Although politics can get heated, most people choose to keep their arguments verbal. A 70-year-old Nashville retiree, however, chose the physical route by using his SUV to express his disdain for President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.
Retiree Harry Weisiger is accused of repeatedly ramming his SUV into a schoolteacher’s Toyota Camry bearing an Obama/Biden ’08 campaign bumper sticker after tailgating and honking at the offending vehicle, the Tennessean reports.
The incident happened last week after the Camry’s driver, Mark Duren, had picked up his 10-year-old daughter from school. Duren says that while in traffic, the SUV pulled up behind him, and Weisiger began honking and gesturing at the sticker.
“I raised my hands up and shrugged. He then eased up behind my car so I could only see the grille of his SUV and blew his car horn nonstop,” Duren told the newspaper.
According to a police report, Weisiger followed Duren, honking and pointing angrily at the offending bumper sticker as Duren made his way toward home. At one point, Weisiger rammed his SUV into the Camry’s rear bumper. Duren stopped his car, trying to calm daughter, and Weisiger reportedly rammed the Camry again, trying to push it off the road. He then fled the scene.
A witness followed Weisiger to a nearby grocery store, where police discovered him attempting to pop breath mints. Weisiger told them he drank “not much” that day. He was charged with reckless endangerment, leaving the scene of an accident and refusing to take a field sobriety test.
Duren says he wishes Weisiger had expressed his differing political opinion in a more civilized manner.
“The anger is bleeding from political discussions into other aspects of society,” Duren told the Tennessean. “I’d like to tell people, look, we can discuss things we disagree about. You don’t have to bash someone’s car because you disagree with what’s on a bumper sticker.”
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