Did I just hear John Kerry say that guy asked a very pertinent question? I always wanted to know if John Kerry and George Bush were both in the same secret soceity.

Someone taser that kid again.

I wasn't aware that a person "gives up free speech when enrolling in an educational institution"... thanks for the warning. Should I tell my children if they ask a question the Prof doesn't like, they might be tasered?

Regardless of whether or not it was a set-up, something is wrong when 5 or 6 cops can't pull a guy out of an auditorium without tasering him. And don't give me the "endangering the officers safety" shit - watch the video. Planting your feet to try and stop someone from yanking you out isn't exactly putting anyone in danger.

The thing that frightens me the most is how many people think that what happened is perfectly ok. Maybe the kid was an asshole, douchebag, whatever. Last time I checked, being an asshole/douchebag wasn't illegal, nor a taserable offense.

This is yet another incident that reminds me of how glad I am to be Canadian.

or...?

I really didn't expect to read this thread thinking I'd have anything to comment on ... but at the very least I like to think people occasionally are willing to base their comments on actual facts.

Hmm ... puzzling ... I think maybe I must have watched the wrong video. I watched the one below. It's the one I inevitably ended up watching when it became obvious that everyone on earth was supposed to watch one of the taser videos.



~20s: Officer points weapon of some sort at kid while two other officers try to escort him out ... you might be right, maybe its his sidearm, not a taser.

~1m20s: An officer says something about how he's going to taser the kid if he doesn't comply ... maybe he said "laser"?

~1m50s: "Don't tase me, Bro!"

Hmmm ... I guess my time moves in a different direction than yours. Or maybe I just watched a different "don't tase me bro" video than you did of a completely different incident ... who knew there were TWO "don't tase me, bro" videos. ZOMG! It's a coordinated effort across different locations!!!



FINE PRINT: Since no doubt people will be glad to assume I think the kid acted intelligently through the events just because I'm calling out statements about the events that seem to be clearly in contradiction with what I like to call "reality," let me just point out that nothing in what I said above is either approving or disapproving of the actions of the authorities or the dude Bro tased.

I won't comment further ... I don't want to get in the lazyweb's way of figuring this one out.

First of all, I think many of you are underestimating the power of a person who does not want to cooperate. I don't know how many times any of you have had to restrain someone who really, really did not want to be restrained, but it ain't easy. If any of you have watched cops you'll notice that fairly frequently there are several officers with a guy on the ground for a good long time before they actually haul the guy off the ground in cuffs. For the safety of the officers and the crowd the cops couldn't just drag him out unrestrained, thats incredibly bad procedure.

From a officers point of view someone resisting arrest is about a cunts hair from using violence. Say the guys arm was restrained, say the officers grip slipped and the students elbow jacks him in the face. He didn't mean to but he ends up hurting an officer. Unlikely you say. But I say that if you do this kind of shit for a living then your bound to get that elbow eventually and you have every right to minimize that chance given that your methods aren't extreme. I don't think this was extreme, they gave him fair warning and there is evidence that this is actually what the kid wanted to happen. This is why I say it's too close to call unless you were there and able to put yourself in the cops shoes.

Don't give me the Oh Canada crap either, thats a cheap shot in the first place and in the second, what was that about police trying to incite a riot at some protest? Patriotism and nationalism in general are bullshit and cause more problems than they solve.

Oh come on, don't play dumb, you knew he meant "thAn."

I think this thread should get locked right now before someone spoils this moment of clarity.

Any who disagrees should get tased.

Thank you for taking a sentence fragment from all that I said and running amok with it. Much like the actions of the security guards were taken in fragments, edited down to make it ever the more dramatic.

The fact is that you agree to abide by the rules of your educational institution, and UF has rules regarding public speaking, demonstrations and protests, all of which were violated by Andrew Meyer's behavior.

There was a lot going on before the videos you see start, according to police reports and witness statements. They asked him to leave, he refused. They moved to physically remove him, he resisted. He continued to resist even on the ground, and even after he was warned he would be tasered. Gee, you continue your tantrum after that point, guess what? Things get all sparkly, and not in a way you enjoy.

What truly startles me is the sheer number of SHEEP that just glance at the surface and scream "Police Brutality! Witness the oppression inherent in the system!!!"

Bottom line: He brought all this shit on himself.

As much as I agree that many cops believe their actions are above scrutiny, the truth of the matter is that he wasn't "simply flailing his arms around", he was putting up a close quarters fight in a confined space, which is very very dangerous. the cops responded appropriately to the threat he and his actions presented, because he could have hurt more than just some jack-ass campus cop. This is especially true if the police believed that he may have been reaching for their sidearm, or perhaps some unknown weapon on his person.
maybe getting tasered will teach him not to put others at risk solely for the sake of being a jack ass.

Archaneus said:

I'm confused. What is Kerry supposed to do, hurtle over the podium and take on the cops black ninja style? It's not like he was rooting for the police here or anything. He was trying to answer the question and then shit got out of hand. He's not Superman, people.

That's some imagery just waiting for someone talented enough to make it happen.

Um....what the fuck was Kerry supposed to do? Run down off the stage and launch himself onto a security guard? What the hell? Kerry seemed genuinely shocked that it was going on, but what the hell is he supposed to do? I mean...seriously! You...what....expect....Kerry to....[/head explodes]

The kid asked a question and got yanked for it. He asked it in a total douchebag asshole fuckhead piece-of-shit way, but he had the right to. Just the same that the paper had the right to print the editorial. It's really a testament to how censorship knows no political boundaries.

Will people stop making it out as if the newspaper lost advertising because they criticized Bush? They lost advertising because they said "Fuck" in a privately funded editorial, and guess what: Advertisers didn't want their name associated with it.

This is mountains from molehill stuff folks.

Whenever I double-post, an angel gets its wings.

Kerry has three purple hearts! He could have ninja killed those rent-a-cops in two seconds!

People from Canada are odd to me, just because you let the government take your guns away so you can be safe doesn't mean we don't still have ours.

In fact, lots of people who shouldn't have guns still have them down here.

And in closing, sometimes cops really annoy me. But most times I am damned happy to see them when something crazy is going down.