Audience wrestles with Ultimate Warrior's conservative agenda
Washinton University, St Louis
By: Troy Rumans
Published: Monday, September 22, 2003
Former WWF star speaks about politics, society
Some came to cheer, others came to jeer, but students of all political persuasions could not resist the lure of the Ultimate Warrior, a former professional wrestler with the World Wresting Federation who frequently espouses his conservative values
The Warrior, who legally changed his name in 1993, attracted over 150 listeners on Thursday. Though definite delineations could be seen between conservatives and liberals in the crowd, most of the students came simply as fans.
Topics addressed included the Warrior's position as a role model, the depravity of the wrestling industry, the hypocrisy of society, and the perceived pitfalls of liberalism.
The Warrior used a few anecdotes from his childhood to illustrate his attitude toward self-improvement.
"It was never the reaching of the goal that made me happy...it was striving to reach the goal," said the Warrior.
He said that he has an overall feeling of disgust with the world's current situation.
"It frightens me to think of the lack of thinking...in the world out there," said the Warrior.
He said that he acted as a conservative throughout his life without recognizing it. The people that disgusted him in his life were the liberals of the world.
"All those whiners, those bitches, they're the liberals," said the Warrior. "I don't like liberals."
Reactions to the Warrior's speech were mixed.
"It was certainly a lively atmosphere," said sophomore Eric Portis. "I don't necessarily agree with everything he said, but I'm glad he was brought to campus."
Many students expressed disappointment over the lack of political commentary throughout most of the presentation.
"I was expecting him to talk more about his politics," said Emily Katz, president of the Conservative Leadership Association.
CLA, who helped to bring Warrior to the campus, preceded his arrival with a veritable blitz of media hype. Katz noted that a few members dressed up like wrestling girls. Numerous advertisements ran in the Washington Witness as well.
College Republicans leader Kelley Mesa said that the recent Warrior speech exemplifies CLA's method of voicing their ideas.
"[CLA is] great about getting interesting kinds of guys in [that are] real eye-catching," said Mesa. "They have a different approach to things."
Previous speakers include Phyllis Schlafly, Marshall Fritz, and Paul Cantor. Katz has a few ideas for future speakers, but nothing is set in stone yet. They plan on bringing in sports star Reggie Jones to speak during black history month, and are trying to bring conservative speaker Ann Coulter to campus as well.
After quitting the wrestling world for good in 1998, the Warrior opened a health club and started a comic book series. He has spent much of his time researching today's society and has been speaking about the subject on college campuses for the past year and a half.
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