The expatriate is back in town, in Miami, in Florida, in the great, free bastion of liberty, my United States. What do I find when I flick on the no-longer-flickering eye of the TV? A young man, a muchacho, a student with a hint of serious in his demeanor approaching the podium at the old but un-respected University of Florida. He insists on questioning Senator John Kerry after the politician had given his views and opened the floor for questions.
The U of F has never been regarded as an academic school. It has been noted for its varsity sports teams, called “gators,” and the invention of designer water. I remember my uncle's graduation when I was about 3 or 4 but only the red-brickness of the campus. It had, for a time, a great photography department, after I had left another poor Florida state university for an academic college in New York that revels in the protection of liberty, freedom and constitutionalism in an atmosphere of academic freedom firmly protected from the ever-present threat of interference.
Waves of paranoia roll across the American landscape at regular intervals. Each has threatened our liberties. There were reactions to the Tories who wanted to tie us to King George, southern spies who would have enslaved our history and Japanese to store in the Nisei concentration camps out west. Each was a good excuse to protect ourselves by giving away our rights in exchange for “security”.
Now there is a world of Arabs waiting to destroy all of western civilization, to explode themselves in murderous frenzies against women, children and random men. No question but that they are there and do want to bathe the world in blood. But does that mean that America must give up everything that made us free in order to protect ourselves from the forces of evil?
Today Andrew Meyer, a University of Florida student did that which students are supposed to do. He thought about politics, about candidates, about the nature of democracy and about his vote and he barged up to the podium in that party school and attempted to engage Senator Kerry in a discussion. Yes. He became heated and took more than his minute and that catapulted him into his 15 minutes of international fame.
Said John Kerry, “He barged to the front of the line and started to ask questions.” Yes, he did. Bad boy. Shoot him.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Dave Nalle
Great stuff, Howard. Good to have you back in the US and back writing here on BC.
For me the biggest irony of this incident was that the victim was a leftist, asking questions of a leftist, silenced by thugs employed by a left-leaning academic institution.
Dave
2 - Dr Dreadful
I watched the video and to be fair, Kerry did initially try to stick up for Mr Meyer, saying, "Let me answer his question".
That said, it was pretty half-hearted. I'm left wondering what happened to the righteous anger Kerry exhibited when the Rove smear machine targeted him after his "education... end up in Iraq" comments.
Possibly the difference was that it wasn't him being tasered.
3 - Dave Nalle
Another aspect of this which is worth considering is that Meyer was clearly grandstanding the whole way through. Eyewitnesses point out that whenever he was away from the cameras he was calm and behaved himself, but as soon as the cameras were on him he began resisting and screaming. Doesn't excuse the way he was treated, but I think he clearly went there to create an incident. Of course, the campus police OUGHT to be trained to defuse such a situation not aggravate it.
Also, the last I heard he was not being released uncharged, but was up for indictment on a 3rd degree felony.
Dave
4 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
Great article, Howard.
With your permission (and that of the publisher), I'll forward this article to a number of lists I belong to. I can't seem to get people to come to the site.
Sigh....
5 - BG
This prankster got the attention he wanted, his "fifteen minutes of fame" if you will for himself and his website. I watched the video of the incident on YouTube. He resisted. Security reponded. If you want to avoid getting tasered, don't resist. It's pretty simple, really. What the fuss is about I'll never know. I do hope he devotes as much attention to his studies as he does to making an ass of himself.
6 - Scott
The crowd sure was happy when the cops showed up. The taser was used to get the guys attention because after 4 cops grab him, he keeps fighting and yelling.
You can always tell the guilty when they continue to ask, "What did I do." Ha, Tard.
7 - Howard
My initial reaction to this was to condemn the "fascist" police. However, upon further reflection I don't think his freedom of speech was violated. Maybe it was more a matter of him being a dick and monopolizing the forum. He was asked over and over to desist, which wasn't really an unreasonable request, since other people's rights were being violated by his not sharing the forum.
When you fight with police, you are going to get into trouble. I think he was grandstanding. And screaming like a big pussy when they did Taser him after repeated warnings. A real man, I must say.
Keeping public order is one of the things police are charged with doing. They didn't stop his free speech. They stopped his disorderly behavior.
8 - Phil
I agree the cops over reacted but what about the student. Wasn't he denying everybody else right of free speech when he refused to give up the mic? Let me go to a town hall meeting and not let anybody else express themselves and I would be wrong wrong wrong.
9 - Dave Nalle
I went to Meyer's website at www.theandrewmeyer.com. It's pretty clear from the site that he considers himself some sort of 'performance artist' and the only conclusion that I can draw is that this incident was more about grabbing attention than about making a real political point.
Dave
10 - Ron
The only thing I find disturbing is the personal attacks on the appearance of and the name calling of the U of F officers by Mr. Howard. I am unimpressed by the article and the lack of facts presented by the writer. Did Mr. Howard miss the part of the video where the officers gave him several opportunities to stop resisting and place his hands behind his back to be escorted out? Maybe the volume was broken on Mr. Howard’s TV at that time. Or maybe he was too busy ranting his liberal leftist propaganda, twisting what the First Amendment was really meant for to hear this exchange prior to the student being shot with a taser. I find it comical the way every liberal cites the First Amendment after being arrested for civil disobedience. What if everyone in the auditorium decided to push their way to the front to ask their question? Then after the ensuing trampling and injuring of people the police would be targeted for their lack of training and their inability to act. Mr. Howard will never be happy with police because they are an easy target to write about and obviously his spin goes unchallenged in this publication.
The reality is that the student was given a lawful order by a university official which he failed to comply with. After being given several more opportunities to leave he decided to resist efforts of law enforcement to escort him out. He then refused to submit to handcuffing. The bottom line, which is supported by case law, is that you do not have the right to resist an arrest. If you do not agree with the actions of a police officer then there is recourse in the courts. The appropriate action is not to create a public disturbance and resist arrest.
The U of F officers were with-in the scope of their duty and did not use excessive force. If justice is served then Meyer will be convicted of resisting arrest and the officers will be completely cleared.
I submit that like most journalists Mr. Howard will speak of outrageous actions by the police but will be the first one to claim victim-status if he were on the receiving end of an unruly “intellectual” at a public forum in which he was speaking. Mr. Howard, I challenge you to research your statements and find out what it is really like to be a law enforcement officer and then present the facts that you are knowledgeable of.
11 - Dr Dreadful
Whether he's an attention whore or was trying to make a point, it's still protected speech.
12 - Farid H.
I witnessed german police arrest a rioter at Duesseldorf International Airport a few weeks ago. The whole scene was totally different to what happened here, as it occured in a perfectly civilized, courteous and professional manner.
It started harmlessly: an older man went to a checkin counter and kept shouting in a foreign language. Every five minutes or so, he resumed his tirades, and blocked other people from accessing that counter. Obviously, he was pissed at something there; don't know what, but it doesn't really matter. A few minutes later, 8 police officers came and stood idly by, and one of them politely asked the guy to please move on, so as not to disturb other passengers. The guy didn't react at all. The police didn't touch him, but tried to find a translator. It was already late in the evening, so it took them more than 20 minutes to get one.
Then the talking resumed, but the guy was still totally out of control, fuming, shouting etc..., and more importantly, still blocking the way to other passengers. When the police finally decided to arrest him (approx. 40 minutes after the whole incident started) they signalled him visually and through translator that he should follow them to the police station on his own. He acknowledged, but refused to do so, and instead went down on the floor and started to pray, muslim style. Police looked dumbfounded, but they patiently waited another 10 minutes until the guy had finished his improvised prayer. Then this guy allowed himself to be arrested. One police officer went down to the floor, and mimicked the way the arrestee should behave: kneeling, head on the floor, hands behind his back. The guy understood, and complied. Then, and only then, did a single officer carefully slap handcuffs on him, and two police carefully lifed him and escorted him very politely and respectfully away.
I guess it's matter of different mentality that the police in the US are acting so much more brutally and recklessly. Maybe because they're used to people being armed and therefore potentially dangerous?
13 - Dave Nalle
Or maybe he was too busy ranting his liberal leftist propaganda, twisting what the First Amendment was really meant for to hear this exchange prior to the student being shot with a taser.
Ron, what on earth makes you think the author is a leftist? Defending free speech and the rest of the bill or rights is a conservative position.
As I mentioned before, this is a case of the establishment left oppressing the radical left.
Dave
14 - handyguy
"The U of F officers were with-in the scope of their duty and did not use excessive force."
Astonishing to me that anyone could write that with a straight face. The incident is extraordinarily disturbing to watch. As Chris Matthews pointed out last night, are we at the point where we taser people just for being obnoxious?
This is also similar to the incident at the UCLA library some months back. Bambenek wrote a, surprise, deliberately provocative article on BC praising the cops and condemning the 'resister.' Everyone seems to have forgotten that now...That victim, an Iranian-American grad student, has a lawsuit pending but no disciplinary action was ever taken against the police.
The fact that Meyer is a blowhard, and even the fact that he resisted being thrown out of the hall, does not justify what happened. And Kerry's muddled answers afterward are embarrassing.
15 - JustOneMan
gee...the great senator..choke..gasp..could only must a faint whisper of "let him finish the question"....real presidential timber and leadership..
couldnt he simply ordered the security guards to stop? Here is an asshole who almost became president and wouldnt event defend the rights of some silly college kid..the left wind student morons didnt even come to his defense
To me this validates the Swift Boat attack on his character...pretty consistent... for over 30 years after getting hit in the but with a grain of rice...he still doesnt have the guts to defend basic rights..
JOM
16 - moonraven
Students are SUPPOSED to overreact, become heated, hold politicians accountable!
I suggest that you read Naomi Klein's piece on the incident. It's reprinted on commondreams.org today.
If you had your way, [Gratuitous vulgarity deleted by Comments Editor], the kid would have been put in front of a firing squad.
Not just tasered.
It's YOU who should be tasered: for selling your patrimony (freedom of speech) for a plate of lentils.
17 - Atticus
This man Meyer has not been schooled in the fundamentals of decorum. He obviously wanted to attract attention but hasn't a clue how one should conduct oneself at such events. At least he wasn't clubbed, which he should have been.
18 - Howard Dratch
Thank you Dave for pointing out that I may have been a liberal, hopefully a radical and an activist many years ago. I was also a political science undergraduate and graduate student and began the study of constitutional law at an ivy league law school. I haven't changed but the world has.
Now I am obviously a staunch conservative trying to protect the constitutional rights and liberties guaranteed by such ancient documents as the Bill of Rights. As I wrote of the rabid attack (yes, I watched a number of videos and had the volume up) on the student, it was not that he was obnoxious or grandstanding. So are many people. "Protectors" of the public peace do NOT have a right to attack them "under color of law" with violence and weapons.
Two cops have been suspended without pay pending investigation -- given a paid vacation. They willfully attacked a citizen with force, violence and a weapon that could be deadly. Justice would have had the cops arraigned for assault pending a trial.
The personal part is that I am in the US for medical treatment and to begin deciding if I will move back to my own country, even here to the state where I was born and raised. I was on the verge of homesickness thinking America really does have positive points when these animals were loosed on a boy.
How fearful need an old man be of Florida cops? Obviously I do not have the right to ask questions of a politician since my pacemaker would not survive an attack like this one.
I left the country in your care for 10 years and you gave away our liberties, freedoms and rights and many of you haven't even noticed. Shame!
19 - moonraven
Right on, Howard.
I left the US 15 years ago. And I will never move back there. What a shithole of redneck barbary.
And the irony is: those stupid fuckers think they have good lives.
Because they have killed 1.2 million Iraquis.
Pack your bags.
20 - JustOneMan
Moonie..
Secretaries Colin Powell and Dennis Rumsfeld are sitting in a bar. A guy walks in and asks the bartender, “Isn’t that Powell and Rumsfeld?” The barkeep says, “Yep, that’s them.”
So, the guy walks over to the two and says, “Hello, what are you guys doing?”
Rumsfeld says, “We’re planning a war,” to which the guy replies, “Really? What’s going to happen?”
Rumsfeld says, “Well, we’re going to kill 10 million Iraqis and one bicycle repairman.”
And the guy exclaims, “Why are you going to kill a bicycle repairman!?!”
With that, Rumsfeld turns to Powell and says, “See, I told you no one would care about the 10 million Iraqis!”
JOM
21 - Otis B. Driftwood
What a bunch of hogwash this article is! Let me guess, you have never had the responsibility of securing an area with a large number of people because you come off as very ignorant.
This kid isn't some patriot standing up to oppressive rules of society or government. He was a jackass who refused to listen to security, and got what he had coming to him. The Bill of Rights is in no way at risk.
I have gone to protests and large gatherings and haven't been beaten or tasered by cops. You know why? Because I listen to what the people with weapons tell me.
"He thought about politics, about candidates, about the nature of democracy and about his vote and he barged up to the podium in that party school and attempted to engage Senator Kerry in a discussion."
Amazing skills there, Nostradamus, but that is complete BS on your part. First, you have no idea what he thought from watching the video. What you see is an idiot shouting, looking for his 15 minutes. When told to move back, he puts his arms up as if he isn't doing anything, yet he moves forward. When they apply a little muscle, he resists. Where in the Constitution does it say the number of times you are allowed to ignore requests of those in charge of security?
"six officers were used to "subdue" the student for asking Kerry about contesting the 2004 election results."
Absolute falsehood. It had nothing to do with the subject matter. You write as if he was tasered at the podium. And to use inflammatory language to compare this incident to the Japanese internment camps and the Holocaust shatters your credibility. He was subdued because he refused to listen to what he was told by security, the people who were there to protect everyone else in the room.
"As a man whose survival is based on a sophisticated pacing device in my chest, that taser would be murderous."
Then you will probably listen when security tells you what to do, won't you?
Any person who thinks this is a free speech issue is symptomatic of what's wrong with this country: people who create phony issues while there are real ones to deal with.
22 - moonraven
You are right!
One of the real issues is the crying need to get rid of folks like you.
For whom firing squads are waaaaaay too good.
23 - Arch Conservative
This kid is just as big a douchebag as John Kerry is.
He deserved to be removed from the event.
However ...is it really necessary to taser someone after you have already handcuffed them and got them to the ground?
I think the rent-a-cops who tasered the lil punk did go overboard.
24 - moonraven
They should have been tasering YOU, arch [Gratuitous vulgarity deleted by Comments Editor].
25 - Otis B. Driftwood
Ah the faux leftist intellectual. Nice try, comrade, but it's no wonder the revolution hasn't gone well with such a deep thinker contributing to the cause.