UF student Tasered
ok... so a student at my school got Tasered by the police yesterday at a speech that John Kerry was giving. everyone on campus has been freakin out about this. They're saying his 1st amendment rights were violated, that it was police brutality, so on and so forth. they even staged a march to the university PD today. I was in class so I don't know how successful that was. but really, everyone needs to calm the fuck down.
I've heard different things, but the general consensus seems to be that the Q&A session had been ended before it was his turn, so this kid cut the line and rushed the mic. if you watch the videos, he then proceeds to ramble before finally asking his question. Which John Kerry is going to answer, before the kid cuts him off and asks if Kerry was in a secret society with Bush. At this point the mic is turned off and the University police try to escort him from the microphone. he tries to shake the officers off, so more come to restrain and remove him. eventually there are 6 officers, and he has been pulled to the ground, but is still trying to get away. he's warned that if he keeps resisting he will be tasered, and he keeps resisting, while screaming "Don't tase me, Bro!".
I'm sorry, but if you resist the police, you get tasered. It's better then getting beat into submission. I think he probably ended up with less damage from the taser then if those 6 officers had been forced to carry him flailing out of the auditorium.
Maybe it's just cause I'm a 20-something black man... but if the police come for you, you fuckin go with the police. You don't wanna give 'em a reason to taser/nightstick/etc you, and that's from someone who doesn't fear the police, and has always lived in good middle class neighborhoods.
On the "his free speech rights were violated" argument. first, the police did not taser him because of his questions, they tasered him, cause he was resisting them. second, you have the right to say what you want, but you DO NOT have the right to hijack a microphone, and disrupt a public event. if you want to stand on the corner with a sign, or write a newsletter, or whatever, you are free to do that. The University event coordinators don't have to give you mic time to express your ideas, and if they think your a being disruptive they can have you removed. That's what happened in this instance.
Kid's been charged with "inciting a riot", which is obviously a BS charge, but I can see how his actions could have put the officers in danger, had other students tried to come help him.
so, in closing, Kid got Tased... it's his own damn fault.
clip of what happened
discuss...
I've heard different things, but the general consensus seems to be that the Q&A session had been ended before it was his turn, so this kid cut the line and rushed the mic. if you watch the videos, he then proceeds to ramble before finally asking his question. Which John Kerry is going to answer, before the kid cuts him off and asks if Kerry was in a secret society with Bush. At this point the mic is turned off and the University police try to escort him from the microphone. he tries to shake the officers off, so more come to restrain and remove him. eventually there are 6 officers, and he has been pulled to the ground, but is still trying to get away. he's warned that if he keeps resisting he will be tasered, and he keeps resisting, while screaming "Don't tase me, Bro!".
I'm sorry, but if you resist the police, you get tasered. It's better then getting beat into submission. I think he probably ended up with less damage from the taser then if those 6 officers had been forced to carry him flailing out of the auditorium.
Maybe it's just cause I'm a 20-something black man... but if the police come for you, you fuckin go with the police. You don't wanna give 'em a reason to taser/nightstick/etc you, and that's from someone who doesn't fear the police, and has always lived in good middle class neighborhoods.
On the "his free speech rights were violated" argument. first, the police did not taser him because of his questions, they tasered him, cause he was resisting them. second, you have the right to say what you want, but you DO NOT have the right to hijack a microphone, and disrupt a public event. if you want to stand on the corner with a sign, or write a newsletter, or whatever, you are free to do that. The University event coordinators don't have to give you mic time to express your ideas, and if they think your a being disruptive they can have you removed. That's what happened in this instance.
Kid's been charged with "inciting a riot", which is obviously a BS charge, but I can see how his actions could have put the officers in danger, had other students tried to come help him.
so, in closing, Kid got Tased... it's his own damn fault.
clip of what happened
discuss...