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September 18, 2007 7:11 AM
Welcome to YouTube
A horrifying scene: an agitated student refuses to step away from the microphone after asking Senator John Kerry a question; the security (police? campus guards?) begin to escort him out; as he resists, they become more forceful; as he screams, they hold him to the ground, cuff him and taser him. Meanwhile, the audience applauds (for his resistance or his arrest, it's not clear) as the Senator's voice indistinctly intones in the background.
And we all see it thanks to Youtube.
The story of this incident is still being sorted out. The student may have been aggressive. There's little doubt that the force was excessive. And it's unclear how much Senator Kerry could tell from the stage (he initially asks them not to pull the student away and to allow him to answer the question, but as the force increases, Kerry's role becomes less clear).
I'm not certain how much this was an incident about free speech -- the student got his question in, and at a forum like this, you move on. Make your point, then let someone else make theirs.
I am certain, though, that five or six officers seem excessive. As shrill as he was, the student didn't appear violent. I wasn't in the middle of it; I wasn't making decisions the police had to make; but I also hope that our police and security officers are better trained than I am in making those in-the-moment decisions...and that such training focuses on not using excessive force on students.
What is most clear is that the visual of this is terrifying -- and it's brought to us by the power of citizen videographers, who will ensure that acts of brutality go unnoticed less and less frequently.
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Whatever happened to the good ole days when they just cracked your skull, and kicked us in the balls..
"Attica Attica..!"
"Help I'm being repressed, now we see the violence inherent in the system, now we see the violence inherent in the system, help help I'm being repressed..."
Eric Idle...
That shows who is really in charge. The goons. This was an inexcusable over reaction. All this dumb famale cop could do was stand back and tell the student to put his hands behind his back. So they tasered him and then escourtd him out. Do they check to see if someone has a pace maker? I hope he sues them personally and the school with the deep pockets. And the female gets equal pay? I think they shoud get half for egging the males on. What would those five guys done without her. Buy Parity Democracy online if you want to see the way out of this representative fascist corporatist dictatorship that has taken over our so called democracy.
This student was _NOT_ tasered for asking a question! Watch the video again, it's plainly obvious he was disruptive and aggrevating the situation. Anyone who says otherwise, or tries to portray him as an innocent victim, either hasn't watched the video or decided from the start to only see that which reinforces their own twisted beliefs.
Did the security overreact? Yes! Should they face disciplinary actions? Yes! But in no way could you possibly watch this video and believe that the student was tasered for simply asking a question.
Worst part is, now the neocons will use this to justify their own silencing of dissenters. They've arrested many, many people for the crime of having the wrong bumper sticker, or wearing the wrong t-shirt, but now all they have to do is point to this and say "At least we don't taser students for asking questions."
The student was being deliberately disruptive. He was refusing to cooperate with the cops. He was quite going out of his way to disrupt the proceedings.
He was either:
a. not quite there mentally and freaking out because he wasn't getting his way, thereby giving the cops no choice.
Or more likely,
b. Was an agent provocateur who had planned on being deliberately disruptive in order to give the whole proceedings a black eye, in which case he deserved what he got and more.
I would like to have had a better shot of the "taser" episode, because it is very possible that he was screaming without getting tased.
Remember, he said "Don't tase me!" That would make it seem as though he was being tased without actually lying about it.
I've seen similar incidents go down that way before, and I'm taking the whole incident with a grain of salt.
To Paleface A.P: Your twisted contradictory statement speaks volumes for itself. I heard Kerry say leave him alone. Who's in charge, a United States senator or security guard retards? I think someone has a right to get bent out of shape angry and loud when their freedom of speech is interfered by a bunch of retarded goons. And Mr Pale... whoever, by his unfounded judgmental accusations marks him or herself as what it is... a moron.
Here's a little update. Two police officers involved in incident have been placed on leave. The university president has said the student was tasered and p[olice rules may be changed. For a full statement go http://www.president.ufl.edu/incident,htm.
I put a comma where a dot should have been. Here's a correction. http://www.president.ufl.edu/incident.htm
I see a couple of things disturbing about the whole thing. I think the person in question was trying to provoke a response and wasn't go to stop until he got one from the police.
I can't help but wonder just how much space this site would have dedicated to this matter had the student been put through what he was had his questions been based on "Swift Boat" and/or Ann Coulter style talking points.
I am also troubled by the number of students that just sat there and watched this take place. What do you hope the reaction of your neighbors and friend will be "when they come for you"?
The only excuse there could possibly be is that the audience was in agreement with the police that this guy was being deliberately disruptive and getting everything he deserved
The students didn't have a clue what was going on. The goons struck too fast. Read what the university president thinks on the link above. Obviously he thinks the police overreacted and should be constrained.
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