Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Introduction

My name is Leslie Bates, and I have a story to tell.

Once upon a time ago, while innocent people were being gassed and incinerated by the Clinton Administration, a member of the Third Special Forces Group named Steven Michael Barry decided that enough was enough. He, with a small circle of associates, created the Special Forces Underground. This initial cell within the United States Army dedicated themselves to the task of restoring the Federal government to full compliance with the Constitution.

Steve Barry was an expert propagandist. He apparently wanted to get the word out in a deniable fashion, to this end he created a prototype of a propaganda newsletter, THE RESISTER. He gave a copy of the prototype issue of THE RESISTER to a reporter for Soldier Of Fortune magazine. The reporter in turn faxed it to his editor and publisher the retired special forces officer Robert K. Brown.

Lieutenant Colonel Brown thought that prototype issue of THE RESISTER was so neat that he offered to give a free copy to anyone who sent a self addressed and stamped business size envelope to the SOF office.

This is where I come into the picture.

I received a copy. Unfortunately so did Timothy McVeigh.

I thought that THE RESISTER was so truly neat that I typed up a complete (apart from a book review that was **AHEM** borrowed from the Second Renaissance Books catalog) ASCII text file of the initial issue and posted it on a libertarian mailing list, some USENET discussion groups, and the local Objectivist BBS.

McVeigh on the other hand went on to act out the Aryan Martyrdom fantasy that was laid out in his favorite book, THE TURNER DIARIES*. Except that no one in the media ever reported the fact that his copy of THE RESISTER was found in his car when he was arrested.

To continue my story. I sent a letter requesting further issues and a twenty dollar bill to cover printing and mailing to the Post Office Box listed as the drop in the initial issue. I subsequently received an e-mail from Steve Barry began a continuing correspondence with him.

One day I sent Steve an idea for an article for THE RESISTER. He thought it was a great idea and made me a regular contributor. I also recruited the operator of the local Objectivist BBS as a columnist.

Steven Michael Barry was a good friend and a mentor. But nothing lasts forever. After the election of George W. Bush as Presidient, THE RESISTER died and Steve Barry dropped off the face of the Earth.

My goal in establishing this weblog is nothing less than the reestablishment of a government that is fully compliant with the actual text of the United States Constitution. The actions necessary to this task will take us over the dead bodies of persons who are not fit to lick the excrement off of my combat boots. Unfortunately some of us are not going to see that day.

That's all I have to say for today.



*Short note: Reading THE TURNER DIARIES was the intellectual equivalent of taking a swim through raw sewage.

7 comments:

Celtic Dragon said...

Hear Hear!!!

Anonymous said...

In lieu of reading "The Turner Diaries," one should opt for John Ross's wonderful work, "Unintended Consequences" which is more of a swim through a bevy intellectual pulchritude than a swim through intellectual raw sewerage. A "new" Resistor sounds promising to me.

Leslie Bates said...

I reposted the review of Unintended Consequences in January of 2009 along with a short anecdote about another former friend of mine.

mosaicwolf said...

I have Volumes 1 thru 4 from 1999-2000. It was a very well done journal and I was sorry to see it disappear. They are rare I keep them in my gun safe. I often wondered what happened to SFC Barry. I was on active duty in SF at that time also.

Leslie Bates said...

I regret to say that SFC Barry has renounced reason and that I am no longer in communication with him.

I am writing a science fiction novel where warships are named RESISTER and STEVEN BARRY.

Unknown said...

A Kindle and Audible version of the best of The Resister would be worthwhile. I would be glad to make it happen if I can get permission to reprint select articles.

Chip Saunders said...

I used to eagerly read The Resister back when he formed it. I particularly appreciated the Moral Decision Game premise he put forward each issue. I valued it as a lovely teaching tool.

I am wondering about him today because I have learned of a group of current and former U.S. military officers who consider themselves to "have taken upon themselves the mission of combating the communistic forces of Cultural Marxism(i.e. political correctness), "multiculturalism," the United Nations and Boshevist influences in the military." This group calls themselves The Major General Edwin A. Walker Society and describe "The Resister is the political warfare journal of the Major General Edwin A. Walker Society". Until how recently this was the case, I do not know. The web link www.theresister.org is dead now.

But upon learning about this group, I wondered what had become of Barry. I would be most appreciative of details you have (dare I say) teased exist that you could share. As a libertarian myself (both big L and little l), I'm curious about your description that he abandoned reason.