Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Micah Wright

This page is an archive of the proposed deletion of the article below. Further comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or on a Votes for Undeletion nomination). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result of the debate was KEEP. -Splash 23:05, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Micah Wright

This stub has devolved into an online stalk by user Lokifer. The writer in question is NOT famous, but the amount of research carried out in an attempt to smear him is phenomenal. There's a LOT of POV problems, as well as a lot of talk such as "claims to have graduated from the University of Arizona" -- submit for deletion. Carnifax 19:34, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

Keep — There was an article on this guy in the Washington Post.[1] The claims of fraud are very likely true, particularly with regard to his military service, and in that sense he could be considered notable. — RJH 19:48, 3 September 2005 (UTC)

• Micah Wright is (or was; I don't know if anyone will hire him again) a notable fiction writer. That his fiction included his resumé is... unfortunate; however, I don't see any reason not to keep. Also, Stormwatch: Team Achilles fuckin' rocked, man. DS 20:52, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
• Keep. The only POV problem I can see is that silly "claims to have graduated". I was skeptical at first, but indeed, I find after googling around that Wright seems to have been a liar of great proportions. Sdedeo 21:53, 3 September 2005 (UTC)
• Keep, notable, but watch for stalkercruft. -Sean Curtin 22:50, September 3, 2005 (UTC)
• Keep. "Stalkercruft"??? -- llywrch 00:24, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
• Keep He is a known comic book writer, antiwar "activist" (I've been told that the label activist doesn't apply to him) and military imposter (ala Douglas R. Stringfellow and Wes Cooley, except Cooley served in the military). I was accused of making up the information by Carnifax, so I gave more detail with links, some are actual transcripts. Since providing the information, Carnifax has asked for this to be deleted and removed all information that he originally asked for.Lokifer 07:45, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
• Delete. "Of course Lokifer the stalker would vote to keep the page... how else would he continue to smear this guy? There are FAR more famous comic book writers who aren't represented in Wikipedia,

• • interruption - just because "more famous writers aren't represented in Wikipedia" is no reason to delete this writer. Rather, it's a reason to add entries for those other writers. DS 17:11, 11 September 2005 (UTC)

• (vote continues) and this guy's resume-padding, however offensive, isn't particularly notable. Moreover, Lokifer continues to pepper the stub with unattributed claims like 'he lied about being nominated for an Emmy' when the guy has explained how and when his work was nominated. Moreover, the claims of having participated in 'covert activities' aren't backed up by Lokifer's source material... the closest one gets is the Reporter using the words covert activities and not in a direct quote from the subject. The new inclusion of the usage of Photoshop to rework the posters isn't substantiated and runs counter to the guy's own statements about how he accomplishes his 'art' or whatever. Lokifer constantly expands the guy's crimes -- one university is mentioned in his links, but he expands that to 'universities.' He does the same thing where he finds a single quote where the guy lashed out against someone using his false military service as a soapbox, but then expands that to 'people' without substantiation. The page he links to clearly shows that the guy apologized to this Parrot person for doing so as well. Lokifer further expands the smear campagin by blasting an artist's conference as an 'anti-war-forum' when looking at the site, it was clearly a symposium of anti-war artists lecturing about technique and format to students who were there in for an artistic conference, not an anti-war rally. Lokifer complains that the guy posted a false bio on his webpage and then complains that it's since been deleted... would he be happier if the lies were still there? Lastly, to point out more semi-truths, it appears that this comicbook Stormwatch Team Achilles was cancelled well before this guy's revelations... all DC did was not publish the final issue... AND the guy clearly has published his second book of posters. It's pretty clear that Lokifer has spent a great deal of time stalking down this guy's lies and foibles online, but it's not clear that this guy's two-year-run of resume-padding is worth an entry in Wikipedia, especially not if it's going to be filled with so much politically-motivated personal bias and half-truths. Carnifax 20:58, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
  • Micah (oops, I mean Carnifax), correct any errors that you see, but don't delete them. The problem with tracking down most of the information about Micah Wright is that hard facts cannot be found, usually because Micah Wright deleted most of his posts in his forum and enough place online that he was quoted at now no longer existed. There's also the damning interview at KPFK on "Democracy Now" with Amy Goodman that was available for download on his website that's no longer available. What's so damning about the interview? He embellished so much about his fake military career (most of which I have included). Elsewhere (but included in the article with links) Micah has said, "(He has seen) a lot of nastiness in South and Central America during G.H.W. Bush's regime," and he has said, "After four years spent invading other countries as an Airborne Ranger in the U.S. Army." Besides Panama, what other "invasions" of Central and South American countries was the USA publically engaged in between 1987 and 1991? There are none, so they must be secret covert operations. I've been able to find two universities that Micah spoke at: USC and New School University. At both he spoke out against the war and he was an attractive speaker for the issue since he was claiming to be an ex-ranger. Now if you want to include nice things that he has done, please add them. I'd like to see what charities he has established or other equally good deeds from this man. However, since he built his whole persona on being an anti-war ex-Army Ranger, I see nothing wrong pointing out just how engrained and far reaching the lies went by using HIS OWN WORDS.Lokifer 21:34, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
    • Maybe you didn't see my comments above, criticizing his lies. My only point is that he's hardly famous and not worth an expansive entry in Wikipedia, much less an obviously politically inspired smear job full of POV and unsupported indictments. Your interpretations aside, Micah Wright never mentions 'covert activity' in any of the articles you cite. Referencing an interview which you can only vaguely 'remember' as 'damning' isn't quite the same a citing FACTS about what he said. You're also conflating quotes from two different interviews to concoct a charge against him: that he claims he "saw ugliness throughout Central and South America" during GHW Bush's administrations isn't the same as participating in covert activities... we all saw America Imperialism at work all throughout the Reagan/Bush years. Add that to the fact that the US Army (including Rangers, which he was pretending to have been) invaded Somalia in the same period of time, and I think you're stretching it to state that "invading countries" means that he categorically claimed to have been involved in 'covert activities.' It's a loaded POV accusation which you've jerry-rigged together by Frankensteining disparate quotes. Moreover, you make the same sins of exaggeration you're accusing him of when you say he told 'people' to shut up, rather than one person. Then again, maybe this is just the kind of grammar and logic problems which afflict all of your postings about this guy: 'gave a fuzzy photographs" being a prime example. Again, it's a borderline vanity page, and the current revision is so full of POV that it's next to useless. If he's forever banned from comic books and his career as an author is finished, then what's the point of pretending he's famous? As for what charities he's established or what good works he's accomplished, I have no idea... I haven't extensively stalked him online, unlike some... all I've done is read your version of his life and looked at the 'proof' you think you've compiled.Carnifax 23:51, 4 September 2005 (UTC)
  • I just have a few things to say because this is a discussion of whether or not the article should be deleted. One, Micah never mentioned Somilia or Iraq, but specified that he was in Central and South America when he was "invading countries". Two, you claim that I have too much of a POV, but your use of the term "American Imperalism" is hardly non-POV and I think it clouds your judgement on my entries in the article. Three, the line about the "fuzzy photograph" is not something I made up on a whim; it is a quote from Dan Simon, publisher of Wright's book, that can be found in an article by Publishers Weekly, a credible source methinks, with a link provided to that article. Four, if you think too much is being made of his story about being a ranger, please give a more rounded biography on him. Five, if Kathy Change and Martin Hewitt meets the criteria of having a article on Wikipedia, surely a nationally published author and artist with credits attached to comic books, cartoons and videogames who falsely claimed to be an army ranger while speaking out against a war meets the criteria. Sure, he's no Jack Kirby or Wally Wood or Jack Vance or Dalton Trumbo or Alan Moore or Sam Rolfe (which reminds me, I need to start an article on him), but ask the average person who any of those guys are and you get blank stares too. Does this negate the fact that any of these people should have articles because they are not well known (aka famous or infamous) enough? Lokifer 01:53, 5 September 2005 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in an undeletion request). No further edits should be made to this page.