Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience

By Jay Unver

(Lehrton, MS) After weeks of mounting tension, civil disobedience erupted in downtown Lehrton this morning in the wake of Randy Beets' no-show at Swim the Suck on October 11th. Disgruntled fans, clamoring for a Hodge/Beets match race, burned tires in the streets, pelted the Big ASS Training Center with rocks, and burned a figure of Beets in effigy. Amid the chaos, some protestors called for Dr. Timothy Nomann’s resignation as president of “The Association” as many fans call it. Others yelled obscenities about Beets. A few even blamed Hodge for poisoning his tall opponent and preventing the long awaited showdown.

Since “The Letdown,” as some have taken to calling it, there has been a flurry of accusations, suspicions, and a host of videos posted to the Facebook page “Vicarious Butt Beets” while tensions have steadily mounted. One video reveals a Caucasian man, face hid behind a piece of paper which has “conspiracy” written on it. Speaking through a voice distorter, the man claims to confess being paid by the Hodge camp to poison Beets the night before the championship race.

A subsequent video shows its subject pull down the paper to reveal an obviously African-American female who claims to be the subject of the previous video. She contends that Betty Ryan Beets gave her money to make the first confession video.

When challenged on the obvious discrepancies in the subjects of the vids who claim to be the same person, a spokesman for the Hodge camp released this statement:

The subject of the first video only appears to be a Caucasian man. She is wearing a wig, and has makeup on her hands in order to appear white. The second video is the truth. As usual, the Beets group has tried to spin the circumstances, make excuses, and release false information. Hodge has repeatedly maintained his innocence. Dr. Nomann’s investigation revealed, “No credible evidence” to show any Hodge culpability. In short, this matter is over.

Only it wasn’t over. Rioters took to the streets and demanded an immediate race between Hodge and Beets. Lehrton’s police were caught flat footed and failed to respond until the fires started. Then, outmanned, they proved ineffective in clearing the streets and restoring order. An estimated 350 citizens, some carrying signs and shouting obscenities, threatened “To shut this city down if we have to wait a year,” for a resolution.

When asked to comment, Hodge simply said, “I will race Randy whenever he is ready. The problem is he moved to North Carolina. I really want to satisfy the fans, but it is not in my power to make this happen. These rioters need to go the Morganton, North Carolina and tear that town apart. Then maybe he will do something. I am not responsible for this civil disobedience. He is.”

Randy Beets could not be reached for comment.

Dave Elmore, legal counsel for Beets, said, "This is all a product of Hodge's cheating."