Vesey was with his brother, Asher Vesey, from Old Lyme, Connecticut, when Vesey declared that he wanted “to read a poem about rich people.” What followed was a confrontation with Vesey as Redic raved about being challenged by the young man.
Redic appeared most upset by the mere fact that he was being questioned or doubted, declaring “You sit there, and dare to look me in the face, and say I don’t know anything?”
After waving the middle finger in the face of Vesey, he declares “That’s what I know.” It was a telling moment. What he knows is rage. In today’s siloed media environment, many read little about opposing views and have even less interaction with others from a different perspective. The result is that they become irate and even violent when suddenly faced with someone questioning their judgment.
This is precisely why Charlie Kirk created Turning Point. He simply went to campuses offering to debate people on the left. The invitation was often met with fury by those who see no room for dialogue on issues dividing our nation.
The rage seems to have transformed the poet who wrote “In the peace of our love/And cool shadows of our souls,/Sing me a lullaby/Softly and slow.”
This may be why another New England poet, Robert Frost, wrote about how “good fences make good neighbors.”
Redic is now charged with simple assault and disorderly conduct by the Laconia Police Department.