout in yet another tweet Monday that showed him extending a middle finger at a sign at the entrance to Fort Drum, accompanied by the words, "One final salute. (Chicago), Nazir Khan (Twin Cities). From there, Iwould either be retained or kicked out. The Navy, on the other hand, readily releases full investigations into rank-and-file sailors when their cases have become infamous. Rapone is a former Army Ranger turned West Point Cadet who posted photos with his cap showing the phrase, "Communism will win," ultimately expressing his pro-communism views. The Israeli regime is bombing Syrians during the month of Ramadan while the US is starving Syrian with inhuman and sadistic sanctions. But then Igot deployed to Afghanistan, and my experience overseas showed me that if anything, Iwas making adifference for those with power and wealth. He ultimately resigned his commission, and was separated from the Army in June 2018 with an Other Than Honorable discharge.. Even the army chaplain would give us these kinds of speeches. Despite his growing disillusionment about the military, he applied and got in. According to popularmilitary.com, Rapone, 25, from New Castle, Pennsylvania, first enlisted in the Army in 2010 and was assigned to Fort Benning for basic training and infantry training. At worst, however, Cadet Rapones statements bespeak either a severe mental or psychological disorder, or a genuine commitment to values and ideals wholly at odds with those of West Point and the Army, he added. There are a lot of veterans both active duty and not that feel like I do.. Articles by this author Opinion Your Commander-in-Chief Is Lying to You: Veterans Issue Open Letter to Active Duty US Soldiers Rory Fanning. Movies. Of the people who go into the military, not many people go with acomplete political formation of the world and, unfortunately, being in that world steers them acertain way. One picture showed him in uniform, opening his shirt to show an of Che Guevara. After the initial photo was posted and achieved some measure of viralityand elicited quite a bit of outrage and confusionRapone laid any confusion to rest and further incited his far-right critics by posting another photo of himself wearing aChe Guevarat-shirt underneath his half-buttoned uniform. You go to football games and they bring troops out on the field. He studied political theory, radicalized, and eventually turned to socialism. Mr. Rapone retweeted the message. So Istarted to think of what Icould do and then 10 months after Trump was elected, Colin Kaepernick lost his job essentially. He didnt want to be paraded around or be used by the Bush administration to sell awar. I have no doubt that the U.S. Army will take appropriate action, Altmire said. Or, Icould submit an unconditional resignation and they can give me whatever discharge they want. And those views only hardened during his studies of history as one of the academy's "Long Gray Line.". "Of course my military career is dead in the water. Sign up to become a Sustainer before the deadline and take advantage of our best offer ever. And Marco Rubio said you advocate violence againstAmerica? The event is set to take place on July 5-8during thethe Socialism 2018 conference in Chicago, Illinois. Spenser Rapone, a former US Army Ranger and Infantry Officer, was kicked out of the military for posting a photo of himself at his West Point graduation ceremony with an antiwar sign under his hat . Iremember one time it achaplain said we were about bringing wrath upon these people, and Iwas like, Wow, these people have some kind of crusader fantasy. It was prettyunsettling. Igot flagged and essentially told that if Iposted anything else, Iwould be in moretrouble. Richard L. Rapone explained that Spenser tried to join West Point straight out of high school but was not accepted. (Source: Twitter). Take the story of Gas Turbine Systems Technician 3rd Class Peter Mims an E-4 whose disappearance sparked a massive man overboard search last year. According to photos on Rapones Facebook page, he became close to Hosein, a Ph.D. in Islamic history from the University of Chicago. Less than a year after Rapones images drew a firestorm of vitriol and even death threats, the second lieutenant who became known as the commie cadet is officially out of the U.S. Army with an other-than-honorable discharge. Inspired by former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who famously took aknee to protest police violence, Rapone wore aChe Guevara T-shirt to his West Point graduation in May 2016 and turned his cap over to reveal the hand-scrawled message, Communism willwin.. In this June 15, 2018, photo, West Point graduate Spenser Rapone leans on his motorcycle at a park in Watertown, N.Y. Spenser Rapone, a New Castle native, has received an other than honorable discharge from the US Army. I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement., Rapone said his journey to communism grew out of his experiences as an Army Ranger in Afghanistan before he was accepted into the U.S. Military Academy. Communist ex-Ranger and West Pointer receiving a other than honorable discharge. He is the son of Peter Pauling and Barbara W. Tuchman. Looks like the Commie Cadet is well on his way to become the first Army General who advocates the overthrow of the American Government. It seeks to create astateless, classless, moneyless society. One of six children growing up in New Castle, Pennsylvania, Rapone said he applied to West Point, which is tuition-free, because he couldn't afford college. New cadets hold and read booklets called 'Cadet Knowledge' during Reception Day at the United States Military Academy at West Point, June 27, 2016, in West Point, New York.
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