A Shocking Moment for Society: Tasering at University of Florida
Today's news shows a recognizable shock moment in the annals of a closing society. A very ordinary-looking American student -- Andrew Meyer, 21, at the University of Florida - was tasered by police when he asked a question of Senator John Kerry about the impeachment of President George Bush. His arms were pinned and as he tried to keep speaking he was shocked -- in spite of begging not to be hurt. A stunning piece of footage but unfortunately, historically, a very familiar and even tactical moment.
It is an iconic turning point and it will be remembered as the moment at which America either fought back or yielded. This violence against a student is different from violence against protesters in the anti-war movement of 30 years ago because of the power the president has now to imprison innocent U.S. citizens for months in isolation. And because, as I have explained elsewhere, we are not now in a situation in which 'the pendulum' can easily swing back. That taser was directed at the body of a young man, but it is we ourselves, and our Constitution, who received the full force of the shock.
There is a chapter in my new book, The End of America, entitled "Recast Criticism as 'Espionage' and Dissent as 'Treason,'" that conveys why this moment is the horrific harbinger it is. I argue that strategists using historical models to close down an open society start by using force on 'undesirables,' 'aliens,' 'enemies of the state,' and those considered by mainstream civil society to be untouchable; in other times they were, of course, Jews, Gypsies, Communists, homosexuals. Then, once society has been acculturated to that use of force, the 'blurring of the line' begins and the parameters of criminalized speech are extended -- the definition of 'terrorist' expanded -- and the use of force begins to be deployed in HIGHLY VISIBLE, STRATEGIC and VISUALLY SHOCKING WAYS against people that others see and identify with as ordinary citizens. The first 'torture cellars' used by the SA, in Germany between 1931 and 1933 -- even before the National Socialists gained control of the state, during the years when Germany was still a parliamentary democracy -- were informal and widely publicized in the mainstream media. Few German citizens objected because those abused there were seen as 'other' -- even though the abuse was technically illegal. But then, after this escalation of the use of force was accepted by the population, students, journalists, opposition leaders, and clergy were similarly abused during their own arrests. Within six months dissent was stilled in Germany.
What is the lesson for us from this and from other closing societies, some of them democracies? You can have a working Congress or Parliament; newspapers; human rights groups; even elections; but when ordinary people start to be hurt by the state for speaking out, dissent closes quickly and the shock chills opposition very, very fast. Once that happens, democracy has been so weakened that major tactical and strategic incursions -- greater violations of democratic process -- are far more likely. If there is dissent about the vote in Florida in this next presidential election -- and the police are tasering voters' rights groups -- we will still have an election.
What we will not have is liberty.
We have to understand what time it is. When the state starts to hurt people for asking questions, we can no longer operate on the leisurely time of a strong democracy -- the 'Oh gosh how awful!' kind of time. It is time to take to the streets. It is time to confront those committing crimes against the Constitution. The window has now dropped several precipitous inches and once it is closed there is no opening it without great and sorrowful upheaval.
We also need to understand from history that the temptation at a moment like this to grow more quiet -- to stay out of the line of fire -- is the wrong choice by far. History shows categorically that if citizens do not stand up now to confront and imprison the abusers, things do not get safer -- they get much more dangerous for ordinary people, activist or not.
I was scared when I wrote The End of America -- personally scared because the blueprint I was tracing in the summer of 2006 showed clearly that protesters and critics would start to be hurt within the year. When I told a dear friend that I was scared, he gently reminded me of the history I was reading. He asked, will things be scarier for you and the ones you love if you speak up now -- or if you are silent?
We don't just need to speak up now. We need to act. It is time to rebel in the name of the flag and the founders.
This post first appeared on PowellsBooks.Blog.
Naomi Wolf is the author of The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot, Chelsea Green Publishing, Sept 2007. She is also a co-founder of the American Freedom Campaign, a grassroots and grasstops democracy movement.
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the jerk should have been tasered sooner
Don't like disruption ,loud unruly voices? Parents -buy tasers to make your kids go to bed at 8, take it with you to that family Thanksgiving dinner where Uncle Hal pontificates boorishly.
Binge drinking to the point of death and rape on campus -hey thats okay- but lets don't put up with a loud 22 year old college student asking POLITICAL questions or butting in to the front of the line.
OMG!
America-a white middle class society where etiquette is way more important than things like inquiring into the motives of our so-called leaders or being upset by a man screaming for help while attacked by official goons in front of them.
A" leader" who sarcastically remarks to the crowd about how a guy screaming on the floor can't make it to the stage ..Some war hero, Kerry-he didn't try to prevent public torture from happening right in front of his eyes!
Where was John Kerry? While the young man, is being dragged away, by the police and attacked, with volts of electricity, John Kerry wanted to continue the discussion. John Kerry, should have stepped down, and told the police to stop it! Let the young man be, to try and protect the young man. Instead he does nothing! Today the good Senator states the police were doing their job. Just like Nazi Germany did their job, as the Country watched.Ag
Why would anyone expect that a man who won the presidency of the United States and did not stand up for himself or millions of voters stand up for a college kid?
I believe Senator Kerry actually made a joke while they were tasering the child. He's such a disappointment.
i wish the penalty for illegal use of force by a police officer, involving taser included them being zapped, to, in clinton's words: "feel their pain."
we'd be a better country and better people if we had any sympathy or empathy for our brothers in the world. the popularity of fox news is that it allows republicans to pretend others are bad or inhuman, and we don't have to consider the grey area of our actions. we can just bomb and imprison and kill. it's all black and white.
i've said my piece and my peace, now:
DON'T TAZE ME BRO!
Actually, most police academies require the trainees to be hit with a Taser and sprayed with pepper spray so they know the severity of the "less lethal" tools they are using.
That right. And in a case reported this week an officer 38 years old was tasered and the muscle contraction fractured his spine in two places. He was out of active duty for two months and then assigned a desk job.
http://www
First things first...I have not seen anything in that video that justified the use of the Taser. The officer who used it should be reprimanded harshly.
That said, it is pretty ridiculous to say that this was some kind of example of a fascist gestapo quashing dissent. Frankly, I am dissapointed in HuffPo even suggesting that. Meyer has a very long history of calling attention to himself and causing public scenes. He's an annoying and untalented idiot, and this is not the first stunt he's pulled.
The University of Florida likely paid around $50,000 to have John Kerry speak, and the students in attendance were not there to hear Meyer's rude and rambling diatribe.
The question-and-answer session of the forum was OVER. Meyer pushed his way to the front of the line and demanded to have his questions answered. Kerry agreed, and instead of presenting a pithy question, Meyer used the time to loudly (and profanely) soapbox.
I am pissed off at Meyer because I think his questions are valid and deserve to be answered. But because of his histrionics, now everyone thinks that what he was asking was ludicrous moonbattery, and the questions have been dismissed.
If Meyer had calmly and politely asked the questions, then passively (gone limp) resisted being removed, this would be a different matter entirely. But Meyer's thrashing and flailing and screaming escalated the situation.
I do not think the police should have used the Taser at all. But Meyer was disrupting the forum and deserved to be removed.
As a UF alum, I am ashamed of Meyer and I am also ashamed of the UPD. They were both wrong.
If the political forum was over, how was the student disrupting it? The activist student is 21 years old, the campus police are older, more in number, armed and used voltage to handcuff an already subdued, unarmed man. The actions of the UPD and the student equate?
I didn't say they equated. I said they were both wrong.
I also didn't say the event was over, I said that the Q&A session was over.
Reading comprehension. Learn it. Live it.
Good for you Kyuzo. I almost completely agree with you. Have you considered that this is likely the only occasion Meyer would have to confront the Senator about his dubious actions, though?
I think Kerry has much explaining to do about '04. I think Meyer acted within his rights to speak out, and I am sure he knew he was gonna be carted off. I am proud of Meyer for his courage, sad that he suffered so much for such a small misdemeanor.
While the student was out of line, tasering was not justified. There were enough officers that they could have ejected him without taser. Tasering is brutal and painful, and can cause death in some. It is risky, and should not be used in such a rash manner. Further, Senator Kerry was speaking and mentioned that he wanted to respond to the question. The officers should have released the young man and allowed the Senator to answer. This was simply another example of the Bush Regime, the police state which is replacing our formerly peaceful government. Bush's violent answer to others has become the benchmark in this country; hatred and violence breed more hatred and violence. War never lasts; it will end. Sadly, America itself could end before this insane, illegal war does. We don't owe Bush our country! Read this book, and see if you don't agree that we must act to impeach NOW! Personally, I feel we should have already started. The Constitution is no different than anything else. If we don't use it, we'll lose it, and Bush is taking it even as I write.
Before we anoint this jerk an icon of free speech, can we look at all the facts?
He has a Web site on which he posts videos of practical jokes he has played on people.
The question and answer session, which had been going on for 30 minutes, had just ended. Meyer pushed his way in front of other students who had been patiently waiting in line until he got to the microphone, then launched into a rant, starting with "I've been listening to your crap for 2 hours."
Also at this time, he asked his friend if she was filming.
The police, alerted by his aggressive behavior (remember Virginia Tech? Can you blame them for not taking chances?) came up to him and asked him to ask a question. Finally, he interrupted his rant with a question: "Why did you concede?"
Kerry began to answer, and Meyer cut him off! He refused to let him answer and proceeded to hijack the entire event.
At that point, his mike was cut off, and police asked him to leave. In fact, they asked him several times. He was clearly being a disruption at this point, and began shoving and flailing at officers. He had several chances to stop resisting and start cooperating, but refused.
Should they have tased him? Debatable. But the tasing was not entirely unwarranted.
It should be noted that the police said he was cooperative once the cameras were off.
This is not an example of suppressing free speech. It is an example of one showboating jerk looking for his 15 minutes of fame.
The fact that you take it upon yourself to supposedly describe what happened shows how you try to twist this event rather than let people watch it and decide for themselves.
Calling this guy a jerk because he's played jokes on people in the past!? Come on. Where's your sense of humor?
And trying to label his questions as a 'rant' and escalating his slightly disruptive behavior - to which Kerry did not take offense (a better American than any who condemn this guy's behavior), even going so far as telling the organizers that he should be allowed to speak - as tantamount to HIGHJACKING!?
Giving your own take on the event and using disproportionate wording in YOUR description of what happened - sounds like a straw man to me.
Besides - even some showboating jerk, either in real-life or on a comment thread, deserves their right to free speech. Thanks for imparting your version of reality on us.
If you read the headline and watch only the clip that's posted here, then you are only seeing part of the story. I don't find humor in causing a scene and disturbing the peace. JimR is stating that this is not about free speech and I totally agree.
I don't think that they should have tased him, but Viginia Tech probably has at least some campus guards on edge. Does that give them the right to use a taser? That's up to the Police department, the University and the community. Right now it is a tool they are allowed to use.
Nomo, watch the other videos. Read what witnesses said. Read the police reports (you don't have to agree with them, but it is very interesting reading). I didn't make this up.
I am calling him a jerk for his behavior at the event, not for his Web site.
Speaking of his Web site, it features videos of himself pulling crazy stunts in public. He was at a public event. With a camera. Do you see where I'm going with this? In case you don't, I am suggesting this may have been part of a stunt (not the tasing, doubt very much he planned that).
I called it a rant because when he got to the mike, it took him a LONG time to finally get to a question. Then he refused to let Kerry answer it. People came to listen to the senator speak, not him. By trying to force everyone to listen to his views in that situation, yes, I'd call that trying to highjack the event.
You CAN decide for yourself! It's important to get other sides to the story, that's all I'm saying.
Once you get those, if you still want to think I'm a bad American, I'll be disappointed, but that's OK. I support your right to do that, buddy!
oh, by the way... Steve Orlando's email is:
ufl.edu.edu
I must confess sadness at those who support what the UFL police did here. Since when can't 5 officers subdue a college student without a TASER, especially when he was NOT violent until they started harrassing him.
It is indicative of the impending police state that W and his cronies have been setting up for the past 6 years. The PATRIOT act is the precursor to marshall law and this scenario is another perfect example of how the police will deal with those who dissent.
Those who say things like "Don't want to be tased? Shut up when you're told to" are only exacerbating the problem because they're the ones who want the dissent to shut up. Hear me now. The time to rebel against tyranny is now, before it's too late.
Absolute Power corrupts absolutely. It's been true throughout history and those who do not learn from history are destined to repeat it.
Learn.
Now.
Please.
They were not harassing him. The event coordinator asked police to remove him, because he was clearly being a disruption. He even refused to let Senator Kerry answer his question.
The right to free speech does not include the right to hijack a semi-public event and force everyone to listen to your views.
Don't be taken in by this jerk, who has previously filmed himself doing such stunts as standing on a street corner with a sign that ruins the end of the last Harry Potter book, and randomly licks women's faces as they walk by. (Look into it, if you don't believe me.)
Vertium,
Rove sent a memo to university police to rough up anyone that talks out of turn at the Kerry speech. Come on? It must be a conspiracy. Nobody! is saying things like "Don't want to be tased? Shut up" There are 100 comments in this thread, cite your example from the people that thought this clown should be removed. I've read them all, it's not there. I believe that even most Republicans support free speech and this kid’s right to ask a question. It is plainly in the details of what happened that lead to this incident. The police would have reacted the same way if this dude had interrupted the Harry Poter Book club in the manner in which he did here. It wasn't political. Don't try to turn this into a Bush thing. Clearly it's not. Absolute Power corrupts? Sure it does. There is no link to the Patriot Act here.
Time to rebel? You always here this from the people that don't vote or give any time or money to their local candidates.
Thank you for reminding me to learn,
You totally miss the point JaS.
Electrocution is excessive force in this situation. That's all most of us assert.
And, OH YES, lots of posters have expressed support of the tasering.
And I suppose you read that I supported Meyer's removal? Because I do, gently with a carrot or maybe green switch -- just not with 50,000 volts.
I recall that there were many news accounts about the folk who were marching over that bridge in Montgomery Alabama, about how they were being "disruptive" and "stirring things up". Nothing would have happened if they had done as they had been told.
Isn't Electronics grand, so much easier to clean up after than dogs and fire hoses.
I want to assure the admissions office at the University of Florida: No child of this domicile will ever apply to be a student at your institution.
Let me assure the University of Florida office of admissions. No child from this domicile will ever apply to be admitted to your school.
Unless they've gotten straight A's since the 9th grade and have a 1300 SAT, they probably won't. No insult intended against your kids, but it's really tough to get into UF now.
What unmitigated drivel. If people would look at this without feeling compelled to emote all over it, they should be able to see that it was about as spontaneous as high mass in the Sistine Chapel. This was an act of civil disobedience and was meant to provoke precisely the reaction it has.
It has also steered hours of discussion away from Iraq and Patraeus and Washington corruption and a whole host of other issues. If I was more conspiracy minded I'd say it's almost Rovian, for God's sake.
just can’t get past the notion of people on here condoning the acts of the police and/or blaming the kid for being obnoxious. Clearly the kid was charged up, clearly he was loud and obnoxious, which is not quite yet officially a crime. So, he was agitated, he was asked to wrap it up, he was angry, he basically told the cop to f-off, non-verbally. So what? What if a kid has a stuttering problem and goes on. What if they are nervous? God forbid, what if they have had too much caffeine? Personally, I have switched to tea.
Upon further reading of our Bill of Rights I did not find a “only if you are cool clause” for freedom of speech or anything else. Just ridiculous to say that he brought it on himself. Better hope none of your kids get “riled” up at pep rally or whatever.
Really, what is wrong with people in this country? He did not threaten anybody, or use threatening language. He he says the word blowjob, it looks like the cop in back of him is gasping or something. Give me a f-in break, excuse my language, please don’t taser me, but I am angry.
I hope when I go downtown and get some coffee and overhear a discussion from some pod people that I don’t get too angry and start arguing with them “loudly” about some inane document like the constitution or some mad idea about our civil rights. Shame on you people!
This, and the REV Yearwood incident should be talked about and the reality of the situation is these people who are pushing the corpwarstate do not want an organized and passionate movement like they had in the 60’s, and they are implementing these tactics to make sure all of you are afraid to stand up for yourself or anyone else. Guess what, they are succeeding.
The onus is not on the kid to not be obnoxious. The onus is on the police not to abuse.
Your analysis is interesting and informative, but there are really two views of the Constitution now: the our and your interpretation views. In other words, when "liberals" point to the Constitution to justify something, "conservatives" aren't concerned about violations of the Constitution, since their side is not being violated. Our country has become so bifurcated ideologically, and the media has helped in this, that we are not united on defending rights clearly outlined in the Constitution.
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