Ted Nugent

A couple of posts made here (not supporting Ted Nugent, BTW/FTR) inspired me to start this thread, not that I expect it to take off.

Ted Nugent, the musician, is currently better known for being a firearms enthusiast dedicated to protecting the right to own firearms. He holds some high position with the NRA. I don't have an issue with this, generally speaking.

Nugent is also an enthusiastic right winger who supports our (USA) military and a war hawk. His rants are well-known and easy to find; I'm not going to post links to them. I do have an issue with this. Not so much because of his position, but because he is a hypocrite. He took extreme measures to avoid serving in the military, most likely in Vietnam, yet he is now willing to sacrifice our troops in foreign countries.

As a young man, during the Vietnam War, Nugent avoided military service at least three times. Two times were legitimate, he was in high school, and later in college. Like it or not, college deferments were common (there are a lot of educated people around courtesy of the Vietnam War). What he did to get rejected at his medical exam--not bathing for a month, and wearing clothes in which he had pissed & shit himself--was effective.

Some might defend him as a misguided youth who now knows how the world operates. I consider him to be a total hypocrite (much like politicians who lived the high life during the '60 & '70s, and now support strong anti-drug laws....but that's a subject for a separate discussion).

Gun Enthusiast Ted Nugent Wasn't Anxious To Bear Arms Against Those Pesky Vietcong

 

Cat Scratch Fever was 1977, has Ted had a hit since? Gotta stay relevant somehow.

I like Ted's music well enough as a high end bar band or county fair sort of act; but the political ranting just takes away any entertainment value for me.

Ted's hypocrisy fits in really well with that of cadet bone spurs. I believe the political term is Chicken Hawk.

 

Thanks you, Stan. Chicken Hawk was the term I couldn't recall.

As a musician Nugent is basically a has-been living on his name and past glory days. I'm neutral about his music, it doesn't appeal to me, but life would be boring everyone only liked the music other people like.

The problem is, as I see it, there are a lot younger folks who see Nugent perform, and listen to his political views. I'm not suggesting that he is a major influence at the national level (setting aside his work with the NRA*), but at the grass roots level he is in a position to influence folks.

People tend to be very forgiving--and forgetful --when it comes to criticism of leaders they like. To some Nugent is a spokesperson for right-wing political views. I'm guessing many of them aren't aware of Nugent's past anti-military service actions, and those who are ignore them, or dismiss them.

It bugs the hell out of me when a guy who bragged about how he avoided military service to stay out of Viet Nam now supports a strong military and military actions in foreign countries.


*I'm a gun owner who has mixed feelings about the NRA.

Since I had to look up cadet bone spurs...

cadet bone spurs definition | What does cadet bone spurs mean?