WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:05.280 Good morning, everybody. Corey used bloody history. So today we're 2 00:00:05.280 --> 00:00:11.599 going to continue on with carry Thornley's Oswald Chapter four, 3 00:00:12.039 --> 00:00:16.719 Ozzy Rabbit and the Power of Laughter. Powers also testified 4 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.679 that Oswald was reserved and seemed to be somewhat the 5 00:00:19.760 --> 00:00:23.480 frail little puppy in the Litter Report of the Warrant Commission. 6 00:00:24.879 --> 00:00:29.320 Oswald had what he conceived to be magnificent ideas for humanity, 7 00:00:29.440 --> 00:00:32.799 but in order to execute them, he needed power, and 8 00:00:32.880 --> 00:00:35.240 as a marine, as a private in the Marine Corps, 9 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.679 he didn't have too much of that. Later he would 10 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:40.439 carry out a secret plan that might put his hands 11 00:00:40.479 --> 00:00:43.359 on some levers of power, but for the present he 12 00:00:43.479 --> 00:00:45.960 had to use what little there was at his disposal 13 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:49.640 in his own defense. As far back as he could remember, 14 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:54.119 almost Oswald had been an object of ridicule. In nineteen 15 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.600 fifty two, when he moved with his mother to New York, 16 00:00:56.799 --> 00:00:59.039 the other children in p. S. One seventeen tease them 17 00:00:59.079 --> 00:01:02.399 about his Texas Acte, and in nineteen fifty four, upon 18 00:01:02.439 --> 00:01:04.840 returning to the South, he found the children in his 19 00:01:04.920 --> 00:01:07.239 ninth grade class laughing at him because he acquired a 20 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:10.560 Northern accent. And after he joined the Marine Corps in 21 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.480 October of nineteen fifty six. Somewhere along the line, he 22 00:01:13.519 --> 00:01:18.079 got nicknamed Ozzie Rabbit. When Lee was very young, however, 23 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:21.159 and first attending school, he was large for his age. 24 00:01:21.640 --> 00:01:24.680 A former schoolmate of his from that period asserted in 25 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.519 a news story that Lee, due probably to his size, 26 00:01:27.920 --> 00:01:30.719 was the leader of the playground. He was popular, so 27 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:33.000 when he came to feel the sting of ridicule, it 28 00:01:33.079 --> 00:01:36.400 was all the sharper by contrast, And while it would 29 00:01:36.439 --> 00:01:39.719 not appear that Oswald received much more ridicule than many 30 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:43.120 children who find it difficult to adjust to new surroundings, 31 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:46.519 that he was especially sensitive and tended to withdraw away 32 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:51.000 from others his own age perhaps indicates that, due probably 33 00:01:51.079 --> 00:01:55.840 to his unsatisfactory home life and to the dominance courted 34 00:01:55.920 --> 00:01:59.040 him in earlier peer group relationships because of his size, 35 00:01:59.400 --> 00:02:02.879 he certainly did feel the ridicule more intensely than would another. 36 00:02:03.959 --> 00:02:05.560 So it might have been in those early days of 37 00:02:05.560 --> 00:02:08.719 his life that he came to give undeserved attention to 38 00:02:08.840 --> 00:02:12.039 his image in the eyes of other people. For if 39 00:02:12.080 --> 00:02:14.680 the opinion of others could so hurt him, then it 40 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:18.759 was something to which he must pay great heed. Further, 41 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:22.800 as time went on, it might have been that he 42 00:02:22.919 --> 00:02:25.680 extended this false premise to the point of creating his 43 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:30.360 extraordinary view of history. Whatever the reasons, Oswald came to 44 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:33.639 have an exaggerated concern for impressing it upon others that 45 00:02:33.680 --> 00:02:36.759 he was not a fit object of their contempt. This 46 00:02:36.960 --> 00:02:40.840 very common and extremely unhealthy obsession is usually expressed in 47 00:02:40.879 --> 00:02:43.120 the words people may not like me, but they are 48 00:02:43.240 --> 00:02:46.159 sure as hell going to respect me. In effect, such 49 00:02:46.159 --> 00:02:48.599 a desire puts one entirely at the mercy of others, 50 00:02:48.919 --> 00:02:52.560 be they rational or irrational. From this point on, the 51 00:02:52.599 --> 00:02:56.960 problem requires merely a logical extension. If I'm being attacked 52 00:02:56.960 --> 00:02:59.000 by a man with a deadly weapon, and if I 53 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:02.759 am unarmed, the logical thing for me to do is 54 00:03:02.800 --> 00:03:05.319 to arm myself, possibly by wrestling the weapon away from 55 00:03:05.319 --> 00:03:08.000 the attacker. If that weapon is a gun, I become 56 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.560 a gunman. If that weapon is laughter, I become a jester. 57 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:14.560 And the thing I remember most about Lee is that 58 00:03:14.639 --> 00:03:19.000 he was a comedian. His jibes were usually directed at officers. 59 00:03:19.479 --> 00:03:22.039 At times they were at his own expense, perhaps in 60 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:25.159 hopes that they would beat others to the punch. They 61 00:03:25.159 --> 00:03:28.520 were always witty. It was by his wit, even more 62 00:03:28.759 --> 00:03:32.759 than by his Marxism, that he chose to set himself apart, 63 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.120 and likewise it was his wit that got him into 64 00:03:35.120 --> 00:03:39.039 the most trouble, though once again he appeared not to 65 00:03:39.039 --> 00:03:42.280 perceive that such was the cause. One of his favorite 66 00:03:42.280 --> 00:03:45.319 games was to compare the United States Marine Corps to 67 00:03:45.400 --> 00:03:48.840 the Society in nineteen eighty four. Be careful, comrade, with 68 00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:51.840 big brother's equipment, he would say, as we unloaded government 69 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:54.479 owned gear from the truck. He would also compare to 70 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:57.599 the officers to party members because of the special privileges 71 00:03:57.639 --> 00:04:02.280 they received. An analogous theme of joking was communism. Once 72 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:05.479 when our section chief jumped up onto a truck fender 73 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:07.360 and called for us to gather around and listen up, 74 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:11.599 Lee exclaimed in a thick Russian accent. Ah collective farm lecture. 75 00:04:12.439 --> 00:04:15.800 He oftentimes referred to himself and others as comrade. Even 76 00:04:15.840 --> 00:04:19.639 when his witticisms had no direct relation to communism, he 77 00:04:19.720 --> 00:04:24.439 often nevertheless uttered them in his Russian accent. Other of 78 00:04:24.439 --> 00:04:28.000 his clever remarks fall into no single category. Often they 79 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:31.720 were quite biting, though, and he was unabashed about making 80 00:04:31.759 --> 00:04:36.000 them loud enough so that his intended victims, even if 81 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:38.439 they happened to be somewhat humorless officers could hear them 82 00:04:39.399 --> 00:04:42.079 in a group. Lee was a loud and boisterous person, 83 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:45.439 making jokes or arguing the case for communism or both 84 00:04:45.759 --> 00:04:49.519 without reserve. Yet on a person to person basis, he 85 00:04:49.680 --> 00:04:53.360 was shy and reserved. I preferred arguing with him when 86 00:04:53.439 --> 00:04:56.920 we were alone, because then he was more inclined to listen. 87 00:04:57.240 --> 00:05:00.399 He didn't have a front to keep up. Without an audience, 88 00:05:00.439 --> 00:05:02.959 he would be He would more often admit he was 89 00:05:02.959 --> 00:05:06.040 wrong on a point, whether by intention or in spite 90 00:05:06.079 --> 00:05:10.120 of himself. He also projected pathos at all times. There 91 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:14.199 was a certain sympathy getting embarrassed about him, And yet 92 00:05:14.199 --> 00:05:16.560 I'm sure he wanted it understood that he cared for 93 00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.480 no man's concern or sympathy, though not sure at all 94 00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:25.319 such was really the case. Despite the barbed nature of 95 00:05:25.360 --> 00:05:28.160 his humor, the total effect of his antics was more 96 00:05:28.199 --> 00:05:32.120 that of a clown than the satirist. His humor seldom 97 00:05:32.120 --> 00:05:35.279 became an effective method of offense. Usually it only achieved 98 00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:38.920 defensive ends. The exception was when he did encounter that 99 00:05:38.959 --> 00:05:42.959 occasional humorless officer than understandably he made the most of it, 100 00:05:43.360 --> 00:05:47.680 and understandably he ended up swabbing, raking, mowing, edging, or 101 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:53.079 just picking up cigarette butts. Another aspect of Oswald's differing nature, 102 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:56.680 depending on whether he was in a group or alone 103 00:05:56.759 --> 00:05:59.720 with just one other individual, was in relation to his 104 00:05:59.720 --> 00:06:04.279 real action to jokes fired in his direction. He didn't 105 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:08.800 seem to mind being called Comrade Osvaldovitch, and in a 106 00:06:08.959 --> 00:06:11.639 bull session or on a working party, he seemed good 107 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:15.000 natured about anything anyone said in fun about him. But 108 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:17.759 my own experience indicated that he might have been different 109 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:20.759 about such matters on a person to person basis. When 110 00:06:20.800 --> 00:06:23.279 I finally said, in reply to one of his complaints 111 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:26.319 about the core, something to the effect of, well comes 112 00:06:26.360 --> 00:06:30.160 the revolution, you will change all that, he looked at 113 00:06:30.199 --> 00:06:32.600 me with an expression of pained surprise and shouted, his 114 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:38.240 voice cracking, not you too, Thornly, while Oswald became a 115 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:40.639 clown in the eyes of those around him, I'm sure 116 00:06:40.759 --> 00:06:43.040 this is not what he intended. He meant only to 117 00:06:43.040 --> 00:06:46.480 defend himself from ridicule, and if possible, used the weapon 118 00:06:46.480 --> 00:06:50.720 of ridicule offensively as a means of exercising power in 119 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.360 his own eyes, he was two conflicting things. On one hand, 120 00:06:54.399 --> 00:06:59.399 and perhaps most deeply, while certain not most obviously, he 121 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:02.040 was Oswald the Oppressed. On the other hand, he was 122 00:07:02.040 --> 00:07:05.399 Oswald the Great, the future liberator of the entire human race. 123 00:07:06.240 --> 00:07:08.879 Oswald the Oppressed was that faceless every man in the 124 00:07:08.920 --> 00:07:11.879 ranks of the human herd, whose life was thoroughly uninteresting 125 00:07:12.360 --> 00:07:16.199 except for its importance as an example of injustice. Such 126 00:07:16.240 --> 00:07:19.079 a picture of himself would adequately explain his fascination. For 127 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:22.600 nineteen eighty four, its hero, too, was a victim of oppression. 128 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:26.040 Winston Smith was so oppressed, in fact, that he had 129 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:28.560 a difficult time expressing him in self and writing, as 130 00:07:28.600 --> 00:07:33.120 did Oswald, Winston Smith was a hero victim with which 131 00:07:33.199 --> 00:07:39.120 Lee could easily identify. For many reasons, Oswald the Great 132 00:07:39.560 --> 00:07:43.519 was the hero that would issue forth from Oswald the Oppressed. Indeed, 133 00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.319 Oswald the Great lived within the shell of Oswald the 134 00:07:46.319 --> 00:07:50.199 Oppressed already, and that was necessary was that Oswald the 135 00:07:50.240 --> 00:07:53.560 Oppressed throw off his chains, at which time Oswald the 136 00:07:53.600 --> 00:07:56.480 Great would step out of the shell, and Oswald the 137 00:07:56.519 --> 00:08:00.040 Oppressed would be destroyed forever. But so long as the 138 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:02.879 self image of Oswald the oppressed remained to haunt him. 139 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:06.279 Oswald could not entirely convince himself that he was, or 140 00:08:06.439 --> 00:08:09.759 had it in him to be Oswald the Great, since 141 00:08:09.800 --> 00:08:13.079 his quips seldom permitted him to feel true greatness, which 142 00:08:13.160 --> 00:08:16.399 Oswald came to identify with true power. He could not 143 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:20.319 escape knowing that he was for the moment Oswald the Oppressed. 144 00:08:21.240 --> 00:08:26.360 So finally his sense of humor must fail him all right. 145 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:32.720 Chapter five, The Idle Warrior Experience. I observed US imperialism 146 00:08:32.720 --> 00:08:35.639 at work while serving in the Marine Corps. Quote from 147 00:08:35.679 --> 00:08:39.960 Lee Harvey Oswald. In June of nineteen fifty nine, I 148 00:08:40.039 --> 00:08:43.639 left m ACS nine for Japan. This is Kerry Thornley 149 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:47.399 speaking as it happens. I was transferred to Oswald's old 150 00:08:47.440 --> 00:08:52.000 overseas outfit, MACS one. I'm telling you not coincidence, for 151 00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:54.879 the sake of all the Marine Corps stands for. I 152 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:58.039 hope MACS one was unique. Never did I suspect there 153 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:00.759 was anything like it. Defending the peace and discovering such 154 00:09:00.759 --> 00:09:02.759 a unit could exist was enough to give me dire 155 00:09:02.799 --> 00:09:06.679 reservations concerning the future of the United States. Later, MAACS 156 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:09.879 one was transferred on paper to the States, thus starting 157 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:12.720 life over as a brand new unit at that time. However, 158 00:09:13.200 --> 00:09:16.720 it was and had been for fourteen years, the goddamnedest 159 00:09:16.720 --> 00:09:19.600 excuse for a military operation ever to give ulcers to 160 00:09:19.639 --> 00:09:23.960 a kernel, it was magnificent. We arrived on the fourth 161 00:09:23.960 --> 00:09:26.960 of July and dragged our sea bags into the barracks, 162 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:30.240 littered with beer cans. A drunken marine sat weaving in 163 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.320 a chair with a broken bottle. He was cutting his 164 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:36.200 own arm with it. That night, after taps, there was 165 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:38.679 some noise in the barracks, and when the duty nco 166 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:42.279 called for silence, he was booed down. At that time, 167 00:09:42.320 --> 00:09:45.200 the men of MAACS one had two things about which 168 00:09:45.240 --> 00:09:49.279 to boast. First, they'd believe it or not, just won 169 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:53.919 a competition in close order drill for the entire Far East. Second, 170 00:09:54.159 --> 00:09:56.720 for the past three months they maintained the highest venereal 171 00:09:56.759 --> 00:09:59.399 disease rate on the base. The unit has been in 172 00:09:59.440 --> 00:10:02.320 Japan since the end of the war. Each month a 173 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.360 new draft of perhaps a dozen men or more arrived, 174 00:10:05.399 --> 00:10:07.759 and about a dozen or so were sent home. That way, 175 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:10.759 the outfit had evidently managed to maintain its salty wartime 176 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:15.600 personality by assimilating new members and small lots According to 177 00:10:15.679 --> 00:10:19.320 the testimony before the Commission of William Stuckey, who debated 178 00:10:19.320 --> 00:10:22.240 on radio with Oswald in New Orleans, Oswald told him 179 00:10:22.240 --> 00:10:25.600 that the conclusive thing made him decisive, made him decide 180 00:10:25.600 --> 00:10:30.559 that Marxism was the answer. Was his service in Japan. 181 00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:33.159 He said, living conditions over there convinced him that something 182 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:35.799 was wrong with the system, and that possibly Marxism was 183 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:38.159 the answer. He said it was in Japan that he 184 00:10:38.240 --> 00:10:39.759 made up his mind to go to Russia and to 185 00:10:39.799 --> 00:10:43.759 see for himself how a revolutionary society operates a Marxist society. 186 00:10:44.440 --> 00:10:46.840 Speaking personally again, I did not find the conditions in 187 00:10:46.919 --> 00:10:50.799 Japan particularly bad. The Japanese people seemed to enjoy quite 188 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:53.440 a high standard of living, and I find it difficult 189 00:10:53.480 --> 00:10:57.919 to imagine Oswald distressed by the economic conditions he encountered there. 190 00:10:58.240 --> 00:11:01.080 I cannot climb inside of another man's mind, though, and 191 00:11:01.279 --> 00:11:05.120 maybe Oswald saw things I didn't see. On the other hand, 192 00:11:05.240 --> 00:11:08.039 Lee may very well have been speaking of conditions other 193 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:11.519 than economic. Far more likely he was speaking of what 194 00:11:11.559 --> 00:11:16.120 he called us imperialism. This subject deserves careful examination. What 195 00:11:16.159 --> 00:11:20.080 Oswald called us imperialism was direct outspring of the conditions 196 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:22.480 of the barracks of MACS One, and I hope, to 197 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:25.799 a lesser extent other outfits. He was referring to the 198 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:30.000 conduct of United States servicemen and their dealings with the 199 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:33.480 Japanese and other Far East peoples. I remember especially one 200 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.639 heated discussion we had on the subject. I challenged him 201 00:11:36.679 --> 00:11:40.879 back to back up Soviet allegations concerning imperialism. This he 202 00:11:40.879 --> 00:11:43.679 became very excited as he alluded to his overseas experience. 203 00:11:44.399 --> 00:11:46.519 If you ever go overseas thornly, you'll see what I mean, 204 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:49.559 he said, in effect, adding that my fellow Marines equaled 205 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:52.720 any Nazi stormtrooper for brutality given the opportunity to get 206 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.720 away with it. His face became chalky and as he 207 00:11:56.879 --> 00:11:59.879 discussed the matter, and he appeared to be genuinely sick, 208 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:02.519 and so I did not press him for details. When 209 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:04.159 I got to the Far East, though, I kept a 210 00:12:04.240 --> 00:12:07.120 keen eye out for US imperialism, and I soon saw 211 00:12:07.159 --> 00:12:09.919 that what he'd been talking about, the average servicemen not 212 00:12:09.960 --> 00:12:12.519 only resented being overseas when he could not see any 213 00:12:12.600 --> 00:12:15.759 good reason for it, he had little respect for native customs. 214 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:19.600 Despite this, many men managed to behave in a civilized manner, 215 00:12:19.679 --> 00:12:23.559 while on liberty added deference for the fact that the Japanese, 216 00:12:23.559 --> 00:12:27.039 after all, were people and overwhelmingly very courteous, and that 217 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.679 some few marine sailors, soldiers and airmen failed to comprehend this, 218 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:35.120 though to them all foreigners were slightly subhuman. The results 219 00:12:35.440 --> 00:12:39.559 were sometimes tragic for some reason which I don't imagine. 220 00:12:39.559 --> 00:12:41.879 One would have to look very far, and ma acs 221 00:12:41.919 --> 00:12:44.320 One had a very large share of such men the 222 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:47.279 anti Japanese sent him. It was especially strong in newcomers. However, 223 00:12:47.279 --> 00:12:49.879 in the course of fourteen months, due to exposure, most 224 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:53.919 men have came to have at least a begrudging admiration 225 00:12:54.120 --> 00:12:58.200 for the little nip bastards. Although the anti foreign attitude 226 00:12:58.240 --> 00:13:00.879 was by no means restricted to Japanese when we went 227 00:13:00.879 --> 00:13:04.240 on maneuvers, it was applied indiscriminately to Filipinos and Chinese 228 00:13:04.240 --> 00:13:06.679 as well. I'll not attempt to go into all the 229 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:10.000 factors which I think created this phenomenon, but the most 230 00:13:10.039 --> 00:13:12.840 important one was also the most obvious. You don't give 231 00:13:12.840 --> 00:13:15.879 a man six months training in professional murder followed by 232 00:13:15.879 --> 00:13:18.080 a half hour lecture on the importance of good conduct 233 00:13:18.080 --> 00:13:21.279 on overseas liberty and then send him out as an 234 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:24.919 ambassador of goodwill. It was therefore with some justice that 235 00:13:25.000 --> 00:13:27.840 League came to feel that all the Marine Corps did 236 00:13:28.200 --> 00:13:31.360 was teach you to kill. In the course on my tour, 237 00:13:31.519 --> 00:13:34.799 I saw perhaps a half a dozen incidents of brutality 238 00:13:34.960 --> 00:13:38.200 on the part of Americans toward natives of the far East. 239 00:13:38.759 --> 00:13:42.679 These ranged from the beating beating up of taxi cab 240 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:45.600 drivers to the droppings, on one occasion, of a garbage 241 00:13:45.639 --> 00:13:48.080 filled crate from a ship into an old man's back 242 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:52.000 as a prank. I heard of dozens more, usually in 243 00:13:52.000 --> 00:13:55.039 the form of boasts. I called this sort of juvenile 244 00:13:55.039 --> 00:14:00.000 thing delinquency. Oswald called it us imperialism. Since my ambition 245 00:14:00.200 --> 00:14:01.879 had been for many years to be a writer, and 246 00:14:01.919 --> 00:14:04.000 since going to Japan was the first thing that had 247 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:06.519 ever happened to me which I could then imagine as 248 00:14:07.279 --> 00:14:10.600 an interesting starting place for a book, I went there 249 00:14:11.480 --> 00:14:15.279 with a definite desire and indefinite plan to write a 250 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:18.480 book about some aspect of Japan. As after my arrival 251 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:22.159 I became increasingly perturbed over the juvenile delinquency I saw 252 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:25.720 over the long range effect it was having on Japanese goodwill. 253 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:28.000 I more and more came to feel the book I 254 00:14:28.120 --> 00:14:30.000 was to write should deal with this problem, as well 255 00:14:30.039 --> 00:14:33.440 as other things centering around the existence of peacetime marines 256 00:14:33.480 --> 00:14:37.480 in Japan, And at last, stimulated by a chance comment, 257 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:41.120 I hit upon the perfect title, The Idle Warriors. Yet 258 00:14:41.159 --> 00:14:43.600 I still lacked an essential ingredient for a good novel. 259 00:14:43.879 --> 00:14:45.919 I needed a central theme that would tie in all 260 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:49.039 the many minor themes I wanted to handle. One afternoon 261 00:14:49.080 --> 00:14:50.919 in the barracks after work, a friend of mine who 262 00:14:50.919 --> 00:14:54.360 had also been in AMACS nine, who had known Oswald, 263 00:14:54.480 --> 00:14:57.120 handed me a copy of The Stars and Stripes and said, 264 00:14:57.200 --> 00:15:00.440 look there, on about page three was an article about 265 00:15:00.519 --> 00:15:03.720 a United States marine who, after getting out of the service, 266 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:08.080 had gone to Russia and requested Soviet citizenship. Of course 267 00:15:08.080 --> 00:15:10.519 it was Oswald. It was not until then that I 268 00:15:10.600 --> 00:15:14.480 really believed as commitment to Communism was serious. I was surprised. 269 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:17.240 I wondered how he had come to this decision. I 270 00:15:17.320 --> 00:15:20.120 began to ponder the problem, and then I sat down 271 00:15:20.120 --> 00:15:22.399 and began to work on The Idle Warriors. I had 272 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:25.879 my theme. So I'm convinced that the Idle Warrior experience 273 00:15:25.919 --> 00:15:28.759 played a key role in Lee's disillusionment with the United States. 274 00:15:29.240 --> 00:15:31.720 If it did, Lee was not the only victim. Many 275 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:36.120 men became alcoholics while serving overseas, Sympathy with communist ideas 276 00:15:36.240 --> 00:15:40.919 was unusually popular. Others found an escape in indiscriminate sexual activity. 277 00:15:41.159 --> 00:15:44.320 A surprising number turned to masochistic pastimes, such as cutting 278 00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.559 themselves with broken bottles, biting chunks out of glasses, and 279 00:15:47.919 --> 00:15:51.240 arm wrestling with live cigarette butts between their arms. Others 280 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:55.039 became thieves and saboteurs just for the sake of thrills involved. 281 00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:59.720 Riots were common, and subordination was ordinary. As explanation for 282 00:15:59.799 --> 00:16:03.720 this mass disillusionment, I have given consideration to several possibilities. 283 00:16:04.279 --> 00:16:07.960 Most prominent among them seems to be purposelessness and its 284 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:12.200 two companions discussed in Boredom. Few men, if any, specially, 285 00:16:12.320 --> 00:16:15.279 understood why they were over there in the first place. 286 00:16:15.879 --> 00:16:19.720 Much about ma ACS one helps to explain Oswald's behavior. 287 00:16:19.759 --> 00:16:23.720 In MAACS nine, he had just returned from overseas, not 288 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:26.559 too long before I met him, and as we would 289 00:16:26.559 --> 00:16:28.919 say in the Core, he wasn't about to get with 290 00:16:29.000 --> 00:16:38.600 the new routine Chapter six, Helping others. Oswald's underlying motivation 291 00:16:40.120 --> 00:16:43.440 happiness is not based on one's self. Happiness is taking 292 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:45.840 part in the struggle where there is no borderline between 293 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:49.240 one's own personal world and the world in general. Quote 294 00:16:49.240 --> 00:16:52.960 from Lee Harvey Oswald, I'd say probably not. I'd say 295 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:56.039 Kerry Thornley probably made that shit up. Probably made up 296 00:16:56.039 --> 00:17:00.600 a lot of shit. As has been by this time established, 297 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:04.319 Oswald was a humanitarian, but like most humanitarians, he could 298 00:17:04.400 --> 00:17:08.160 not be satisfied by giving of his own charity. It 299 00:17:08.200 --> 00:17:10.599 was owned to charity. He wanted his neighbor to be 300 00:17:10.640 --> 00:17:14.319 a humanitarian as well, or to put his wealth at 301 00:17:14.440 --> 00:17:18.920 Oswald's disposal so Oswald could increase his own effectiveness on 302 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:22.400 behalf of behalf of others. What he really wanted, in fact, 303 00:17:22.519 --> 00:17:26.400 was to have the whole wealth of the entire world 304 00:17:26.559 --> 00:17:29.599 at his disposal, so we could distribute it along where 305 00:17:29.680 --> 00:17:33.400 in his opinion, just lines were in his opinion just lines. 306 00:17:33.720 --> 00:17:37.200 Beyond this, no humanitarian can wish for anything. There was 307 00:17:37.240 --> 00:17:40.160 no limit to the power. Oswald knew he would need 308 00:17:40.160 --> 00:17:44.599 to fulfill his unselfishness, so his primary function to become 309 00:17:44.680 --> 00:17:47.440 taking part in the struggle, and the struggle in politics 310 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:51.279 is always for power. The kind of morality he accepted 311 00:17:51.359 --> 00:17:54.200 forced him to seek power. How does a recently discharge 312 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:58.680 private from a poor family get power? That was his problem. 313 00:17:58.720 --> 00:18:01.039 It's not a problem with many all alternative answers to 314 00:18:01.079 --> 00:18:05.319 it that Oswald could dream up the idea of going 315 00:18:05.319 --> 00:18:07.759 to the Soviet Union as a tribute to his ingenuity. 316 00:18:08.319 --> 00:18:11.200 I'm sure he felt that if his communism was ardent 317 00:18:11.319 --> 00:18:14.200 enough to cause him to defect, and if he could 318 00:18:14.599 --> 00:18:17.839 give the Soviets a propaganda edge by means of his defection, 319 00:18:18.400 --> 00:18:21.079 and perhaps he could provide them with intelligence about the 320 00:18:21.119 --> 00:18:23.920 operations of the Marine Air Control Squadron, the Soviets would 321 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:28.279 doubtlessly welcome him into their party. His disappointment at the 322 00:18:28.319 --> 00:18:30.880 first rebuff he received by a government official was enough 323 00:18:30.880 --> 00:18:34.200 to drive him to attempt suicide, and later it became 324 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:35.880 clear to him that no amount of living in the 325 00:18:35.880 --> 00:18:38.200 Soviet Union was going to get him anywhere near living 326 00:18:38.240 --> 00:18:41.559 inside the Kremlin. He decided to return to the United States, 327 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:44.240 where if he couldn't run for president, he could at 328 00:18:44.359 --> 00:18:47.440 least build the beginnings of power through political activity of 329 00:18:47.519 --> 00:18:52.240 various kinds. If Oswald's plans were unrealistic, his evaluations of 330 00:18:52.279 --> 00:18:56.599 the result they bore were not entirely so. After all, 331 00:18:56.640 --> 00:19:01.400 he was not entirely psychotic, and he had been. Had 332 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:04.640 he had been, he probably would have been far more 333 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.079 obvious and far less dangerous. He could not pretend to 334 00:19:08.160 --> 00:19:11.359 himself that he was successful in achieving anything when the 335 00:19:11.400 --> 00:19:16.039 evidence against it, combined with his wife's prosaic nagging, made 336 00:19:16.160 --> 00:19:20.240 simply an overwhelming case. To the contrary, The closest he 337 00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:22.640 came was in the desperate attempt on the life of 338 00:19:22.680 --> 00:19:27.160 General Walker in April of nineteen sixty three. In this 339 00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:32.039 assassination attempt, there is evidence that he was a good 340 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:35.920 deal more cautious than in the Kennedy murder. For example, 341 00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:39.440 hid the rifle for several days after using it. He 342 00:19:39.480 --> 00:19:41.599 also told his wife he'd been planning to shoot the 343 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:45.519 shooting for two months. Two weeks after the Walker attempt, 344 00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:48.319 his wife reports that Oswald said he was going to 345 00:19:48.319 --> 00:19:50.759 shoot Nixon. In light of the fact that Nixon was 346 00:19:50.799 --> 00:19:54.000 not in Dallas at that time and had no plans 347 00:19:54.000 --> 00:19:55.880 to be there in the near future, it is probable 348 00:19:56.400 --> 00:19:58.480 that either he or she was mistaken, and that the 349 00:19:58.519 --> 00:20:03.000 person referred to was Vice President Johnson. According to her testimony, 350 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:06.720 Marina Oswald thwarted this plan. It is apparent that Oswald 351 00:20:06.759 --> 00:20:09.440 by now was well into the state of frantic despair. 352 00:20:09.799 --> 00:20:13.640 His political activity seemed ready to take any available form, 353 00:20:13.680 --> 00:20:16.240 no matter how dangerous or petty. Next it was the 354 00:20:16.240 --> 00:20:20.440 Fair Play for Cuba Committee agitation in New Orleans. And 355 00:20:20.480 --> 00:20:24.720 then he tried defecting again. He went to the Cuban 356 00:20:24.720 --> 00:20:27.240 embassy in Mexico. This is so fucking hilarious to me, 357 00:20:27.279 --> 00:20:29.119 because Carrie Thornley is the one who did all this stuff. 358 00:20:32.039 --> 00:20:33.920 He went to the Cuban embassy in Mexico City, and 359 00:20:33.960 --> 00:20:36.640 his path was blocked. But by now he had come 360 00:20:36.680 --> 00:20:40.480 to express his disappointment in anger rather than depression. He 361 00:20:40.559 --> 00:20:44.960 stomped out and slammed the door. There were other ways open, 362 00:20:45.200 --> 00:20:48.119 and sooner or later he figured he'd hit the jackpot 363 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:51.160 or lose everything. His psychology had become that of a 364 00:20:51.319 --> 00:20:54.599 habitual gambler. In essence, don't think, just keep trying. You're 365 00:20:54.640 --> 00:20:58.000 bound to hit it someday. His tactics were often desperate ones, 366 00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:01.920 involving long odds, but without power, he could not live. 367 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:04.920 For to live he must have self esteem, and to 368 00:21:04.920 --> 00:21:07.440 have self esteem, he must have respect in the eyes 369 00:21:07.480 --> 00:21:11.279 of others. As many others as possible somewhere, and it 370 00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:14.960 was to gain that respect that he was a humanitarian 371 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:17.160 in the first place. It is safe to say that 372 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.920 Oswald had long come to value the opinion of others 373 00:21:19.960 --> 00:21:23.920 on an equal or superior level to life itself. This 374 00:21:24.079 --> 00:21:27.160 is evidence in his diary entry of twenty one October 375 00:21:27.240 --> 00:21:31.519 nineteen fifty nine, where he describes his own attempt at suicide. 376 00:21:31.960 --> 00:21:38.400 Step by step, presumably as he goes along gradually from 377 00:21:38.400 --> 00:21:41.960 his return to the United States on, Oswald begins to 378 00:21:42.000 --> 00:21:45.240 lose his perspective. He forgets what reasoning led to him 379 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:47.799 to where he stands now. He only knows that he 380 00:21:47.880 --> 00:21:51.319 must have power or death. His humanitarianism is now in 381 00:21:51.359 --> 00:21:54.880 the background, as something to be brought forth as moral 382 00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.640 justification when needed. Everything else is forgotten in his concentration 383 00:21:59.720 --> 00:22:02.680 on the struggle, and there is no longer for Oswald 384 00:22:02.680 --> 00:22:06.119 any borderline between his personal world and the world in general. 385 00:22:06.599 --> 00:22:09.680 He has become totally selfless in this respect. Even the 386 00:22:10.039 --> 00:22:13.880 power is not for him is to benefit others. If 387 00:22:13.880 --> 00:22:17.680 Oswald has any remnant of selfish desire left in him 388 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:22.000 by the end, it is for his own death. I 389 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:25.319 often wonder how Lee Oswald would have reacted had he 390 00:22:25.400 --> 00:22:28.599 lived to be tried and convicted. Assuming, as I do, 391 00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:32.279 that he was the assassin, I imagine that before his execution 392 00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:35.519 he would have called a press conference, and, professing innocence 393 00:22:35.519 --> 00:22:38.240 in spite of everything, would have made an emotional speech 394 00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:42.680 prophesizing doom and destruction for Western society. His reaction would 395 00:22:42.720 --> 00:22:45.119 not have been much different from that of Christ on 396 00:22:45.319 --> 00:22:50.079 the way to Golgotha, saying, daughters of Jerusalem, weep not 397 00:22:50.119 --> 00:22:53.000 for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 398 00:22:54.039 --> 00:22:59.119 Of course, on a connotative level, Oswald would have identified 399 00:22:59.160 --> 00:23:03.200 himself with Christ, translating this emotion into an identification with 400 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.440 Socco and then Zetti, or with the Rosenbergs. On a 401 00:23:06.599 --> 00:23:10.119