When John Kerry got swiftboated, he just sat back and took it. I wondered if he was doing some politician kung fu or some Gandhi-esque passive resistance.
Now I see that he is just a gutless swine.
By now, everyone has seen the “Gainesville Taser” incident. (coverage here) The way the police acted, I’m surprised that they didn’t drag the student off to a re-education camp. This kind of thing happens way too often, but this time they got caught.
The debate over the officers’ actions will rage for weeks, and my mind is already made up after watching the complete video multiple times. But, there is another subject worthy of debate here — Kerry’s complete mental paralysis.
Compare and contrast these videos.
Here’s Kerry… note how he just mumbles on in his “I can drone better than Ben Stein” as the student is dragged from the microphone and tortured.
If that U.S. Senator had said “hey, leave him alone!”, what do you think those lowlives with badges would have done. You’re damn right they would have left him alone. It certainly would have de-escalated the situation. At the very least, Kerry would have seemed to have taken a position on it — not his mealy mouthed statement issued after the fact.
If you think that the Right Wing is always wrong on censorship issues (which it usually is), compare Kerry’s gutless paralysis to this video of how Rumsfeld handled a similar incident. Let me remind you that the assembly with Rummy was supposed to be “certified dissent free.”
Just how bad do you have to be to make Donald Rumsfeld look like a First Amendment hero?
Of course, this is no apology for the sleazeballs with the badges. Their actions were entirely uncalled for, and they turned what might have been a slight minor disturbance into a major incident. If this had been done to an “enemy combatant,” by US Soldiers, the media would have been all over them – but this wasn’t combat, this wasn’t war, this was an American citizen speaking on an issue of political importance to a standing U.S. Senator.
I stick up for the police way more often than my writing might suggest, but on this one, these officers lack the maturity and judgment to carry a badge, let alone tazers and guns.
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The Legal Satyricon 
I could not agree with you more, Marco. What is so frightening, however, about this story is that it has brought to light the degree to which campus speech is being chilled by overzealous campus police. Now the press is finally showing other incidents–including a recent tazering of a student at UCLA. Then there is the Harvard Four from last Spring. I can only wonder how many times this type of behavior by campus police is happening. If the student were harming someone, if he refused to cede the microphone to other students, or even if he used excessive profanity, there might have been an excuse for such police action. But, at least in the manner in which the press is reporting it, he simply asked too many embarassing questions. Isn’t that the whole point of campus political speech. I don’t know what happened at UCLA–the spineless press won’t go into those details–but I know from the mother of one of the Harvard Four, that the prohibited “speech” consisted of a solitary sentence. What is most frightening is that the press reports upon the use of the tazer, but seems entirely unconcerned about the so-called objectionable content (or, more precisely, lack thereof) of the speech being chilled.
Youtube.com is saving the free society. If camera phones coupled with a forum were unavilable, who knows how this story would have been written. Further, I am chilled that student’s rights are decided by UPD officers with little or no experience or knowledge about those rights.
The true crime, as explained above, is the media’s unwillingness to defend the student’s rights. The media is spinning the story in the guise of whether the student’s intent vitiates his claim to Constitutional rights. An intent to initiate your rights does not waive protection. So what if the student wanted attention…so did Kerry. So what if he wanted it videotaped. The “riot” was incited by the aggressive UPD (I will not call them police). If nothing were done about Meyer, this whole story would be a non issue. The First Amendment trumps all, with applicable exception and restrictions, and the univeristy cannot use it as a sword and a shield. This event is embarrasing for the Gator Nation and the University should be punished accordingly.
No public forum should be exempted from free speech protection. The SC has distinct and applicable tests for expression. The University is a forum that should be afforded the MOST protection. It is a shame that UF only has one clear area deemed “Free Speech Area” at Turlington and the Plaza of Americas. It is a university, the hallmark of free speech, thought and expression. If students do not have protection then I welcome Big Brother to power. The Univeristy is not a school in the terms of Perry. It is a loose grouping of free thinkers and educators.
It is interesting that tasers were utilized as a “less than deadly” form of police control. The invention was hailed as a savior from police shootings. However, the fall out has been LEO’s over utilization. The scenario that requires five police officers to restrain a person, now requires five police officers and an electric shock. Why? At what point did the unarmed student deserve to be bound by five officers, on his back, with handcuffs, and a taser? The UPD were not restraining Jevon Kearse. We no longer need human officers. A machine can restrain a person and electrocute a person without discretion.
The audacity of UPD to charge the student with a felony is revolting. I say all of this through the filter of a deep reverance for my alma mater and all things Orange and Blue. I also come from a line of police officers and a community of police officers.
[…] He is absolutely correct. In fact, I hate to say it but Donald Rumsfeld is the only public figure in the past 7 years who has shown any respect for the First Amendment when his “perfect world” was shattered by an embarrassing question. (see video here). […]
JOHN KERRY IS A FASCIST WORKING FOR BUSH