Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Friday, March 09, 2012

Gov. Chris Christie Calls Veteran An 'Idiot' In Shouting Match

Gov. Chris Christie argued with a former Navy SEAL Thursday over the state's plans to reconfigure public universities in New Jersey -- resulting in Christie calling the man an idiot.

William Brown -- a Rutgers-Camden law student opposes the governor's plan to merge his school with Rowan University, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Brown asked the governor during a town hall meeting in Burlington County to consider how the merger would affect students, and veteran students in particular, before going ahead with his plan. Christie responded by telling Brown the merger was going to happen because it would provide bigger and better opportunities.

The situation escalated into a shouting match, and Brown continued to make his argument while Christie was speaking, saying that no one in South Jersey wanted this to happen.

Christie ordered Brown escorted out and said, "If you decide what you want to do is put on a show today, let me tell you something, I can go back and forth with you as much as you want. And let me tell you something, after you graduate from law school, you conduct yourself like that in a court room, your rear end’s gonna get thrown in jail, idiot."

After Brown left, Christie said, "You know, I tried to be patient with the guy. Every time I tried to answer, he started yelling over me again. Damn, man, I’m governor, could you just shut up for a second?"

Brown told the Philadelphia Inquirier after the encounter that he worried that the merger would hamper educational opportunities that now exist for veterans and other nontraditional students like himself.

Brown called the response by Christie and the police "inappropriate."

"I think he's a bully sometimes," Brown said. "I was disappointed the governor couldn't have a debate."

Original Article
Source: Huff
Author: Anna Staver 

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