What you don't understand about Kokesh
Today I listened to a podcast. The person hosting was asked if he supported Kokesh. In a very snarky and dismissive tone, the host replied that he would support Kokesh for vice president. I could hear a small pop in my brain from the strain of rage and disbelief. Not because he dismissed Kokesh running. No. Because of how insanely ignorant his comment was.
Something that you have to understand is, Kokesh isn't running so that he can be president. He is running to dismantle the presidency and the federal government. Read more about this here. That being said, there is no point in Kokesh being a vice president. Sure he's smart and effective and do a better job than most, but that isn't what this is all about. If you think that Adam Kokesh should be a vice president or a president... you've missed the fucking point by a mile.
To my next point, I'm a badass. I get shit done and it radiates off of me. I make a point of facing my fears as soon as I realize that I have them. Yet, I'm fine with admitting that I am way to big of a pussy to do what Adam does. Let me tell you why.
Adam does and has put his head on a chopping block just to prove a point. The man will stand up to the federal government like most of us would stand up to a neighbor digging in our toolbox uninvited. He's not doing it blind, either. He knows good and well what he's doing and all the horrific radars he is now blipping on.
The reason why he does it is what messes with my head the most.
How many times have you heard someone ask you, "oh yeah? and what exactly are YOU doing about it?"? I hear it all the time and would reply that I educate myself and spread contrary thoughts in statist echochambers. I felt pretty good about this answer.
The reason Adam does it, from what I've heard of him, is simple. Who else is going to do it. It's pretty much that simple. A job needed doing, he figured out how to do it, and then he set out to do it.
I don't know what you know about Adam, but he's just your run of the mill, witty, veteran dude. He's smart, but more so he's fiercely loyal to doing the right thing (which is why he's taking this shit storm on). The man gets shit on and kicked down in horrible ways, but struts out to meet the new day with a pressed suit and a smile.
I guess the reason I'm writing this last part is because I know he won't write it himself. He's just not that kind of a guy. He's doesn't have time to gloat due to his time writing, helping others, and staying to the task no matter what is thrown at him.
I think too many people don't know the truth about Adam. That he's not running for presidency or applause. He's just doing what he knows he should so that you can be comfortable rooting from the anonymous sidelines. He knows the trolls will hate. He knows the media will scoff, and the statists will probably just make shit up.
What you need to know about Kokesh is... it's not about Kokesh. He's just a guy with balls. It's about the message. It's about the legal takedown of your slave masters. He just volunteered to put his dick in the blender to get the message out there.
If he can take up such a mantle as spearheading the responsible and orderly dismantlement of the federal government, do you reckon you got the balls to help?
Prove thyself by helping monetarily or with your time. Be part of the greatest movement of modern times.
Good post. I recently stumbled across Adam’s work and his effort and and search for truth are a fresh reminder of how shitty modern government has become. Good on you for highlighting his efforts
He’s running to be the star of his own show. Numerous threats and insults to fellow anarchists, men, women, and children, display that he’s got some real issues.
Does he want people to be free? Maybe. I think deep down, at heart, he might be good person. Do his actions support this claim? No, not really.
Anyone that disagrees with him is a “coward” (Larken Rose), a “troll” (me), or “mentally disturbed” (former treasurer Angela Owens, ex-girlfriend Macey).
He’s upvoted comments calling for people to be literally killed, and been explicitly notified of this, and refuses to address it. He has threatened 9-year-olds with lawsuits and losing their parents.
The worst of all, though, is he has called upon Voluntaryists to “put down the ideology” (what ideology do we have, save individual self-ownership?) He’s suggested requiring fingerprints for homesteaders, and plans to centrally redistribute government resources, instead of allowing local markets to do so. Central planning. He’s also claimed directly that the Federal election will grant him this authority. This has nothing to do with anarchy.
I’ve suffered a bit as far as reputation for talking about this. But you know, you can’t hold two mutuallly exclusive positions. You can’t say you'll be the central “custodian,” redistributing resources and making policy, and simultaneously that everyone can ignore your policy.
There is a cult of personality. I’ll be crucified for pointing it out maybe. But the “crucification” of internet vitriol is laughable to me, and sad.
Kokesh is man who seems to mean well, but no man is fit to rule another, and displace the free market as the central authority.
(mail me @voluntaryjapan@protonmail.com for proof/corroboration of all this).
Fuck federal elections and Sunday school leaders. Get free. For yourself.
Lots of people have messiah complexes. Lots of people do crazy shit to be martyrs. It’s nothing new, really.
i see you've made your obligatory comment. again though, the point of the article is... it's not about kokesh. it's about the message and the plan. :)
The message and the plan are not in line with voluntaryist principle. Addressed that in the comment. Why you don’t care is perplexing to me.
i think we are just miscommunicating somehow. Nothing is more voluntaryist than decentralization.
How about asking homesteaders to supply fingerprints?
Or instead of allowing decentralized, local markets to decide what to do with the resources they use, having a centralized cabinet of “custodians,” and not the market, do it.
How about the fact that Adam has said the election (a federal, majority vote) will grant him authority?
This is all on record, man.
Does this sound very “decentralized” and voluntaryist to you?
...
I think this stunt by Kokesh is riddled with problems, but I'm hoping the best-case scenario will come to pass; which is that it brings attention to the abolitionist movement, and gets our ideas on the table with at least a few people who've never considered them. Obviously he's never going to get the chance to dismantle the government by executive order...
As for the accusations you've made about Adam, I don't follow him closely so I can't speak to them, but I've heard him enough to know that he gets what anarchy is all about and has done much to spread the message. I have my own ideas about why he's running for president, and I think there are mixed motivations, but I don't think there's any benefit to knocking each other down when our meager numbers are desperately insufficient as it is. We just can't afford in-fighting at this stage.
There's a list of people from here to the moon and back who deserve getting slammed before Adam if you care about freedom. Whatever time you spend writing about Adam could be better spent doing the Great Work of trying to reach statists.
I didn’t “slam” anyone here, I feel. Bringing attention to problems is a necessary market function for communities, even in the realm of ideas.
The problem is that huge parts of Kokesh’s message are antithetical to the foundational libertarian principle of individual self ownership:
The belief that federal elections can grant authority (I have direct quotes if you need them).
Centralized redistribution of taxpayer funded resources from Washington DC via Kokesh and a circle of individuals he chooses, instead of allowing local communities of individuals and the free market price/supply/demand to determine how land and resources to which they have the most direct objective link and claim will be used.
Potentially requiring fingerprints for homesteaders and allowing majority consensus, and not the natural law of property, determine what can or cannot be homesteaded
Finally, Kokesh has called on us all to “put down the ideology.” If we put down the simple ideology of individual self-ownership, how can it reach the masses? This is not the message of liberty.
Thanks for your comment.
I heard him say that the presidency would give him authority, but I took that to mean relative to the government; as in, it would give him the power to write executive orders that the other government types believe in. I didn’t take that to mean he believes the authority himself. That would be bizarre in the extreme.
In any case, I’m not denying anything you’re saying, it just sounds like you’ve got it out for him a little bit, and I don’t want to see this movement torn apart a few steps out of the gate.
You should certainly point out inconsistencies, but maybe try to present a little more balance considering how much he’s said and done that reflects a true understanding.
My personal opinion - I’m neutral on Adam generally, but I think this latest effort is misguided. He’s a key player because he’s a vet, and that lends credit to his arguments in the minds of dimwits who think credentials make arguments better. If statists could be made to think like him, we’d be light years ahead of where we are now.
So I call him an ally until he actually violates another’s rights and defends it as legit. I would also call you and ally, since you seem to be committed, and I appreciate that tremendously.
This "authority," even if statists believe in it, is illegitimate and completely antithetical to voluntaryist property ethic/individual self-ownership.
I used to be one of his biggest supporters. He has called for individuals to abandon the central, uncompromisable tenet of all libertarianism so that we can "unite as one." I tried to point this out to him as a fan, and was shut down as a "troll." No serious voluntaryist would attempt to shut down one of their fellows in this manner, while they attempt to refine viewpoints and ask legitimate questions/make legitimate criticisms. Kokesh immediately went after my character, which to me is very suspect. That's what politicians do. Not logical people.
I cannot call someone an ally who is consistently misrepresenting the philosophy and attacking others for doing so.
I do truly appreciate your open-minded and balanced response to my commentary, though. This is a rare find indeed and I really respect that.
I don’t like to put speculative ideas out there, so I didn’t mention this previously, but to me, the presidential run (particularly his behavior surrounding it) feels like a twisted Stockholm trip or something. Like he’s playing at being the captor; getting to adopt the role under the guise of being against it. Often one admires the power of one’s nemesis.
The reason why I mention this now is because you said how his response was reminiscent of politicians, and this theory could explain some of the behavior you’ve described.
Maybe he’s gone off the deep end, but if so, I hope it’s a temporary setback. At the very least, he’s put together a large body of work that many have learned from, and he’ll always deserve some measure of praise for that.
The scary part is that if he’s really backsliding, it means he never truly got it in the first place. When you really get it - the way Rose gets it, or Passio gets it - going back is as impossible as believing in Santa again. And if he could be that convincing... God help us... this guy could be the antichrist hahahaha
I don't have a problem with Adam... I'm thankful for any ally in the fight for freedom. That being said, governmental authority doesn't exist, and I'm not going to pretend that it does. Freedom is the goal, but how we get there matters - it's not just about anarchy, it's about enlightenment. If the government was dismantled tomorrow, be it by violent revolution or by executive order, it would be meaningless.
The culture of 1776 had a stronger freedom mindset that our current society, and look how well that turned out. It's a battle of the mind and heart - even if Kokesh succeeded (which he cannot) it wouldn't address the relevant issue at all. Anarchy must come about as a side-effect of a rise in the cultural consciousness, or it cannot last.
I don't believe running for president, even if brings attention to the movement, brings the necessary kind of attention to have beneficial effect.
Excellent post. I couldn't agree more.
Before now, I knew absolutely nothing about Adam. But from your description he seems to be a great guy--looks fierce though, maybe that's good, given what he is doing in your country.
One man can make a difference. It takes one man to inspire a multitude on a course that will change their lives forever
Kokesh is a Russian town maybe and very nice and beautiful province the End;
i don't know... i mean, purple bicycle icecream tasty cute cosmetology happiness?
Kokesh is the name of a Russian town.
ha! that makes so much more sense now that i've read it in that light! thanks, kafka!
you just nailed it to the point.adam kokesh is trying to wake us up to take action on the government,the the powers that be that looks at us to be their slaves.i really admire what he is doing and he's got a lot of balls.
I have followed Adam Kokesh for several years now. I was never really active in the social media so by follow I mean that I have watched videos by him or videos that he was in. I think I first started around 2012-13, not really sure. It was a happy co-incidence that I found him here on Steemit.
At that time 'veterans against war' videos were some of the most powerful content that I have watched, even till this date. I haven't seen those videos for sometime now but I remember veterans would share their story of horror of the battlefield and several of them would toss their medals back on live videos. Those were heartbreaking moment - to know that a man who bled and killed for his country would be disillusioned by the war to this point.
I am no fan of disrespecting any country but it took me sometime to realize their reasons and to at least gain a tiny measure of understanding as to why they had to make such bold statements. Statements that spoke volumes without saying any words.
I've been following Adam since his RT days and continue to be amazed by his bravery, honesty, and determination. The soy boy sheeple society of today needs people like him to oppose evil and keep a remnant of the good old sane society. Although i doubt he will win in 2020, his popularity and undertaking will plant a seed that may germinate in the future. Back in the RT days i never thought that states would legalize gold and silver as legal tender but they did. Even Trump's election was momentous as a rise against the centralized corrupt establishment. Keep up the good fight Adam and thanks @iamthenerd for clarifying his position.
I like Adam Kokesh and I am glad you clarified that he is NOT actually running for president but to make a statement because there is NO F***ing Way he will win.
With that being said, I think Adam should run for a local government position like city council or mayor if he wants to be more productive. I have NOT mentioned this to him because I don't want him taking it wrong. If you know Adam personally....then maybe you should relay this to him!
I think you're missing the point. You can't dissolve the federal government as a mayor.
You can’t dissolve the Fed as a president, either.
common misconception. to quote my friend:
"Executive Orders have been used for the last century to get around all kinds of constitutional hurdles: from torture, to starting wars, to interning Japanese-Americans.
Congress has done nothing to curtail the power of these executive orders for over a century so, as a result, we have 150 years of executive order precedent that says that an EO can do whatever it wants to do."
this is going to be awesome, man!
learn more here: https://kokeshforpresident.com/platform/
The Office of the President has no such power even through an EO. It's laughable. People supporting Kokesh are being trolled.
It’s not a “common misconception.”
Who is “your friend”? What is the source of this quote?
This is incorrect?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_order
...
And that is exactly where I am getting at.
i find it difficult to believe that you've read this post in it's entirety... or even the first two paragraphs. take the time to understand the authors position and your responses will hold more value.