Student Asks Kerry Tough Question, Kerry Watches Him Get Tasered; Free Speech Nowhere to be Seen

UPDATE BELOW

There are so many things wrong with this video that I don't even know where to start.

You can see another video, posted at Daily Kos here that shows the student's full question.

Sure, he ranted and raved just a bit. But, he barely got his 'impolite' question out before the University of Florida Rent-a-Cops started harassing him. If you ask me, more people should rant and rave like this. He's clearly upset that Bush's administration is clearly ripping the Constitution to threads, edging towards ANOTHER ill-conceived war, and that Kerry could have stopped it if he had forced the issue on the 2004 voter suppression reports.

If more people were this passionate, then we might have a chance at bringing this country back from a state of absolute apathy in the face of corrupt government. This guy made the people in the room feel uncomfortable because of his passion and tough questions.

Because of the uber-sensitive environment that George Bush's "free speech zone" society has created, everybody is on edge and thinks that free speech has gone away. I'm not sorry to say that most of America needs a reality check. Serious issues are before us and sober conversation with polite head nodding isn't gonna make anything better.

NEWSFLASH: The government might be spying on you and have suspended habeus corpus, but our right to free speech remains. And that means you can be a nutso, annoying, know-it-all jerk. That student didn't cross any line that put him into illegal territory. Period.

Have you seen the bumper sticker, "If you're not angry, you're not paying attention"? This guy was paying attention and it rubbed some people the wrong way.

Those Rent-a-Cops, unjustified in the initial moments of confrontation, further failed to properly handle the situation. There were FIVE cops there and there's no reason they couldn't remove him from that room and handle it outside of the company of an entire auditorium. Their actions fueled the situation and they should be held accountable for it.

This whole thing makes me sick because it represents a lot of what is wrong with America right now.

UPDATE
MSNBC is reporting that the taser that the student, Andrew Meyers was shocked with was a full 50,000 volts. I'm not sure what that means, but it sounds pretty brutal to me.

The President of the University of Florida has placed two of the Rent-a-Cops on paid leave while their actions are investigated.

Follow Lane Hudson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/tlanehudson

Comments

[SteveInsideJob]

Ask a politician some real questions for a change, & the gestapo drag you away & electrocute you!!! What is this, Nazi Germany???

[Oldchef]

Kerry should indeed have taken charge from the podium. The kid should have been able to ask his question and receive an answer. He was disruptive because the rentacops tried to pull him away from the mike and hustle him out before he got an answer. The fact that he was handled in such a manner without any protest from Kerry I find highly disturbing. It could have been handled with decency if a real leader had been in charge.

[divemania]

Wait! This frightful episode has nothing to do with either Bush or Kerry. And it surely is no reflection of anyone's actions, other than the police in the room. Their reaction warrants the attention. Nothing else.

[Lust4Lost]

As a consituent of Kerrys I sent him an email today telling him how saddened I was to see his complete and total lack of leadership during this travesty.
This totally exemplifies todays democratic leaders, completely and totally impotent and lacking cojones.

And to think that I voted for the guy in '04. Sad

[youngbodhisattva]

His apparent lack of leadership is exactly why he lost to another incompetent leader in '04.

[sayitloud]

Agreed. Kerry had every opportunity to intervene. Instead, all he could do was mutter yet another "botched joke" as the young man literally pleaded for help.

[slg]

Interesting watching the other students smiling and laughing while this guy gets mobbed and tasered by the cops. It's actually the sickest part of the video and very telling about the heart of America.

[ReasonIsMyReligion]

Agreed.

[ebbtide]

Kerry could not have stopped the war. Throughout his campaign, he consistently avoided speaking about the war and concentrated on the more safe things--economy, education etc. The reason he did not and could not is because he voted for the war. So did Edwards, his running mate. He painted himself into that corner and I believe it one of the reasons he did not swamp Bush and instead lost. Yeah, I know. The election was "stolen", but nevertheless that does not change the fact that his vote and Edwards vote would have been brought up endlessly by Rove and he would have been pummelled. Because of that, there was no debate, no discussion, no ideas brought forth.
Something the American people deserve to have during a presidential campaign.

You know, I don't know what's wrong with him. What was he thinking when he saw what was going on?

[Lt]

we live in a police state - the cops are out of control - there is nothing anyone can do about it -

and it started with the criminal BUSH

[Lane Hudson - Huffpost Blogger]

We can call out injustice when it happens, whether we're present or not.

We can also make some phone calls about Habeus Corpus restoration this week. See Taylor Marsh's post on the front page.

[angelatc]

It didn't start with Bush. Free Speech zones started in the '60's. And note that the pictures on Wikipedia are from the Democratic convention.

Everything Bush has done is just a culmination of practically every law that's been passed since the '40's. Tax law, bank law, phone surveillan­ce....ther­e are lots of us true conservatives that saw this coming as soon as the government mandated that the phone companies had to keep records of each and every phone call we the people made. But it was all done to protect the children, so it was ok.

You can't honestly expect to enslave people economically and not anticipate that they'll retain any other real liberties, can you?

If you give the government the power to seize private property, then you shouldn't be surprised when that government turns into a bully.

[AlwaysAmused]

Amen, brother. Amen. A government that can do anything to help you, can do anything.

[TheIndependenceParty]

He asked the same questions many of us have asked in the aftermath of 2004 regarding Kerry. Why did he not pursue issues of voter suppression, and ballot mishandling in Ohio? Was he, as has been reported, a member of Skull and Bones at Yale? Why are Democrats so reluctant to conduct impeachment hearings?
~
If there is one thing the reign of Bush should have taught us as a People, it is that we should never again take politicians at face value. That is not good enough for offices which carry so much power.

[Tubby]

This is not about a kid trying to exercise Free Speech or angry frustration in a meeting place.

It's about a rude twerp interrupting a guest speaker at an organized event. In earlier days the rude twerp would have been billyclubbed. These days they use a taser. The end result was that he was rightfully ejected for causing a disturbance.

[youngbodhisattva]

He was only rude because you didn't like his message or delivery. And I don't believe Senator Kerry was interrupted at all, wasn't the mic set up to ask questions? And when would someone have been billyclubbed in the past for asking a question at an organized event?

He was ejected for attempting to hold a public official accountable. There is no room for accountablity in today's government! If there was, the terrorists would win!

[Lane Hudson - Huffpost Blogger]

It's a rude twerp's right to ask tough questions.

[BMSstudy]

It is the Police's right to make a judgement call on a rude twerp's actions being a distrubance or not. Second, it is their right to ask and escort a rude twerp away if they feel he is being a disturbance.

[AlwaysAmused]

So I assume you spoke out just as forcefully agaisnt those who interrupted Coulter, Gilchrist and others throughout the last year? Od are they only "getttng what they ask for when the sepaker is a liberal"?

Were they too "rude twerps" or were they merley "speaking truth to power"

[WOLFWARRIOR]

Again - You can not shove and push past the cops ...

The kid did desreve his question - How ever He did not deserve the right to shove and push ...

AS this war goes on - Some of the older people need to have a how to protest without breaking laws website ...

[jthouse]

Kerry could not have stopped the Iraq War or overturned the 2004 election results. The American people chose George Bush and 'stay the course' despite the fact that Kerry offered an alternative.

The kid was restrained and tasered by the people running the event, not John Kerry. Kerry was a guest there, not the authority.

[Lane Hudson - Huffpost Blogger]

It's the difference between being an observer or a Leader. Some people believe that Kerry would have the moral obligation to stand up for this guy. I'm one of those.

[jthouse]

Kerry did stand up for the guy. "That's alright, let me answer his question" is what I hear him saying. I'm not sure what your personal bone is with Kerry, but it seems misguided in this instance.

[kingcityguru]

Is this not normal for Liberals?
I mean, they never like to have their opinions challenged as they all shout "the debate is over" and "EVERY scientist agrees" blah blah blah.

Left wingers view themselves as "intellectuals" but they have no intellectual ability to consider or absorb opposing views.

The next Democratic debate should just involve each of the candidates tasering each other.

[Lane Hudson - Huffpost Blogger]

Not at all. Bill Clinton regularly had protesters at his events that challenged his policies and politics. I witnessed it personally several times. Rather than these people being bounced out, he responded to them. They were all different, but he would immediately take control of the situation and address it.

And John Kerry is no Bill Clinton.

[PhilD]

Agreed, the conservatives are top notch when it comes to considering opposing views - Bush/Cheney frequently welcome them. You are a con who has expressed an opposing viewpoint in a liberal forum, how does that mesh with your theory? Perhaps your viewpoint is sufficiently daft that the liberal mod allowed it through so that the rest of us could laugh derisively? That's possible.

[AlwaysAmused]

Amen.

Had this happened at one of Bush's speechs every poster here would be screaming blue murder, yet look how few even paid attention?

The left hates free speech, ands supports approved speech. Even from one of its own.

[youngbodhisattva]

No I believe they would have recruited people to chant "USA! USA!" according to the Bush manual.

[made]

Hearing John Kerry's voice over drone on while this young man was being abused by the police is sickening. Why did Kerry not command from the stage in his polished senatorial way that the police stop? It is a vivid example of how this man is disconnected from the people he hoped to lead. It was a gutless performance by a once brave man.

[Ravenlea]

If you listen carefully, Kerry is saying repeatedly "leave him alone. Let me answer the question," but can barely be heard over the kid's yelling. The whole incident is very strange. It wasn't a particularly rude question - not meaningful maybe - but hardly worth swarming in on him the way they did. Again if you listen carefully, it sounds like this was probably a second question. We don't know if there was a one question per person rule and that's what the security was reacting to... Kerry keeps saying leave him alone, I can answer the question. I'm not sure what he should have done. Donned his Superman cape and leaped off the stage, pushing six security guards away with his mighty muscles?

The security people clearly caused more of a problem than they solved. I'm not sure why you are blaming Kerry, who was perfectly willing to answer the question, stupid as it was.

[Desiderata]

Exactly. If the senator could not at least expressed his comdemnation of what those cops were doing, then he is no better than Bush and undeserving of being a United States senator let alone President of this troubled nation.