On Saturday morning, Oct. 22, Chad Nesbitt and a friend drove an extra-large street-sweeper style truck in circles around the Occupy Asheville campsite while blowing what amounted to an air or boat horn. He did this as a form of protest, but in truth it was a form of harassment.
He did this to veterans, women, children, activists and homeless people, among others. There were people there that Chad claims to disdain, and plenty that he would claim to support. He then boasted about his harassment on WLOS News 13. WLOS News 13 did not show the video of John Spitzberg from Veterans for Peace, who was there and experienced this harassment with the other campers. That is the other side of the story.
Whether a person identifies with the Occupy Asheville movement or not, it should be understood that they are just a mix of people who are trying to work out solutions to the problems that they see in society. Additionally, they are exercising their rights of assembly in order to address their concerns. At the time of Chad Nesbitt's harassment, there was a city-granted permit in place allowing for them to be there. There was no law being broken by the campers that morning, only by Chad Nesbitt with his intentional disregard for the noise ordinance and human dignity.
The fact that Chad Nesbitt sees fit to boast of his illegal, immoral and unpatriotic harassment of fellow human beings is reprehensible. WWJD comes to mind, Chad. Chad Nesbitt is a bully and the fact that he is the voice in local government speaks volumes.
— Lindsey Miguelez
Asheville
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Chad Nesbitt may be a lot of things, including bully, blow-hard and self-promoting clown, but he is most definitely not the "voice in local government." Remember he was trounced from a leadership position with the Buncombe County Republicans after only one disasterous year where he caused an exodus from the Party. The only mystery in his latest escapade is why the local television media saw fit to give this character coverage. He's a joke. A bad joke.
By Dionysis
11/02/2011
How odd for a confrontational movement to take issue with a confrontational opposition.
By travelah
11/02/2011
As much as I hate to admit it, I'm with Trav on this one too. Sure, Chad is a neanderthal, and what he did was certainly hurtful and scary, especially to the children present.
But if the goal of your effort is to provoke a reaction, you can't necessarily pick the reaction off an approved menu - thugs like Chad will oppose you, with the childish means within their grasp.
Frankly, I would be surprised and disappointed if he didn't at some point validate your efforts with his hamhanded antics.
By Barry Summers
11/02/2011
I am certainly no fan of Chad's, and I think it was a lame thing to do, but I have to agree with travelah and Barry on this. There is no question that if the tables were turned, many of the same exact people would be celebrating the same tactics as effective guerilla theater.
Of course, feigned indignation is part of the theater of protest, so it isn't surprising. An illustrative example is when protestors take actions deliberately designed to get themselves arrested, then act horrified and astonished that they were arrested, as if their actions weren't specifically designed for that exact purpose in the first place.
Polarization and dramatic arrests get media attention. I understand why people on both sides do it, and it is clearly effective on some levels, but as I see it, if we are all in it together, polarization isn't the answer. Not even 99% vs 1%. If there is any hope for real change as I see it, we are going to have to start seeing that we are the 100%; diverse, messy, and beautiful as the case may be.
By entopticon
11/08/2011
After a certain point, you just start to have pity for Chad Nesbitt. How miserable his life must be to have to try so desperately to get someone to give him attention. Chad, I pray that you can find love and peace at some point in your life.
By Doug Sahm
11/02/2011
He'll always have the man in the mirror
By Ashevegasjoe
11/02/2011
So it is OK for a crowd of lefties to "occupy" (as in military-style invasion) public spaces for weeks, march, beat drums and shout in bullhorns in protest, but when a lone conservative does so, it is a terrorist act?
More hypocracy from the "occupy" herd.
By Big Al
11/02/2011
Currently, the Xpress splash page has a thing about defacing AB-Tech tax campaign signs, Joe Dunn saying Lael Gray wants to ban cars from Asheville, and, of course, Chad.
One hesitates to apply the notionals of Freudian psychology to the situation, but you have to admit there's something . . . adolescent in evidence when one looks at the right's relationship with government when out of power.
Though some presidencies have contributed to the onset of civil war and others have made manufacturing-side recessions incalculably worse, no presidency has ever destroyed the United States. A citizen realizes that he or she is the United States, not the President or the Speaker. The eschatological preoccupations of the right seem to lack the sense of individual sovereignty folks over there argue about so much about.
When the citizens of a country roust other citizens of a country because somebody's exercising their constitutional right to assemble for redress, I guess the best thing you can say is we don't need police anymore.
By sharpleycladd
11/02/2011
yu talk purty
By Barry Summers
11/02/2011
I feel harassed by the OAVL crowd. Harassed, I tell you! Sorely offended! Oh the horror, the inhumanity!
(Go Chad! Protesting the thin-skinned protesters!)
By john5
11/02/2011
typo line 14
By sharpleycladd
11/02/2011
dont kepe us in suspenz... sussphence... suhsp...
tel us wot th' dam typo was!!!
By Barry Summers
11/03/2011
chad?
By loco
11/03/2011
Hi, I came across this article because of your name, which is obviously the same as mine just spelt with an E. I'm curious about your families history since the last name Miguelez isn't very common in the U.S to me at least. I don't know anyone except family members with that last name. Please email me if you ever get this and hopefully you don't think I'm a weirdo :)
By Lindsay Miguelez
11/03/2011
I feel like Merrill Lynch, too, was a little thin skinned... only their woes were answered with 4 arrests and pending court dates... how will Asheville redress the situation with Chad?
-wobbler.
By weebleswobble
11/06/2011