I made the rash decision to “friend” Cindy Sheehan on Facebook. We have been aware of the redoubtable Ms. Sheehan since she came to prominence for demanding an answer from G.W. Bush for why her son Casey was killed in the useless, illegal war in Iraq. Of course we sympathize with her loss, and her outspoken opposition to the wars. And Cindy can be personally quite charming, though prickly, as Lew Rockwell’s rather abrupt break with her after running several of her columns seemed to indicate. Like many in the anti-war movement, Cindy is a sort of soft-socialist that we are all familiar with – opposed to “capitalism”, and favoring but blissfully unaware of the history and legacy of socialism / communism. Easy enough to stay cordial with though.

Not so some of her other “friends” however. On two occasions, I had the misfortune to draw the attention of Lawrence Rockwood, a doctrinaire socialist / communist college professor and former soldier, who replied to my posts not with debate or engagement, but personal, vicious, ad-hominem attacks, both direct and insinuated. He made veiled claims of having “killed for me”, despite my protestations of never having asked him to. I fought back bravely, and I made TONS of good points, as my notifications filled up with “likes” for my posts. But he persisted, mocking my “innocence” (his words) and insinuating that by simply existing I was guilty, by some twisted chain of reasoning, of murder. And I gave as good as I got, without making it personal. But the obviously guilt-ridden Rockwood would not stop vilifying me, my stand for liberty, and my very existence. I enjoy a spirited debate as much as the next guy, but this was getting tedious.

Then I noticed the effects his one-man Soviet re-education sessions were having on me. I was short with my wife and children, I was having trouble focusing on work, and I started having intense headaches. After one particularly slimy bit of insinuation, I signed off, wishing him good luck with his communist project, and promptly “defriended” Ms. Sheehan. For my health!