[HPN] Political event puts poet in court(http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/
William Tinker
wtinker@fcgnetworks.net
Wed, 9 Feb 2000 14:10:01 -0500
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.
------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BF7307.5AE6BE60
Content-Type: text/plain;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
*************************************************************************=
*****************************************
2-9-2000
GROUP I AM FORWARDING THIS ON TO YOU IN REGARDS TO A MAN WHO WAS =
ARRESTED ON HYSTERIA BY AL GORES SECRET SERVICE AND THE POLICE WHICH =
APPEARS TO BE BASELESS IN NATURE!
Bill
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
----- Original Message -----=20
From: k rupoetry=20
To: animala1@altavista.com=20
Cc: newhampshire@gore2000.org ; rush@eibnet.com ; tribe@law.harvard.edu =
; r_u_outavit@yahoo.com=20
Sent: Wednesday, February 09, 2000 1:24 PM
Subject: [nhhomeless] Fwd: Political event puts poet in =
court(http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/
Political event puts poet in court
R.U. Outavit arrested at rally for Al Gore
Thursday, February 3, 2000
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Monitor staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LACONIA - The primary left a few losers in its wake. George =
Bush, Bill Bradley and a Weirs Beach poet named R.U. Outavit.
Outavit, 49, pleaded not guilty in Concord District Court=20
yesterday to charges he disturbed an Al Gore rally in Penacook last =
month by=20
allegedly socking a man and then fighting the half-dozen police officers =
who=20
arrested him. He goes to trial on the charges April 27 and will be=20
representing himself.
Outavit - who chose his name because every time he said he=20
wanted to be a poet someone said "Are you out of it?'' - doesn't have =
the=20
money to subpoena oodles of witnesses and compile a stack of legal =
research.=20
But the poet in him likely will draw from something as powerful: an =
arsenal=20
of determination and conviction.
"I can't afford (the fines),'' Outavit said. "But I'm more=20
concerned about never having this on my record. It's ridiculous for =
someone=20
who has always been a nonviolent person to be accused of this.''
With this single event, the man who says he's devoted his =
life=20
to peace has been cast as a political activist, an instigator. And it=20
frustrates the heck out of him.
"This was a complete fiasco,'' Outavit said. "I was (at the =
rally) as an undecided voter. I was enjoying Al Franken and a speech by =
Al=20
Gore when this happened. And (Gore's) spokesman has done a fantastic job =
of=20
ruining my name and reputation.''
Outavit already had been to a few Al Gore events by the =
time=20
campaign staff invited him to attend a rally at Merrimack Valley High =
School=20
in mid-January. He was listening to Gore's speech when someone grabbed =
his=20
white hat from atop his head and took off with it.
The hat means a lot to Outavit, he said, because it was a =
gift=20
from a suicide survivor. So he turned and went after it.
Here's where the story diverges. The police say Outavit =
punched=20
the man who took his hat and shouted obscenities at the police who =
arrested=20
him. Outavit says no such thing happened. According to his version, and =
at=20
least one reporter who was standing near him, there was no assault and =
no=20
disturbance.
Outavit said the man who took his hat couldn't get through =
the=20
crowd and threw the hat on the ground. Outavit said he picked it up just =
as=20
he was jumped on by about a half-dozen police officers. They threw him =
on=20
their shoulders and carried him into the hallway as he yelled: "I'm an=20
American citizen. Do not take my hat away.''
One reporter said the officers reacted so aggressively that =
the=20
media followed them believing Outavit had a weapon. He didn't.
"They said I was a protester. They said I was disrupting =
the=20
audience,'' Outavit said. "They said I was shouting obscenities. If=20
shouting, 'I'm an American citizen' is an obscenity then we are all =
going to=20
be arrested.''
One newspaper wrongly said Outavit spent the night in jail=20
because he couldn't afford his bail. All said he was heard shouting=20
obscenities, an untruth he's worried has offended his 87-year-old =
mother.=20
And none have mentioned his poetry, his efforts to get New Hampshire to=20
recognize Martin Luther King Day or his annual celebration of world =
peace.=20
Or that he voted for Al Gore anyway.
On July 14, Outavit celebrates R.U. Outavit day. It's a =
single=20
day devoted to the fact that the world has not been destroyed by nuclear =
weapons. He spends the remaining year celebrating world peace.
Two years ago, Outavit celebrated the day in Colorado with=20
poems and songs. "At the end of the day, everyone feels confident that =
all=20
was done that could be done to save the World,'' he read at that event's =
opening. "Peace wins, Love rules.''
Outavit chose the date for several reasons. The French=20
celebrate Bastille Day that day. July 14 can also be written as 7 14 - =
and=20
714 happens to be the number of home runs Babe Ruth hit and the number =
on=20
the badge of Dragnet's Joe Friday. If you need another reason, Outavit =
has=20
it. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, but Outavit =
said=20
most people didn't learn of it until July 14.
Several years ago, Outavit came from the Boston area to =
Weirs=20
Beach so his fiance could be near her family. That's the second reason =
he=20
gives for coming here. The first is that Jack Kerouac enjoyed himself at =
the=20
Weirs and wrote about his experiences.
In the years he's been here, Outavit has found material for =
his=20
own poems. One was written in hopes of encouraging the state to =
celebrate=20
Martin Luther King. It's titled "Sparch That Barbecue."
Now if it were rainy today / the rain will not say / when =
the=20
rain will go away / It may stay and stay and rain and pour / and flood =
over=20
the roof and wash everything away / and we would all be dead and it =
wouldn't=20
/ matter anymore that New Hampshire / is the last state to ratify / =
Martin=20
Luther King Day as a holiday.
On the side, when he's not writing poetry, Outavit is a=20
mosh-meister, meaning he's the guy at concerts who gets the rowdy mosh =
pit=20
going in front of the stage. He's usually the first one to dive into it.
He admits it's tough work for a 49-year-old. Sometimes even =
dangerous. "But not as dangerous as going to an Al Gore rally,'' he =
said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 528-2027, or by e-mail =
at=20
atimmins@cmonitor.com.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TOP HOME NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS ABOUT US SEARCH
=A9 Concord Monitor and New Hampshire Patriot
P.O. Box 1177, Concord NH 03302
603-224-5301
NewsFastfind!
Other Online News Resources
Monitor Classifieds
Visit our
NH Primary
Web site
In cooperation with
The Keene Sentinel
&
The Portsmouth Herald
Vote in our Democratic Primary Poll
Vote in our Republican Primary Poll
______________________________________________________
=20
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
To Post a message, send it to: nhhomeless@eGroups.com
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: =
nhhomeless-unsubscribe@eGroups.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-------
eGroups.com Home: http://www.egroups.com/group/nhhomeless
www.egroups.com - Simplifying group communications
------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BF7307.5AE6BE60
Content-Type: text/html;
charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Diso-8859-1" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>****************************************************************=
**************************************************</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial size=3D2>2-9-2000</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#ff0000 face=3DArial size=3D2>GROUP I AM FORWARDING =
THIS ON TO YOU=20
IN REGARDS TO A MAN WHO WAS ARRESTED ON HYSTERIA BY AL GORES SECRET =
SERVICE AND=20
THE POLICE WHICH APPEARS TO BE BASELESS IN NATURE!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=3D#ff0000 face=3DArial size=3D2>Bill</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=3DArial=20
size=3D2>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~=
~~~~~~~</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----=20
<DIV style=3D"BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A=20
href=3D"mailto:krupoetry@hotmail.com" title=3Dkrupoetry@hotmail.com>k =
rupoetry</A>=20
</DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A href=3D"mailto:animala1@altavista.com"=20
title=3Danimala1@altavista.com>animala1@altavista.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A href=3D"mailto:newhampshire@gore2000.org"=20
title=3Dnewhampshire@gore2000.org>newhampshire@gore2000.org</A> ; <A=20
href=3D"mailto:rush@eibnet.com" =
title=3Drush@eibnet.com>rush@eibnet.com</A> ; <A=20
href=3D"mailto:tribe@law.harvard.edu"=20
title=3Dtribe@law.harvard.edu>tribe@law.harvard.edu</A> ; <A=20
href=3D"mailto:r_u_outavit@yahoo.com"=20
title=3Dr_u_outavit@yahoo.com>r_u_outavit@yahoo.com</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 09, 2000 1:24 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [nhhomeless] Fwd: Political event puts poet in =
court(<A=20
href=3D"http://www.concordmonitor.com/stories/news/">http://www.concordmo=
nitor.com/stories/news/</A></DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<TABLE>
<TBODY>
<TR>
<TD><PRE>
Political event puts poet in court
R.U. Outavit arrested at rally for Al Gore
Thursday, February 3, 2000
By ANNMARIE TIMMINS
Monitor staff
--------------------------------------------------------------------
LACONIA - The primary left a few losers in its wake. George =
Bush, Bill Bradley and a Weirs Beach poet named R.U. Outavit.
Outavit, 49, pleaded not guilty in Concord District Court=20
yesterday to charges he disturbed an Al Gore rally in Penacook last =
month by=20
allegedly socking a man and then fighting the half-dozen police officers =
who=20
arrested him. He goes to trial on the charges April 27 and will be=20
representing himself.
Outavit - who chose his name because every time he said he=20
wanted to be a poet someone said "Are you out of it?'' - doesn't have =
the=20
money to subpoena oodles of witnesses and compile a stack of legal =
research.=20
But the poet in him likely will draw from something as powerful: an =
arsenal=20
of determination and conviction.
"I can't afford (the fines),'' Outavit said. "But I'm more=20
concerned about never having this on my record. It's ridiculous for =
someone=20
who has always been a nonviolent person to be accused of this.''
With this single event, the man who says he's devoted his =
life=20
to peace has been cast as a political activist, an instigator. And it=20
frustrates the heck out of him.
"This was a complete fiasco,'' Outavit said. "I was (at the =
rally) as an undecided voter. I was enjoying Al Franken and a speech by =
Al=20
Gore when this happened. And (Gore's) spokesman has done a fantastic job =
of=20
ruining my name and reputation.''
Outavit already had been to a few Al Gore events by the =
time=20
campaign staff invited him to attend a rally at Merrimack Valley High =
School=20
in mid-January. He was listening to Gore's speech when someone grabbed =
his=20
white hat from atop his head and took off with it.
The hat means a lot to Outavit, he said, because it was a =
gift=20
from a suicide survivor. So he turned and went after it.
Here's where the story diverges. The police say Outavit =
punched=20
the man who took his hat and shouted obscenities at the police who =
arrested=20
him. Outavit says no such thing happened. According to his version, and =
at=20
least one reporter who was standing near him, there was no assault and =
no=20
disturbance.
Outavit said the man who took his hat couldn't get through =
the=20
crowd and threw the hat on the ground. Outavit said he picked it up just =
as=20
he was jumped on by about a half-dozen police officers. They threw him =
on=20
their shoulders and carried him into the hallway as he yelled: "I'm an=20
American citizen. Do not take my hat away.''
One reporter said the officers reacted so aggressively that =
the=20
media followed them believing Outavit had a weapon. He didn't.
"They said I was a protester. They said I was disrupting =
the=20
audience,'' Outavit said. "They said I was shouting obscenities. If=20
shouting, 'I'm an American citizen' is an obscenity then we are all =
going to=20
be arrested.''
One newspaper wrongly said Outavit spent the night in jail=20
because he couldn't afford his bail. All said he was heard shouting=20
obscenities, an untruth he's worried has offended his 87-year-old =
mother.=20
And none have mentioned his poetry, his efforts to get New Hampshire to=20
recognize Martin Luther King Day or his annual celebration of world =
peace.=20
Or that he voted for Al Gore anyway.
On July 14, Outavit celebrates R.U. Outavit day. It's a =
single=20
day devoted to the fact that the world has not been destroyed by nuclear =
weapons. He spends the remaining year celebrating world peace.
Two years ago, Outavit celebrated the day in Colorado with=20
poems and songs. "At the end of the day, everyone feels confident that =
all=20
was done that could be done to save the World,'' he read at that event's =
opening. "Peace wins, Love rules.''
Outavit chose the date for several reasons. The French=20
celebrate Bastille Day that day. July 14 can also be written as 7 14 - =
and=20
714 happens to be the number of home runs Babe Ruth hit and the number =
on=20
the badge of Dragnet's Joe Friday. If you need another reason, Outavit =
has=20
it. The Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, but Outavit =
said=20
most people didn't learn of it until July 14.
Several years ago, Outavit came from the Boston area to =
Weirs=20
Beach so his fiance could be near her family. That's the second reason =
he=20
gives for coming here. The first is that Jack Kerouac enjoyed himself at =
the=20
Weirs and wrote about his experiences.
In the years he's been here, Outavit has found material for =
his=20
own poems. One was written in hopes of encouraging the state to =
celebrate=20
Martin Luther King. It's titled "Sparch That Barbecue."
Now if it were rainy today / the rain will not say / when =
the=20
rain will go away / It may stay and stay and rain and pour / and flood =
over=20
the roof and wash everything away / and we would all be dead and it =
wouldn't=20
/ matter anymore that New Hampshire / is the last state to ratify / =
Martin=20
Luther King Day as a holiday.
On the side, when he's not writing poetry, Outavit is a=20
mosh-meister, meaning he's the guy at concerts who gets the rowdy mosh =
pit=20
going in front of the stage. He's usually the first one to dive into it.
He admits it's tough work for a 49-year-old. Sometimes even =
dangerous. "But not as dangerous as going to an Al Gore rally,'' he =
said.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
(Annmarie Timmins can be reached at 528-2027, or by e-mail =
at=20
atimmins@cmonitor.com.)
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------
TOP HOME NEWS BUSINESS SPORTS ABOUT US SEARCH
=A9 Concord Monitor and New Hampshire Patriot
P.O. Box 1177, Concord NH 03302
603-224-5301
NewsFastfind!
Other Online News Resources
Monitor Classifieds
Visit our
NH Primary
Web site
In cooperation with
The Keene Sentinel
&
The Portsmouth Herald
Vote in our Democratic Primary Poll
Vote in our Republican Primary Poll
______________________________________________________
</PRE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<HR>
<FONT size=3D3><PRE>To Post a message, send it to: <A =
href=3D"mailto:nhhomeless@eGroups.com">nhhomeless@eGroups.com</A>
To Unsubscribe, send a blank message to: <A =
href=3D"mailto:nhhomeless-unsubscribe@eGroups.com">nhhomeless-unsubscribe=
@eGroups.com</A></PRE></FONT>
<HR>
<CENTER><!-- begin banner runid: 999 crid: 553 -->
<CENTER><A =
href=3D"http://click.egroups.com/1/999/5/_/156969/_/950120730/"=20
target=3Degnewwin><IMG alt=3D"" border=3D0 height=3D60=20
src=3D"http://adimg.egroups.com/img/999/5/_/156969/_/950120730/KeywordSky=
-468x601.gif"=20
width=3D468></CENTER>
<CENTER><FONT=20
color=3Dwhite></FONT></CENTER></A><!-- end banner =
--></CENTER>eGroups.com Home: <A=20
href=3D"http://www.egroups.com/group/nhhomeless">http://www.egroups.com/g=
roup/nhhomeless</A><BR><A=20
href=3D"http://www.egroups.com">www.egroups.com</A> - Simplifying group=20
communications<BR></BODY></HTML>
------=_NextPart_000_0016_01BF7307.5AE6BE60--