Fight the power!

In lieu of my recent posting about Kevin Federline, I felt a need to cleanse myself with a moderately socially conscious post.




This video’s going around the web of a college student who was arrested and Tasered at a town hall forum hosted by John Kerry (remember him?) at the University of Florida. The kid – Andrew Meyer, 21 – apparently got up and started asking Kerry some questions about Iraq and the 2004 election, and before he could finish, the cops pulled him away. When he asked why he was being arrested and started struggling, the cops knocked him down and Tasered him.

It’s a pretty interesting video for a few reasons, but mostly because you always hear about these instances, and it just devolves into he said/she said kind of testimony and all the liberals automatically side with the speaker and the conservatives side with the cops and eventually its released into the ether like smoke from Bill O’Reilly’s ears. But now, there’s a video. You can really see what happened and make a somewhat informed opinion – as can investigators and lawmakers.

Personally, I think the kid comes off as a buffoon, the kind of liberal who gives liberals a bad name. He freaks out and starts screaming before it gets out of hand. Also, it appears as if he may have swiped one of the officers, and everyone knows that once you do that, you’re going down. BUT, there was no need to Taser him. And, using four cops to take down one scrawny college kid appeared excessive. Most importantly, from the video, there’s no evidence he committed a crime. Being a pain in the ass and asking dumb questions isn’t a crime.

I heard somewhere that the cops had chased him in there due to some shenanigans outside the venue, so there could be more to the story (there usually is) but judging by the video, I’d say the kid has a First Amendment case. Maybe it’s because I watch too much Law & Order, but I like cops. The few times I’ve had to deal with them for any reason they’ve always been helpful and professional. But I think these guys were a little, quick with that Taser, shall we say?