Posted on 04/03/2005 5:25:12 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
Salad-dressing thrower a student who reads a lot
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Barbara Walters
The Paw Paw man who threw salad dressing over the head and shirt of the conservative political figure Pat Buchanan at Western Michigan University Thursday makes his living as a prep cook at an "upscale place" in Kalamazoo, he said.
Samuel Mesick, 24, also is a full-time student at Kalamazoo Valley Community College with no declared major, according to school records.
A 1998 graduate of Paw Paw High School, Mesick faces a misdemeanor charge for disturbing the peace when he is arraigned April 14. Western police arrested Mesick after the incident, which occurred at the end of a 45-minute speech by Buchanan. He is free on $100 bond.
Mesick said he openly carried the thick, white Caesar dressing into the WMU Bernhard center in a covered Styrofoam drinking cup. He'd planned the act several days in advance because he considered the timing of Buchanan's visit on Cesar Chavez Day "a slap in the face."
Representatives of student groups who also opposed Buchanan's views condemned Mesick's act, with one calling it "ridiculous and disrespectful."
"I do feel bad hearing about that," Mesick said of the reaction. However, his friends and his employer have been very supportive, Mesick said, as well as his father. His mother is out of town, but he said he is sure she will be supportive, too, when she comes home and finds out.
Mesick said he's unlike many people his age because he doesn't own a television and he reads a lot. His hair style -- a mohawk -- is part of that lifestyle of being different, he said.
"When you look different, it's a way to show you're not part of the mainstream," he said.
Mesick has no prior criminal record, according to Van Buren and Kalamazoo court records.
The consequences of his act Thursday "crossed his mind," beforehand, he said, and he expected to be charged with a misdemeanor. He was, however, also prepared to be charged with a felony, a more serious charge that WMU Associate Vice President Matt Kurz said Buchanan could have requested.
Mesick said he opposes Buchanan because of his immigration views that he said discriminate against Latinos and what Mesick said is Buchanan's "revisionist" position on the Holocaust.
A member of the national Socialist party, he participated in the Million Worker March in Washington, D.C., and in teach-ins about worker causes, he said.
"I don't want to do this as self-aggrandizement," Mesick said. "I want people to think about the cause, not me."
WMU's Kurz doesn't see it that way.
"It was a very diverse, very well-behaved group, by and large, who attended the event," Kurz said. "They gave Buchanan the ability to express his views," even though at least 25 percent didn't agree with his views, Kurz said. Buchanan "made his points in a way that was not inflammatory," and he did not dodge questions, Kurz said.
"So we were very disappointed. He (Mesick) disrupted what had been a very good event, to get his own few minutes in the spotlight."
Wow, who'd have thought P.B. attacked by a nazi.
Gee, I wonder how he could've turned out this way? /sarc
Bwhahahahaha.....!
He's a leftist socialist, not a Nazi...
Paw Paw.....home of Deer Forest and blithering condiment throwing idiots
There's an upscale place in Kalamazoo?
Kidding aside, and maybe I should've read the entire article, I'd like the name of this "upscale place" to become known, since it supports the assclown.
AKA guy who knows where to get marijuana and beer.
Arghhh! 'Ya beat me to it. That's what I get for pecking out a longer response.
Thag would like to know what this place is so that he can avoid eating there.
Oh, wait, it's in Michigan and Thag lives in Virginia. (Church Lady voice) Never mind.
AKA "Professional Student".
24 and he's a community college student with no declared major. Perhaps he should find some other books to read.
Me-sick is an anti-American free-speech sicko.
That's his story, when I want the truth I cut 'em in half and count the rings.
Oh wow maaaaan! Heavy symbolism, duuuude!!
Wasn't the NAZI party a National socialist party?
That's the same thing.
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