Ya wanna read the dude's blog who got tasered at the Kerry event?

Here's a couple of snips: BTW: It seems the guy doesn't really like JK.

"Let's pretend for a moment that John Kerry is Satan. Quite literally, he is the devil. Now think for a second. Now that our devil-liberal is in office, what can he possibly do to fuck over the country? Lets see, he could give all of the government's money to the super-rich, who need it the least. He could invade a country that poses no threat to America. He could also piss off the rest of the world. Any one of these crimes would be heinous on their own, but doing all of them would only verify what we already knew, that this guy is a fucking demon.

Only wait just a second - the guy already in office is enacting these unspeakable horrors as we speak! Wow. So even if we elected Satan, there really isn't anything he could do to be worse than George W. Bush. Except maybe nuke Alaska. In this case, I will take the devil I don't know over the one I do. Vote John Kerry".

and

By ANDREW MEYER

A man in a wheelchair cut me off and nearly knocked me off my bicycle today as I was crossing a major intersection. Had anyone else done this unthinkable act, I would have immediately retaliated by chasing him down, screaming multiple obscenities at him, and possibly engaging in some fisticuffs. Instead, because the man happened to be in a wheelchair, I said not a word, recovered myself and rode away without incident.

This experience got me to thinking: if I was handicapped, I wouldn’t want to be treated differently than anyone else. I’ll take the nicer parking spots, sure, but other than that, I want the same treatment as any other member of our society. I don’t want your pity, your condescending behavior masked as friendly help. Let me help you? Go fuck yourself! I can manage perfectly well on my own.

This is the mindset of our country’s disabled denizens, is it not? The desire to be treated as equal, not “special,” must course through their veins the same as it does for anyone else. So then, from now on, I am going to treat the handicapped the same way I would anyone else. The moral of the story: the next time some jackass on wheels comes tearing in front of my path, I think I'll verbally assault him, the same way I would if he wasn’t confined to his chair. I’ll treat him as my equal, and curse him out accordingly. It’s the American way!
http://www.freewebs.com/newforum/columns.htm

:eyes:

mercury in his vaccine? Such a ranter..goes to show ya; people can be sooo weird.

:shrug:

nt

:spray:

Bullshit, free speech is dead.

you watched the NBC video? Have you spoken to others who were there for the whole event?

The man was asked to wrap it up, he was grandstanding, and wouldn't shut up.

Had he walked out of the audiotorium and been able to keep himself under control while the police were dealing with him, he would NOT have been tazered. He was into making as big a scene as possible, and was more interested in being in the spotlight than he was in getting any answers to his questions- not giving Sen. Kerry a chance to get a word in edgewise.

I don't care what kind of blog he has- his behaviour in the clip was that of a person who was out of control.

He is not a small man, and unfortunately that requires that he display a greater degree of self control and passivity than someone who is percieved as less of a 'threat' by the arresting officers.

Please DO watch the clip on NBC if you haven't, it gives more of the lead in (including an officer coming forward to him and asking him to wrap it up) and the drama he was putting into his performance.

from the hearings was a "violation of free speech" and should not be tolerated, but someone being tazered for not "wrapping it up" is justified in your mind?

Tazered for not 'wrapping it up'-

If you haven't gotten that much out of the film clips, we aren't watching the same clips-

:shrug:

of a difference between the way the folks from code pink were acting at the hearings and the way this guy was acting. I understand that once the police came forward and tried to remove him he then was in control of what steps would be necessary to facilitate his removal. He refused to go quietly resulting in an escalation in the force required to remove him , which resulted in the tazer being used. My point is I believe he and the code pink folks have the right to be heard, they may need to rethink the method they choose to express themselves, and those they are speaking to have the right to ignore them.

the first post on this that lightened it up..shame on you! ;)

Heckling ought not to be dealt with by subjecting the heckler to electric shocks that are designed to be excruciatingly painful. Disorderly conduct does not merit a beating. Had the cops taken to him with billy clubs we all would 'get it', but since we still aren't sure about what a taser is, we make excuses.

Speaking out in a public forum is not a crime. Hogging the mic is not a crime. Rudeness is not a crime.

And physically resisting arrest within arms reach of an officer's sidearm is a threat to every person in that room.

Uncuffed guy on the floor breaks his hand away from an officer's grip, knocks into officer's holster. A .40 cal round discharges, hits the concrete floor, and a bystander is hit by the ricocheting bullet. You can say it's an unlikely occurance, because it is. But it's a scenario that officers cannot allow to ever happen.

There are a hundred unlikely accidents that can happen when you struggle with someone carrying a loaded weapon. Which is why you shouldn't do so. The most dangerous thing you can do is physically resist a police officer carrying a loaded weapon.

But I wonder if he was even being arrested at all or did the officers want to simply remove him from the room?

There were several officers there who could have simply given him the bum's rush. Out the door in just a few seconds--no Tasering™ required. But the Taser™ seems to have become a convenience for police departments: just Taser™ the s.o.b. and ask questions later, seems to be the mindset.

Are we going to Taser™ anyone based on the suspicion that he could grab the officer's gun? Kyriiist! I hope I don't get too close to a cop who thinks this way!

For years we heard and read about the right-wingers fearing their government. We were subjected to story after story about how freepers hated big government. We saw how they like to live in relatively isolated places: cabins in the wilderness, the "rock and coyote states" of the west, and so on. All ostensibly to "escape" Big Government™. I remember reading how US agents for the Department of the Interior were denied service at restaurants in western states because "they represented Big Government™ who wanted to infringe on our rights!" I took a drive around western Colorado a few years ago and was aghast at the number of fervently right-wing icons I saw: huge Bush/Cheney signs painted on the sides of barns with giant American eagles and red-white-blue murals. These weren't "bumper stickers" or signs that one could simply staple to the side of his barn. These were large, painted murals!

But what has transpired since the Election of 2000? The right-wingers have embraced Big Government™ The love the erosion of civil rights; they love the illegal eavesdropping; they love endless war; the love torture; they love xenophobia, both here and abroad; and they love to hate. All of this provided by George W. Bush's Big Government™

I used to think maybe...maybe...the right-wingers had a valid argument in fearing Big Government™, but now I realize it was all a lot of hooey; they love Big Government--a government that puts its boot to the back of their necks a steps hard. They love a dictatorship, and they love having a dictator.

These past 7-13 years have been a real eye-opener for me!

I was falsely arrested...I knew I was falsely arrested...I complied with the officer... It's suicidal to resist someone who has a gun, mace, a stun gun, and in some cases a billy club.. I was taken to a holding cell, had to post $10,000.00 bond and was released...I'd say all this took about six hours...

I got a lawyer , had the charges dropped, my record expunged, and successfully sued for false arrest, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.

never question authority. always comply with all orders no matter how outrageous or illegal. they have guns. obey.

It wasn't clear on the videotape. There were several officers there who could have subdued him: one on each arm and usher him out the door. They didn't have to threaten him with a procedure that could kill him. If you're going that route, why not just pull your service revolver and wave it in his face?

What was he being arrested for? I didn't catch that on the tape...

Tasers should only be used when necessary. And, as with use of lethal force, should be subject to a review board afterward.

I highly doubt he would have been arrested and charged with anything had he complied with the request to leave the room.

But you cannot simply give someone the Bum Rush. If you've every seen a barroom brawl, you know that usually ends with injuries to multiple parties. The guy in this case was highly uncooperative, flailing and physically resisting, and creating a chaotic atmosphere. So not only does his physical resistance create a threat to everyone in that room, but the confusion he is creating also is a threat to the protection of a highly ranking political figure.

I have seen nothing that leads me to believe the Taser use in this incident was unjustified.

You can get close to a cop, but if you try to fight them off, it's not gonna end good for you.

they could have physically done it but his shoulder might have been dislocated and that laughing asshole in the yellow shirt in the video might have lost a few teeth from being kicked by the guy.

Just those who are stupid enough to resist arrest and appears they may be a threat to themselves or others.

I didn't hear the cops say he was being arrested. What was the charge?

Resisting arrest is the standard bullshit charge for 'the cops just beat the shit out of you and now they need to charge you with something'. Questioning authority is not 'resisting arrest', but that is generally how these things go down.

If those sidearms are so dangerous, perhaps the police ought to not be taking them into public forums on a college campus where there is generally zero threat of violence meriting an armed response. Why are cops walking around armed to the teeth? Why have we accepted the militarization and brutalization of society so eagerly?

...if their antics hadn't been captured on video.

If those sidearms are so dangerous, perhaps the police ought to not be taking them into public forums on a college campus where there is generally zero threat of violence meriting an armed response.--Good point. I've always wondered about the shift from revolvers holding six rounds to semi-automatics holding nine or more. It used to be only the police departments of other countries carried military-like hardware (I remember flying into the airport in Munich in 1984 and seeing police officers carrying machine guns--but then the Baader-Meinhof gang was active then so maybe the weapons were justified :shrug:), but always felt at ease with American police departments carrying "six-shooters." But when the shift occurred, I thought we were becoming more like the police departments of other countries. Even the excuse of the time of "combating violent drug gangs" didn't set too well with me. But when university police departments started packing semi-autos with large magazines, I wondered "Are there really 'violent drug gangs' operating on college campuses?" I have four university degrees and in all the time I spent on campuses, I never once encountered a "violent drug gang," both before and after the shift to military-like weaponry.

"If those sidearms are so dangerous, perhaps the police ought to not be taking them into public forums on a college campus where there is generally zero threat of violence meriting an armed response."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virginia_Tech_massacre

You should be. is it your contention that, in light of the VT massacre, we ought to turn our college campuses into high security guarded enclaves? Are you series?

would have worked that the police put on anybody who is arrested? That's pretty debilitating.

could get you beat on, you would be worm-food yourself, Truman, and you fucking know it.

there are things said on this board that are far worse than this kid's rantings.

Is this OP supposed to excuse the tasing? Because to me it doesn't. Free speech has nothing to do with WHAT was said, but that he has a right to say it.

Even if he is a Bushbot.

Sorry authoritarians...people's level of stupidity does not translate to allowing them to be tortured with electricity by authority figures.

i think he hates bush ...

u guys(some people on DU) are quick to lable anyone who disagrees with you a right winger or bush lover.

sorry, but some people dont just hero worship because they are on the same side of the political isle. even people on the democratic side can be flawed too. him pointing it out isnt a crime.

The point was not that he was a freeper, but that even if he WAS a freeper he had a right to be heard and not tased at a Kerry speech.

So you can take back your "you guys are quick to label"....I wasn't labelling anyone.

bushbot..looked like a egocentric andrewbot.

My point was more like "even if he was Pol Pot, he should be heard and not tased"

Apparently you are not the only one confused by my post.

tasered..I don't know about polpot, though..he was a freaking asshole.

he didn't get beat on.

My name is trumad BTW.

The average DUer?

The kid says "pretend" for a minute Kerry is really Satan in disguise. Then, were he elected President you could expect him to do.... He goes on to give a list of things Kerry's opponent, the current President, has already done in office. Leading to the conclusion that even if Kerry were Satan in disguise, he could not possibly be any worse than Bush.

The unwritten assumption here is that no sane person believes Kerry is Satan which means Kerry would be a much better choice than his opponent.

There's an ex Gulf War One vet in a wheelchair...The dude is powerful...He looks like Lawrence Taylor but is mellow as can be... I always get the door for him to go into the sauna or the weight room because no matter how powerful he is ergonomically it's a big challenge...

I don't think I am patronizing him or being condescending to him;just helpful...

The herd mentality here is sad sometimes...

And sorry, that's hardly a ringing endorsement of Kerry.

Unless we are for torturing people for speech we don't agree with.

And with the direction our piece of shit country is going, I'm not surprised no one bothers to read the page before they criticize it, or think it's funny the cops tazered him.

/monolologue he gave at the event. He was tazered because he wouldn't leave the room in a reasonable manner-

I don't think it is funny, nor do I think it was completely necessiary, but once the guy lost the audience, he was a LOT easier to manage and reasonable. The police might very well not even have arrested him if he'd left the room with less drama-

He wasn't just an innocent victim- he could see where this was headed.
And he bears responsibility for his responses to the police, especially when they warn him several times-

nowhere. I don't endorse that at all.

They are on opposite sides of the spectrum. and his attitude about the disabled, although not very empathic, has nothing to do with Kerry at all.

So again, how does what was posted translate into an apparent disapproval of Kerry?

He's arguing in favor of Kerry. You realize that once you get past the first damn sentence.

whether he always acts like that, who knows.

- Is the guy a jackass: YES IMHO, but people can disagree.

- Does that justify what seems to have happened: obviously NO

- Is Kerry responsible: from what I can see on the tape, NO, but we cannot stop the Kerry haters to think so (both here and on freerepublic).

May be people could move on with something that is more important, such as, I do not know, a possible war on Iran, or healthcare reform.

that's some deranged shit.

is what a crap writer he is.

Looks like we have a muckraker in the making here.

You go, Andrew Meyer, :yourock:

...and get some help, before you hurt yourself or somebody.

dark fantasies of murder, mayhem, and political assassinations.

Personally, I'd like a few pundits on Fox, Hardball and all the talk shows who constantly interrupt other guests and filibuster questions to be treated like this kid was treated. What a wonderful fantasy of having some of these asshats whisked off the screen with a cane around their neck--and then hear them screaming in bewilderment off screen. (I guess Orally does the equivalent of this when he tells guests to shut up and turns off their mikes--only he does it to the wrong people. I'm glad he doesn't have a taser.)

But that fantasy doesn't justify this. There were enough police to control him without a taser if simply questioning someone is considered disruptive. What horrifies me even more is Kerry's lack of response and control of the situation. He said he wanted to answer the kid's question--but then did nothing while the police obviously used strong-arm tactics. Has he followed up on this incident at all? Has he (Kerry) tried to find out what happened to the kid? The man who is a war hero and saves hamsters from drowning seems to have lost his ability to recognize the immediate situation and react to help prevent abuse to fellow human beings. Did Kerry ask the police to excise this fellow? If not, then why did he seem to allow it without protest?

I think I can identify with him. His writing has an edginess and bravado bordering on hostility. I think he needs tempering. This incident may be instructive for him.

I agree with his notion that he should treat handicapped people the same as others (as much as possible.) I disagree with how he handles others. Unless someone runs you down deliberately, there is no need to be uncivil, unless they are.

--IMM

So he gets some of his mentality from South Park... I imagine that isn't totally unusual for the average college student now days. But does that make him a wackjob? I don't think so. He sounds pretty level-headed, maybe a little angry at Bush... who isn't?

I didn't understand. Now I do.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65zXlytv01c

Maybe this guy really should learn a few lessons from this.

with civil rights. What? Are we going to ID some "pesonality rater" at the department of homeland security to ascertain if your are NOT crazy and/or against our dear leaders BEFORE we can fully expect our civil rights? :scared:

Yes, civil rights is just as much for assholes as it applies for the benefit of nice people. Why? Because Our Higher Power loves his childern equally. Yeah, even the horse's patooties. ;)

Very important.

That is about the only right that hasn't been abrogated.

Movie theaters, plays, speeches, etc. Should people have the right to take over these events with loud boisterous behavior and not expect to be removed?