Bill Ayers, a former member of the violent Vietnam War protest group, the Weather Underground, made a public plea to stop “demonizing” him via the New York Times, in an op-ed piece. Which after reading some the comments posted in Ayer’s windy city Chicago Tribune, Ayer’s plea has fallen on deaf ears.

Ayers wrote in his “Don’t Demonize Me” Cause I Planted Bombs opinion piece, The Real Bill Ayers, that he was “unwillingly thrust upon the stage” and that he was “asked to play a role” in a “profoundly dishonest drama”. Ayers wrote how he then “refused” to play the part, and the “reasons” why. Which makes one wonder: which “part” is Billy Ayers “playing” now?

Ayers would have been controversial to the Obama campaign if, and that’s a big “IF”, the press had investigated the relationship between the candidate and Ayers, and reported the facts regarding Ayers’ past. The press, busy promoting the Obama campaign, wrote about Ayers, but only in a “kinder”, “gentler” fashion while castigating those who asked questions about Ayers and his past.

“Well, what is going to happen to those people that we can’t re‑educate, that are die-hard capitalists?” And the reply was that they’d have to be eliminated and when I pursued this further, they estimated that they’d have to eliminate 25 million people in these re‑education centers.”
–Bill Ayers, Prairie Fire, 1974

“Re-education” is a commonly used thread in Ayers’ life. As a professor at the University of Illinois, Ayers continues to teach or preach, that teachers need to be re-educated to teach students to question authority and tear down the “system”. “Eliminated” involved killing all the “die-hard capitalists”, a plan Ayers and his crew discussed during their heyday, when they saluted Charles Manson:

In 1969, Ayers and his wife convened a “War Council” in Flint Michigan, whose purpose was to launch a military front inside the United States with the purpose of helping Third World revolutionaries conquer and destroy it. Taking charge of the podium, dressed in a high-heeled boots and a leather mini-skirt – her signature uniform – Dorhn incited the assembled radicals to join the war against “Amerikkka” and create chaos and destruction in the “belly of the beast.” Her voice rising to a fevered pitch, Dohrn raised three fingers in a “fork salute” to mass murderer Charles Manson whom she proposed as a symbol to her troops. Referring to the helpless victims of the Manson Family as the “Tate Eight” (the most famous was actress Sharon Tate) Dohrn shouted:

Dig It. First they killed those pigs, then they ate dinner in the same room with them, they even shoved a fork into a victim’s stomach! Wild!
-David Horowitz, Front Page Magazine

According to Ayers, his past only involved the protest of the government and the Vietnam War. Ayers won’t admit in his op-ed piece, but wrote about in earlier books, that he had vision involving a new “America”, that went far beyond the war and the government that supported it. Instead Ayers writes that perhaps, he and his group, sadly, lacked “common sense”.

Reading Ayer’s opinion piece, one marvels at the writer’s descriptive and narrative skill when laying out the groundwork for his plea to be “understood”:

Unable to challenge the content of Barack Obama’s campaign, his opponents invented a narrative about a young politician who emerged from nowhere, a man of charm, intelligence and skill, but with an exotic background and a strange name. The refrain was a question: “What do we really know about this man?”

Secondary characters in the narrative included an African-American preacher with a fiery style, a Palestinian scholar and an “unrepentant domestic terrorist.” Linking the candidate with these supposedly shadowy characters, and ferreting out every imagined secret tie and dark affiliation, became big news.

According to Bill, he was cast as a “secondary” figure, as the “domestic terrorist”. Bill is trying to shed this label, because: one, he can’t stand being called a “terrorist”, and two, he hates being “second” banana in any scenario.

Ayers defends the Underground as “bombers” who “didn’t kill anyone” and this little snippet:

“The Weather Underground crossed lines of legality, of propriety and perhaps even of common sense. Our effectiveness can be — and still is being — debated. We did carry out symbolic acts of extreme vandalism directed at monuments to war and racism, and the attacks on property, never on people, were meant to respect human life and convey outrage and determination to end the Vietnam war.”

The rest of Bill’s opinion piece can be found at the New York Times, while more can found out about Ayers here.

And here’s my comment:

Ayers wrote that he was a part of a “demonization”. Imagine that, a guy who planted bombs, lecturing those who don’t believe his schtick, “demonizers”.

Bill Ayers, Misunderstood Domestic Terrorist, posing on American flag, 2001

Ayers is intellectually and morally bankrupt, a highly articulate and persuasuve malignant narcissist who attempts to solicit “understanding” of his past actions, rather than showing remorse. Ayers, a sociopath, will never feel remorse. He may lie about it, and claim he is remorseful, but he’ll never have the ability to “feel it”.

Ayers claimed he “loved America” but what he really loved was making, planting, and then setting off bombs. He fantasized about bombs, powerful, destructive forces, and their ensuing chaos, in this case, utilized by a “powerless” man. And he found the perfect solution on how to fuel his fascination with bombs with the perfect cover: protesting the Vietnam War. He garnered a reputation which fed his narcissistic ego and also hid his true intent: to blow up bombs. The prisons currently hold “ordinary” Joe’s who planted and blew up bombs but weren’t savy enough as Ayers to couple their bomb antics with a political cause.

I first came across a reference to Ayer’s New York Times Op-ed piece in the Chicago Tribune’s Washington Bureau, The Swamp, written by Frank James.

Here’s part of what James’ wrote:

Clearly, Ayers feels the need to attempt to clear his name (And to sell books. His memoir “Fugitive Days” has since been reissued in paperback and he has a new book, “Race Course” on the way.)

It’s doubtful that those who believe he was a terrorist will be persuaded by his protestations that he wasn’t. In the eyes of many anyone who plants a bomb, even in empty offices, is a terrorist similar to environmental activists who have destroyed SUV’s at car dealerships or animal-rights activists who have destroyed research laboratories. Many, including the U.S.government, consider them domestic terrorist even though they didn’t kill anyone.

But with the election over and his name-recognition at all times high, Ayers has an opportunity now, one which he’s taking advantage of to the hilt.

When I began reading the comments I was struck by the obvious fact that Ayers had failed to sway many readers, while some comments contained information about Ayers the Tribune and Times will never report.

I’ve posted some of the comments at the Swamp regarding Ayer’s op-ed piece along with my own commentary:

–”The Tribune cannot allow such misstatements to stand unchallenged. Ayers-inspired bombs DID kill and specifically Diana Oughton of Dwight, IL and two of her associates in the Ayers-involved bomb factory in New York. Just do an internet search on Oughton, who came from a good family, to learn the details of Ayers involvement. ”

This comment is spot on. Ayers’ has not been “challenged” by the press while the public has been forced to “search” the internet for the real details of Ayers past.

–”A terrorist is someone who causes terror. Bill Ayers caused terror and was lucky he didn’t kill anyone. However, he did cause injury. Add that up and you have a text book example of terrorism! But, let me guess, the media is trying to tell us he was not a terrorist because he was involved in a liberal cause. That’s a shocker! Is the Treason Times going to tell us that he was a hero? Tell that to the families of the law abiding citizen he physically terrorized.”

Another great observation: “A terrorist is someone who causes terror” and according to some in the MSM, Ayers isn’t a terrorist because he was involved in a liberal cause.

–”Leave it to the NY Times to help a terrorist promote his innocence. “Guilty as H*#L, free as a bird”, is what Ayres said after a technicality tosses the case against his being a terrorist out of court. I am sure that Bill Ayers and his wife do not think that they are terrorists. I am also sure that Osama Bin Laden does not think HE is a terrorist. I am also sure that Hitler thought of himself as doing good and as a force of good in the world. Bill Ayres is a terrorist. The NY Times should not be proud of this article. The University of Illinois should not be proud to have him on staff. The Northwestern Law School should not be proud of having his terrorist wife on staff either.”

The analogies were spot on.

–”The Weather Underground did plant bombs, and as I recall somebody was killed in the process — if not by Ayers hand than some other Weatherman’s. So I think death and the threat of death adds up to terrorism, even if they were never in al Quada’s league.
.
In any case, this guerilla theater by spoiled rich kids did nothing to stop the war. Nada. Zilch. The war stopped when middle aged working class people just got tired of it and said ‘enough already’.
.
Ayers and his like were ineffectual narcissistic clowns.”

Excellent observations and true: Ayers and his “ilk” were “spoiled rich kids who did nothing to stop the war” no matter how hard they may try to claim otherwise. And yes, I couldn’t agree more, they were and are “ineffectual narcissistic clowns”.

–”ter.ror.ism (noun)
the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, esp. for political purposes.

Sounds exactly like what Ayers was doing.”

–”I love how he claims that the bombs were placed during an “illegal and unpopular war” as if trying to justify these acts as acceptable behavior.

Carried out acts of “extreme vandalism”. No my friend, vandalism is spray painting a bus or smashing up a car, vandalism is not placing bombs in the state capitol!”

–”The definition of terror is someone who engages in “the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.”

Sorry Bill, you were and always will be a terrorist that resorted to violence in a pathetic/desperate attempt to achieve your radical agendas.”

–”Ayers can now add Liar after his position of Terrorist on his resume.”

–”Bill is full of it and full of himself. Anything in the name of the cause, right Bill? You are trying some revisionist history and good luck to you on that. You are out of touch and you need to just go away. Impressing young college students is like preaching to the choir. Those of us who grew up when you did know exactly what your intent was then and we clearly know what your intent is now. A little money with your book perhaps? Hypocrite.”

–”It looks like Ayers is trying to remake his image and his past.

What he fails to mention as does the media for whatever reason is that Ayers and his merry Weathermen considered themselves Communist revolutionaries. The group;s motto was :bring the war home.” In other words, start a revolution here.

BTW-Ayers and Dohrn are culpable for the killing of two guards and a police officer who were killed in a Brinks robbery by members of the Weathermen, co-founded by Ayers and Dorhn.

Dohrn refused to testify in the Brinks trial and was sentenced to 10 years, only serving 9 months.

Those police officers left behind children who grew up without their fathers. And for what? So some spoiled wealthy hippie could finance his Communist revolution?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weatherman_(organization)”

–”Disclosure: I am a liberal.

I read Mr. Ayers’ Op Ed in the NY Times earlier today. I will give him credit that he was wise to stay out of the way during the election process. However, the Op Ed was one of the most self serving pieces that I have read in quite a while.

Just because you claim to only target property with explosives and not people does not mean that you are a civil rights activist rather than a terrorist.”

–”Hey John E. – save it. This isn’t a partisan issue. The vast majority of Democrats seem to acknowledge that this jerk and his wife are unrepentant terrorists that have no place being near a University. The Republicans failed to tie Obama to him – and rightly so – but they were not wrong in designating him a domestic terrorist. They did the country a favor by reminding people of Ayers’ crimes. And no, I am not a conservative. I’m a very liberal academician who works across the street from the terrorist. I can tell you for certain that most people at UIC consider him an ugly stain on our University.”

There you have it, just some of the comments from the Swamp pertaining to the Bill Ayers Op-Ed piece in the New York Times.

It’s a hundred times more interesting to read the comments than reading Ayers’, as one comment pointed out, “self-serving piece”.

Ayers escaped a prison stint because a judge ruled evidence had been obtained via an illegal wiretap. From an unrepentant bomber to an University professor has been Ayers’ current life but he continues to profit off his past with books, lectures, and the following of those who believe the government is “evil” and has to be destroyed.

Yet Ayers, and his wife, Bernadette Dohrn, another former Weather Underground member, are both employed by the state, and therefore receive all the benefits that state employees enjoy. So while they seek to “tear it down”, they reap the benefits. No doubt they’ll eventually retire and dip into their funds while continuing to cast themselves in the role of “saviours”.

The comment section of the Swamp is a gauge with which to measure both the reaction to Ayers’ piece and to his ability to “sway”. The public isn’t buying it, especially those who lived during those turbulent times. It was middle-America that finally ended the war, not Bill Ayers and his “carefully” planted bombs and rhetoric. He was a spoiled rich kid who loved planting bombs, with a ready-made platform: the Vietnam War. The man has shown no remorse while casting himself as the victim, even though he never suffered the consequences of a prison sentence.

Bill Ayers feels he’s “misunderstood”. He’s angry that he’s been assigned the “terrorist label, as this particular label didn’t evolve until the 1990’s, when domestic terrorism once again reared its ugly head. Bill was formerly known as a member of a “protest” group. The terrorist label is closer to the truth regarding Bill Ayers’ actions. In this case, the truth hurts and it “hurts” Bill Ayers. “We didn’t plant bombs to kill people”, Bill cries. “They’re demonizing me”, he wails. But as the comments pointed out: Bill’s actions fit those who are terrorists. His actions and demeanor are those of a malignant narcissist, or sociopath. His group did not end the Vietnam War. Bill Ayers is and was, a coward.

As one comment noted: Ayers is considered an “ugly stain” within the very community he’s set up shop: the University of Illinois. Apparently there isn’t a stain remover powerful enough to remove Ayers from the fabric of our lives.

By LBG

Image – Bill Ayers standing on flag
Image – Vanish Stain Remover
Image - Demon