Provocateur Defined By Behaviors

We've got a guy who has entered the statewide coalition's Yahoo discussion group that has made numerous attacks on veracity and credibility of activists who have posted articles or comments in the group. He has seldom if ever made affirming or positive comments toward another member of the group. He seems to take on the role of editor, censor and researcher who is the only one with the "facts".

On several occasions the comments of this man provoked group members to angry replies to him. Once that begins the guy relishes the argument and flaming that goes on. He promotes it and fuels it with provocative remarks that assumes knowledge of individuals in the coalition that he really doesn't have. He's accused one of the more peaceful activists I've ever worked with as being associated with a violent extremist group because the activist runs the Denver IAC. He calls people names like "red diaper baby' with insinuation they belong to Marxists organizations. He puts people down constantly with insults about their thinking, their age or their association but seldom contributes anything original of his own. Instead he copies and pastes an endless number of links to blogs that help support whatever argument he's involved in. It doesn't matter if these links are in context or even remotely associated to the discussion either.

I called the man out in the room as being a possible provocateur. Hell, he is a provocateur because all he's contributed to the Colorado coalition's discuss room is slanderous and divisive comments that may or may not have some validity. In a private email to the man, I questioned if he worked for some group or "agency". He chose to post my private email in the room and represent it as a public disparaging of his credibility. He also started posting on my blog and on my facebook pages with disjointed and rambling comments followed by numerous links associated to whatever point he felt he was making. I ended up putting him on my spam list and closing my accounts to him because of his net "stalking".

The man responded with angry attempts to call me a red baiter, McCarthyite etc., etc. and almost instantly had dozens of testimonials posted in the room and on my email from activists all across the country. They supported the man as being part of the activist community and chastised me for suggesting otherwise.

The problem with all the testimonials was neither the discuss group or I know what was sent to the activists outside Colorado about this man's participation in the group. None of the activists are members of the group and have only this man's obviously slanted and biased perception of things. From the emails and postings it seems I called him a CIA agent, a FBI agent, a spook, an agent provocateur and all sorts of mean and nasty things that I didn't accuse him of being.

I decided to look around the net to see if I could find this man's trail in other places. The first place was his Obama blog. Then he showed up on several other activist blogs with the same trash talking and provocative remarks belittling other activists. The dude seems to live in front of a computer looking up links to dispute and attack the activists of the many rooms and blogs he's posted comments. The responses of most have been like that of our group...anger and finally a decision to ignore the man.

I'm still getting emails and the guy still posts in the group with his belittling and "know it all" manner. Most of the group has decided to ignore him. I'm still getting chastised by activists I don't know, who don't know the situation and who assume their information from the man is correct about what I really said to him.

I stand by my remarks that this guy is a provocateur. I wrote a brief article describing the difference between provocateur and agent provocateur. I'm told by the guy and his buddies I'm "parsing" words. So be it. I don't know if the guy is an agent but I clearly see his negative and destructive comments toward other activists are provocative and tend only to cause disruption and division. His remarks interrupt communication between group members about the upcoming DNC here in Denver. These are behaviors of a provocateur regardless of his connections, his past credentials or actions.

It must also be added to the discussion remarks made by Donald Rumsfeld a few years back about the intent to infiltrate blogs and groups that aren't friendly to the Bush Administration. The expressed intent by Rumsfeld was to disrupt and provide disinformation in the blogs and groups. Anybody or anything that gets in the way of effective response to the illegal and immoral wars in Afghanistan and Iraq only assists the goals of Rumsfeld, Bush and the fanatical fascist elements of the Christian evangelical groups.

As a psychiatric RN, I could hazard a guess this man may have some mental health issue but then so do most of us. I don't know what drives him to be the total and complete obnoxious person he is toward people in the Colorado group but I now understand ignoring him is the only reaction I can possibly have for his behaviors and comments. And it may be parsing but as one angry group member stated if it quacks like a duck, it must be a duck. If all this guy can do is attempt to provoke members of the group, he's a provocateur plain and simple.

The saddest part of this situation is the knowledge the guy likely has is being ignored because he lacks social and communication skills to get any support. I'm aware of the testimonials that have bombarded me and the group but I'm very disappointed these "activists" assume to know me and know the situation from both sides. They've failed to get a truly objective perspective of what this man has done.

I'll not include the name of this man in this posting because I want to eliminate attention he gets from trying rebuttal. In this case the only rebuttal appropriate would be an apology for the provocateur behaviors exhibited in the group discussion room of Colorado activists. I'll not be holding my breath.

Wm Terry Leichner, RN

Denver VVAW since 1971

organizer/member

USMC combat infantryman in VietNam

Dec 31, 1967-Feb 12, 1969