May 02, 2004

What an ass ...
Posted by McQ

Why?

In the Style section last summer we profiled a Los Angeles writer named Micah Ian Wright, who'd just published a shrill antiwar poster book called "You Back the Attack! We'll Bomb Who We Want!" In his book, he described himself as a veteran of combat, a former Army Ranger whose experiences during the 1989 invasion of Panama turned him into a peacenik. In interviews with The Post and other media, he played up that background.

Wright, it turns out, is a liar. He never served in the military -- and confessed that last week to his publisher, Seven Stories Press, after we insisted on evidence of his service. Pursuing a tip from real Rangers who'd never heard of Wright, we filed three Freedom of Information Act requests with separate Army commands -- and last month finally confirmed that Wright never served.

UPDATE (JON): From Micah Wright's website...

So why come clean now, you ask? Why shouldn't I continue on, seeing how far I can push it? Well, frankly, I'm sick of it. I'm sick of lying to my friends, to employers, to my fans, to myself. I'm not a Ranger. I've lied to so many people about this that it's made me physically ill. I haven’t been able to sleep and I’ve just about given myself an ulcer. It's all become too much. I'm stopping the lies.
Why did he "stop lying"? Why, because he realized it was time! Just a fellow who realized the error of his ways, you know.

Except, not so much. What he fails to mention in this apology is that he didn't actually come clean until real Rangers and the Washington Post threatened to expose him. Even in his apology, he tries to claim more credit than he deserves.

...which, I guess, shouldn't surprise anybody.

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Comments

Much improved!

(The comments template is still wonky in Safari...)

Posted by: Joe Maller at May 2, 2004 09:31 PM

You ask why? You know the answer. Because there's no depth to which these vermin will sink when it's obvious they can't win the argument.

I hope real Rangers beat him down.

Posted by: shark at May 2, 2004 10:23 PM

He should have to sport a tatoo that reads: "I am an ass!"

Posted by: Rick at May 3, 2004 12:54 AM

That's not much of an apology.

And that of it which is, is all about him anyway:

I'm sick.
I can't sleep.
I'm giving myself an ulcer.

Well, TFB. Basically the only reason he fessed up is because it was too hard for him to continue.

WAAAAAAAAAH!

Posted by: Chris at May 3, 2004 11:17 AM