don't tase me, bro.

[post_ironic]

all right, by now most of you with access to some sort of media outlet have seen  this. i'd be interested to know everyone's reaction, since there seems to be a dearth of discussion of the matter on my friends page.

i, for one, am utterly apalled. the UPD's conduct was beyond reprehensible. the public response from the administration has been

Comments

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[sapphon]

It's very much worth noting that those who were present at the event applauded the tasing, whereas those seeing it on video are generally appalled and outraged. Since the entirety of UF students (at a Kerry rally, no less) being fascists who love police brutality or anything close to it is pretty out of the question, I have to think that people who actually saw it happen must know something we don't that made them applaud.

I also doubt very much if the guy in question's reputation had anything to do with the applause. 40-50k students attend the U of F, and that provides a good amount of anonymity for any individual on the campus. Unless he's literally the most infamous motherfucker ever to stride the halls, I don't think that a crowd as big as that at the rally is going to be comprised entirely (or mostly) of people that recognize him for his prior exploits.

What we're down to, then, is his conduct. In order for a bunch of incredibly liberal (these are *college students*) young people to applaud one of their own being zapped with more than a few thousand volts, he would've had to be doing something pretty seriously disruptive to the event which they were attending. Hauling the guy off might not have been an option because the police needed to stay on scene. I'm told that the guy was warned very clearly several times that he would be Tased if he continued to carry on. Of course, I don't know these things, not having been there, of course, but they seem likely.

It all comes down to this: those who know the most about the incident are those who feel the least pity for the victim.