Not so fast, Taser Boy defenders
Posted by: Donna
I’m sure many of you are aware of the events that transpired on Monday at the University of Florida, where 21 year old journalism student Andrew Meyer was tasered by campus police. A lot of people in the progressive community, at least the ones I’m hearing on the radio, are claiming it’s one more incident in a demonstrable uptick in authorities stifling protest all over the country. Two prominent lefty radio hosts spent most of their shows decrying the the manhandling of the student, and slamming John Kerry for standing by while it was happening. (Though he did insist that he was willing to answer the question, and what they think he could have done to stop 4 police officers armed with tasers I don’t know. Perhaps there’s some magic Senatorial cop command he could have used. “Release!”) Video here.
Now I love me some Randi Rhodes, but I’m a little hesitant to jump on her outrage bandwagon. I don’t think the kid should have been tasered. However, after watching the video and reading some Facebook accounts of others who were at the speech, I’m not inclined to think of him as some kind of free speech martyr either. Apparently, Meyer is known as a prankster, and true to his reputation, made a scene from the moment he walked into the Kerry speech. He was loud and obnoxious, showing complete disregard for the others in attendance, most of whom are probably on his side politically. Here’s a quote from one:
… I was also at the forum and completely agree with that account of the incident. I also felt unsafe because Mr. Meyer was being excessively aggressive and violent. I am thankful that UPD was finally able to control the situation and think they acted properly.
That was Stephanie Sims, former UF College Democrats President. As for the campus cops, I tend to think they acted more from post-VA Tech hypervigilance than out of a desire to stifle political expression.
I’m all for exuberant activism and protest, and I’m just as concerned about things like the Patriot Act and ‘free speech zones’ as any other progressive. But the plain fact is that not every arrested protester is Rosa Parks. Ego-driven theatrics do little to persuade people to our cause, if anything they distract and detract from it. Drama queens shouldn’t necessarily be ejected from events, and they certainly shouldn’t be tasered if they aren’t posing a physical danger. But I am getting a little tired of them aggrandizing themselves at the expense of the people who are working hard for political change. Or who are simply trying to listen to John Kerry answer questions.
This reminds me of the situation in Ahwatukee in August at our monthly Democrats and Donuts meeting. Harry Mitchell was the planned speaker. On the morning of the event, we learned that he was bringing Nancy Pelosi with him. Secret Service thwarted the attempts of some protesters to get inside. My understanding is that people who were not on the RSVP or invitation list were denied entry in order to ensure the Speaker’s safety. Simple as that. This got parlayed into massive indignation by those who were barred from the event and much harrumphing about it on KPHX and in the progressive community. As someone who was there, I can tell you that I was glad for the chance to hear Pelosi and Mitchell answer hard-hitting questions by some of their constituents, minus a pointless (and possibly dangerous) disruption. If that makes me a free-speech hating fascist meanie, so be it.
I’ll never forget the day that I watched in horror as a Code Pink member caused a distraction during Valerie Plame’s Congressional testimony. Plame was performing brilliantly, explicating what happened to her and her husband and why it was devastating to national security and our democracy. She was expertly parrying hostile questions by Republican lawmakers. Guess what got splashed all over the MSM afterwards? Some goofball craning to get on camera to flash her Impeach Bush shirt. But the mere suggestion that just maaaaaybe the event called for a little more decorum got you flamed mightily in the lefty blogosphere. Well, sorry folks, but war is a serious matter. And people who want to their point to be taken seriously ought to act accordingly when the occasion warrants it.
Free speech means you get to say whatever you want. But it also means that when you act like it means you get to talk as loudly, and as long as you want, then I get to use mine to tell you to stop acting like a horse’s ass.
Donna
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Kerry should have used “Expelliarmus!” - it worked for Harry!
Seriously, I was outraged when I first heard about this incident, but in typical lefty fashion, when I read the account, my outrage died. Why? Because I wasn’t there and didn’t know all the facts.
As for crazy antics, there’s a time and a place. Disrupting Plame’s testimony obviously wasn’t one of them (hello! she’s on our side!). Acting like an obnoxious jerkwad at a Kerry event obviously wasn’t one of them either.
Do you really think being a jerkwad warrants Tazering?
Absolutely not. There are more diplomatic means to dealing with a situation like this.
I’m commenting on how quick I was to feel outraged even though I didn’t know the whole story. I’m also commenting on Donna’s point of how some stunts distract from the real message. I would have been more impressed if the guy had posed his questions in a way that Kerry couldn’t sidestep or justify his actions.
The tasering is a separate point from the one I’m making. I’m not real keen on tasering in general, given how often it’s used on non-dangerous people, including a 5 year old girl in one case. There have been people in AZ who have been killed by these supposedly “non-lethal” weapons.
What I’m objecting to in my post is how Randi and others are acting like free speech means that every narcissistic pain-in-the-ass must be accomodated and given a forum to pontificate, with no regard to the rights of others present. Meyers jumped in front of other students who were waiting patiently to ask a question. Obviously their ability to speak wasn’t a consideration for him.
As a Democrat who is strong on civil liberties, I see this incident at UF another example of our eroding constitutional rights, and growing police excesses.
No one should be attacked by police, arrested and tasered just for speaking out, especially in a public building.
Just because someone doesn’t use your tact or strategy doesn’t make them wrong, or criminal.
Daniel, I understand your concern and I made it clear in my post that I disagreed with Meyer being tasered and arrested.
I do think he should have been escorted out, due to his disregard for the others there. Let’s not forget, there was a very prominent U.S Senator there, whom I’m sure has had his life threatened before. Again, I’m pretty sure the cops overreacted out of a concern for safety, not to clamp down on political expression. That’s problematic in itself, but it does kind of deflate Meyer’s status as Free Speech Hero.
As for civil liberties, by making a loud scene on the way in and cutting in front of people who were waiting to ask Sen. Kerry a question, Meyer acted like his constitutional rights outweighed everyone else’s. Why couldn’t he have gone to the event and waited his turn to ask his questions?
The First Amendment guarantees you the right to free expression. It DOESN’T grant you the right to demand, and be provided, an audience for it. Big difference.
After reading Donna’s entry and the comments, I looked for more information. My conclusion: We just don’t know what really happened, so we can’t pass judgment. The videos I watched didn’t show Meyer being disrespectful at all. He was a bit overdramatic with some of it, but I didn’t see or hear anything on the videos that showed him cutting anyone in line or being disrespectful to other students. I did find this, though, which I found to be very interesting:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=IHgIsJ69HgI
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Very true, Krista. I’m basing my opinion on several witness accounts of him pushing people who were waiting to speak out of the way. (They may be mistaken, who knows?) That’s what got to me.
The video you linked to is disturbing. I watched it a couple of times. It does throw a new light on it. There seemed to be an inordinate number of “suits” around for a mere college speech. Were they Secret Service?