[Vision2020] Kerry speech/student tasered

[Pat Kraut]

On this kids web site he has other occasions when he has 'diturbed the
peace' and asked for all he got. His mic had been turned off by someone who
thought he had gone on long enough so it wasn't just the cops who thought he
had pushed his limits. Its just one more example of the current generation
pushing the boundries and grownups being unable or unwilling to draw a line
in manners and behavior.



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Paul Rumelhart" <godshatter at yahoo.com>
To: "Sunil Ramalingam" <sunilramalingam at hotmail.com>
Cc: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 7:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Kerry speech/student tasered


I don't know what to think about this.  I'm usually one to jump on the
authorities in cases like this, but now after watching the video on
youtube (for some reason the video link in the story didn't work for
me), I'm unsure.

I think the police, which I assume were campus security, were a little
quick to try to remove him from the microphone and from the room.  I
think that much of what he did at the end was theatrics.  I'm sorry, but
when the police are moving you physically from the room (rightly or
wrongly), you don't resist, you don't keep acting less and less calm,
and you don't stupidly keep telling them "not to tazer me, man".  You
comply, and you fight it in court.  When they have you on the ground and
you won't give them an arm for the handcuffs they have only a limited
number of options.  Physical force which can result in a dislocated
shoulder, bruises, etc, or the tazer.

Kerry did say that he would answer the question, and that they needn't
do what they were doing.  He mumbles, yes, but I did hear him say that.
It's not like he answered the question by waving at the cops to take him
away.

I've also read elsewhere that the person involved (I forget his name)
was well-known for these kinds of things.  He likes to show up in public
places and disrupt things.  I suppose the campus cops would think of him
as an "agitator".  Many of the other students apparently think of him as
a kook.

I am convinced that if he simply allowed them to remove him he wouldn't
have been tazered.  They waited until he was on the ground and still
thrashing around and acting up and warned him that they would use the
tazer several times.  I think the police should review their rules for
removing people from microphones at public events, but after they made
the decision to remove him they didn't appear to me to use force until
they had to.

That's not to say that the "tazer problem" (i.e. using it in situations
when it shouldn't be used because it is non-lethal) isn't a real
problem.  I just don't feel much sympathy for this guy.  He got his
point out there.  Call it a win and sit back down, or let the cops lead
you out of the room with something of your dignity left intact.

Paul

Sunil Ramalingam wrote:
> http://www.counterpunch.org/roberts09192007.html
>
> Above is the address of an article about a speech yesterday by John Kerry.
> A student gets up and asks a question (quoting from a book I've mentioned
> here) and ends up getting grabbed by police officers and tasered in front
of
> the crowd while Kerry drones on.  It's truly bizarre; the video link at
the
> end of the article shows it all happening.
>
> Sunil
>
>
> =======================================================
>  List services made available by First Step Internet,
>  serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
>                http://www.fsr.net
>           mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
> =======================================================
>
>

=======================================================
 List services made available by First Step Internet,
 serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
               http://www.fsr.net
          mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
=======================================================



-- 
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.5.487 / Virus Database: 269.13.22/1013 - Release Date: 9/17/07
1:29 PM