I don't understand idiots

I try not to use this blog as a platform to pontificate, rather to only share my daily observations and perhaps a humorous anecdote. However, there are a few things that have irritated me to the point where I need to share. Thanksgiving Dinner was one, and the self-proclaimed "anti-war protestor" is the other.
My duties enable me to have one of the few vehicles in my department, and for that I am fortunate. It also gives me the obligation to chauffer those who don't have vehicles, which I don't mind at all. One of these individuals is a 50-something-year-old man from Michigan. He is not smart. I thought I was absent-minded, but this guy takes the term to entirely new levels. Not only forgetful, he seems to lack that little voice inside his head that says "hey, maybe this isn't such a good idea", etc. For example.....I have been driving him from work to the chow hall, and then across camp to his hooch, despite it being 20 minutes out of the way for me. I do this because I can sympathize with being the new guy- I missed a few meals when I first arrived here because I didnt know where places were and how to get there. I don't mind at all. However, a few nights ago, I couldnt take him...so, he hitched a ride with someone else, who wasn't willing to wait for him to eat and then drive him to his camp. So, he decided to just go into the chow hall, eat, and walk back....this would have been fine, save that he carries a man-purse everywhere he goes. Bags are not allowed inside the chow hall. Apparently not eating wasn't an option for him, so the great idea that he came up with was to stow the bag outside the chow hall while he went inside to eat. He found a KBR truck and placed the bag on the ground next to the truck. This is not a good idea. Mu Sien, as Iraqis would say. It doesn't take a seasoned vet to understand that while in a war zone, unattended bags tend be taken as threats by MP's and the like. IED's, you know? So after he finishes his fit of gluttony, he exits the chow hall only to be greeted by a group of fans, known as EOD (explosive ordnance disposal) and the friendly neighborhood Military Police. No explanation can justify this level of ignorance.
I felt kind of bad for him, knowing that he had never served in the military, and things can seem a bit overwhelming while first arriving in-country. So the next day as I was driving him across base to work, I tried to make some friendly conversation with him. "So, do you ever regret not being in the military?" I asked this because he said he had gotten a deferment while attending college during Vietnam, and maybe deep down he felt he had missed out on the experience. I wasn't trying to pry, only to be friendly. "Oh hell no! I hate the damn military! I hate everything they stand for. Big corporation, killing innocent people, doing whatever they want. It was a tough struggle for me just to come here, knowing I'd have to work around these people. I was a damn war protestor in college." he said, in total seriousness.
"These people...." I kept thinking to myself. He honestly said "the military". Not "the war". I was appalled. My mind kept switching from feeling even more sorry for him for being so ignorant as to all of the positive things the military has done, to hoping that a 120mm rained onto his hooch later that night as he climbed into the soft bed that the military provided for him. You know that scene in "True Lies" where Arnold is test driving a used sports car while Bill Paxton, as the sleazy dealer, is giving Arnold graphic details about the hot new broad he's banging? Arnold says not a word, only knocks him out with one quick blow to the face. This is what I was picturing.
I said nothing.
The next day, as he climbed into my truck, I asked him how his day had gone. He mentioned something about "just another day in the military industrial complex that Truman warned us about.
"Eisenhower", I corrected him, saying nothing more.
As we drove along, he mentioned how his Iraqi driver had asked him for a pint of milk that he hadn't drank at lunch. He told me, "Hell no! I ain't givin him my food, I might drink it later."
That got me to thinking.....why is he a war protestor? Why does he loathe us military so much? My first instinct was that maybe he just cared about other people so much that he hates the idea of war, because war inevitably contains civilian deaths. I can understand this...I think there are times where war is a necessity, but I can respect his respect for life being so strong that he hates fighting. But, judging by his adamant refusal to share food with his Iraqi worker, who makes a fraction of what we make, this cannot be the case.
When I was at Abu Ghraib, we Marines went out of our way to help the local people. I bought 3 kids bikes. Andre, Haley and I snuck food out of the chow hall every night to give to a local Iraqi boy, Malach, who's parents had been killed in tribal fighting. We didn't gain anything from these actions other than knowing that we were helping out people less fortunate than us. I sneak food for my workers every single day, simply because I feel bad for them for not getting the portions or quality of food that I have. My point in all of this is that I care. Marines care, and a lot of soldiers care. We understand the ugliness of war, and as someone wiser than me once stated, "nobody hates war more than those who have seen it".
I am still confused as to why someone would hate the military. If you hate war so much, instead of a futile demonstration, why don't you do something about it? Something constructive. Start by trying to learn arabic (he refuses) to build a relationship with the local populace. Small tokens go a long way. Who knows, maybe one of the kids who has a new bike will become Prime Minister someday, and remember a dashing Marine who spent his own money on a nice new bike.