On Friday, October 28th, 2016, an ex of voluntaryist activist Adam Kokesh's posted a video explaining their relationship and breakup. In the video Macey Tomlin opines his relationship abuse comes from his sociopathy.
View this public video on her Facebook profile here (warning: expletive language): https://www.facebook.com/macey.tomlin/videos/10154578641607180/
It seems every year or two there is a libertarian figure who is outed for being anti-libertarian. Sometimes it seems like justice, sometimes it comes off as a witch hunt, and other times it is hard to decipher which.
In either case, one thing is abundantly clear: there is a cult of personality that is immune to no group of people. It is common knowledge authoritarians have this propped up authority, but even libertarians have the same "charismatic authority."
For more on charismatic authority, read Austrian-school economist and sociologist Max Weber's essay "Politics as a Vocation:" http://anthropos-lab.net/wp/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Weber-Politics-as-a-Vocation.pdf
Adam Kokesh was an Iraq War veteran who was disillusioned about the very government he served. He illustrated that frustration by supporting then-congressman Dr. Ron Paul's presidential run in 2008, by running for Congress himself in 2010, and by becoming an independent journalist.
His Adam v. the Man show became successful on Youtube, even having a short run on RT (Russia Today). His journalist style went from political libertarianism to confrontational diatribes to voluntaryism. Those styles often reflected his physical appearance - in the first and third styles, he looked like a suit and tie, while in the middle he looked like a body-building bouncer.
Above all, what earned him respect in liberty circles was his civil disobedience activism. From dancing at the Jefferson memorial to shooting a shotgun on federal government "property." Not to mention his confrontational journalism against politicians. It is easy to see why libertarians flock to him.
The Macey video aside, is does not make sense some libertarians see him as some authority. He is no different, activism wise, than the average libertarian. But because he has a cult of personality, some people will automatically take his side and probably harass his ex.
On the other hand, some people will automatically take her side. Either out of their own bias against Adam or their sympathies toward the video. Neither side will join the usually-minority of people who withold judgement until the facts are presented.
Other libertarian figures, such as Christopher Cantwell, Jeff Berwick, John Mcafee, and the folks at FreeKeene.com have gone through similar episodes. They are either vilified or sanctified as a result.
Some argue this damages the "liberty movement," "liberty mission," or otherwise liberty circles. They have a point insofar as it shows how some libertarians do not live up to their own standards of law and justice. But every group has this cult of personality.
In the case of Adam, if the accusations in the video are true, he is not libertarian in his personal life. If he tries to control his personal relationships, guilt-trips people into doing things for him, or get upset with the details of others, then he is not this great voluntaryist he proclaims he is.
The "commitment contract" that Adam and Macey agreed upon is also anti-libertarian. Side note: it is also anti-BDSM. The contract, which includes six things the "benefactress" must do for the "recipient," is not legitimate in either liberty or kink circles. Those who wrote it and accepted it do not take contracts seriously (whether it be one of them or both of them).
For more information about BDSM contracts: check out this Steemit article: https://steemit.com/bdsm/@kennykelly/slave-contracts-or-how-they-should-be-taken-seriously
On the other hand, what if Adam is right and she is just crazy? Libertarians will never know if they look at Adam with this charismatic authority.
If Adam is to be respected, then it does not do him justice to look at him like Alex Jones fans sees their guy - via cult of personality. If he is not to be respected, then the opposite (hating him impulsively) should also be rejected.
This "dramatarian nonsense," as Adam Kokesh calls it, would not happen if libertarians would stop holding their liberty heroes on a pedestal. Truth is everybody, libertarians and statists included, has character flaws. Spend a few weeks on a campaign or project of your libertarian idols and you will see they are not perfect.
If activists are going to treat libertarianism like a religion, similar to how government advocates treat statism, then admitting even activists are sinners will be a huge first step in healing the divide.
Is Adam telling the truth? Is Macey? These questions would not have to be asked if libertarians stop holding "celebritarians" to such a high regard. Maybe it is time to abandon that concept and become the voluntaryists that libertarians claim to be about.