If Spenser Rapone didn’t exist we’d have to invent him. He’s the perfect encapsulation of far-left smugness, someone who hates his own country but adores the remnants of a failed system that killed 100 million people in the last century. Earlier this month I wrote that Rapone would soon be discharged from the Army over his behavior. His final day was Monday. He celebrated with two images on his Twitter account. The first is a shot from Shawshank Redemption where the main character escapes from prison by crawling through a sewer pipe.

The second image is Rapone himself giving the middle finger to the Army on his way out:

That sort of sums it up, doesn’t it? I’m sure there are plenty of guys his age who leave the Army with mixed feelings about the experience. Some of them probably feel like flipping the bird on the way out too. But only Spenser Rapone is self-obsessed enough to believe his belated teenage rebellion is in service of a grand historical narrative. From the Associated Press:

Top brass at Fort Drum accepted Rapone’s resignation Monday after an earlier reprimand for “conduct unbecoming of an officer.” Rapone said an investigation found he went online to advocate for a socialist revolution and disparage high-ranking officers… “I consider myself a revolutionary socialist,” the 26-year-old Rapone told The Associated Press. “I would encourage all soldiers who have a conscience to lay down their arms and join me and so many others who are willing to stop serving the agents of imperialism and join us in a revolutionary movement.”… Greg Rinckey, an attorney specializing in military law, said it’s rare for an officer out of West Point to receive an other-than-honorable discharge. He added that it’s possible the military academy could seek repayment of the cost of Rapone’s education because he didn’t serve the full five-year service obligation required upon graduation. “I knew there could be repercussions,” said Rapone, who is scheduled to speak at a socialism conference in Chicago next month. “Of course my military career is dead in the water. On the other hand, many people reached out and showed me support. There are a lot of veterans both active duty and not that feel like I do.”

I don’t know what the cost of a West Point education is these days but I suspect it’s considerably more than Spenser Rapone is likely to earn as a professional communist agitator. Then again, Bernie Sanders might be running for office starting next year. Maybe Rapone can get a job with the campaign and organize Antifa rallies on the side.