Greg Palast: Student Tasered for Armed Madhouse Question to Kerry

The police state of Florida is in full view and has been fully documented. Make sure you see it and sear it into your minds, before the government has it jerked off of YouTube. What is more frightening than watching someone get tasered for freedom of speech, is the total compliance of the audience through fear of the police state. The whole room of people need to understand that the only reason that they were not tasered as well, was because they did not make any statements contrary to the fascist state. It is fully and well documented the police action that was taken against someone exercising their right of free speech. Here, in the year 2007 the Fascist United States of America is functioning well for those in charge, with little or no resistance. Pretty soon, no one will even remember the principles upon which this country was founded. Kid you not---this is very, very serious, and very, very dangerous, and most people don't even see it happening right before their very eyes, or, if they do, their extreme fear over the situation causes them to identify with the attackers rather than the victims.There will be many more incidents like this to come, as our country continues to descend into Fascism. Just ask any Nazi WWII survivors...

The entire incident is vile and unimaginable in any nation of civilized people. I am utterly amazed at the number of people writing in how "the little punk deserved what he got." How illiterate, ignorant and insensitive, it seems, vast numbers of people (including the cheering section in that hall- constituents of the thugs in Washington, no doubt) have become. The sad aspect is to discover how young people are being badly brainwashed by the right-wing slime, and losing even the minimal common sense and human decency.

I cannot imagine a more fundamental principle of freedom of speech than speaking out at a public forum. You are in the open; you express your views; you expect to be listened to; you are not hiding behind the "screened safety" grotesquely used by the draconian dimwit in Washington.

I am entirely in agreement with the importance of the questions raised by Mayer. Indeed, the "Dimocrats" in this country (including Kerry, who was a classic "insider" candidate in 2004) have actually disappointed many like myself far more than the Republican hoodlums we have long loathed. They are active enablers of the killing machine that is shaming America to the world at worst; or passive stooges to the corporate and lobby-interest at best. Either way- it is a complete disgrace that with an entire mountain of international crimes stacked up against this criminal, mafia gang in Washington- the "Dimocrats" are shameless and clueless enough to declare "impeachment is off the table." And they continue the gross abuses of this criminal government by providing funds to carry on the criminal killing and occupation of a sovereign nation who did them absolutely no harm. No country or people could go much lower on the scale of abject barbarity.

The main point, ultimately, is that if Andrew Mayer was screaming for his human rights prior to being put in shackles for absolutely no reason (in my judgment) - he has certainly provided complete evidence of the Big Brother police state this country has become. The Gestapo and the Gulag operatives would be proud.

Monish Chatterjee

What strikes me most is how utterly over-the-top the reaction by the campus cops was. I have a friend who was the manager of one of the toughest bars in this city. He has had plenty of experience handling big belligerent drunks single-handed. Why does it take SIX COPS to control and evict one average student?

There are far too many people in positions of authority who relish every opportunity to exercise that authority as evidenced by the unneeded tazering of a person who's on the ground with two knees on his back and handcuffs on his wrists.

"Every generation needs a new revolution." - Thomas Jefferson

Dear Greg Palast and Buzzflash readers:
To say that UF Student Meyers was "responsible" for being tazered is as stupid as saying MLK Jr. was responsible for getting himself assassinated. Wake up, folks! This is for real. Our rights are being wrenched from our grasps in some cases, and politely handed over to the "Authorities" in others, but the end results are the same: NO RIGHTS.
As to Senator Kerry conceding the 2004 elections, despite giving his word to fight for every vote-- don't forget that in December of 2000, not a single Senator, including Kerry, Edwards, Biden, Dodd and all the rest would stand up for voters rights and co-sign with the multitude of Congressional House members who wanted an inquiry into the awarding of the Florida electoral votes. It is disgusting! Ask yourselves this question: Is our Constitution worth fighting for, or is it, in the words of pRes GWBush "just a god-damned piece of paper"?

Kerry is a wuss. He should have jumped down from that stage and defended Meyers. THAT would heve earned him praise throughout the U.S. and maybe the world. But he just stood there.
The Bush administration has been/is a disaster fore the coutry, but would Kerry have been any better? If Kerry had won the presidency, would he have just stood there (figuratively speaking) and tut-tutted as the country went to hell in a hand-basket? this is the critical, albeit unanswerable, question. Me, I tend toward a positive response. Kerry would have been a wuss as President.
God Save These United States

Hopefully, more information will follow the Fla. U. incident. Why the police were concerned about the student in the first place needs answers. Viewing the videos, it appears the police were within 4 feet of the student immediately. Are we to assume the student had a reputation for trouble on campus or what? Off to the side of the police stands a man in plain clothes and when the police begin to move toward the student, the man appears to call them back. The police stand next to the man a few seconds then they move in to confront the student. I would be interested to know who the man was and find out if he was directing the confrontation. The video appears to be shot from the left of the student, which allows a glimpse of the man off to the student's right. Was the man a coordinator, head of campus police, or what? Just curious.

First of all you're indicting Kerry as if he, himself, ordered University of Florida campus security to wrestle Mr. Meyers to the floor and taser him. Patently absurd.

And as far as stopping the action, what would you have Senator Kerry do? Leap from the stage and throttle the cops with his barehands?

From the several videos I've seen, from different angles, overzealous, and more than likely undertrained, campus cops took action on their own. We learn today that two of that gang of six are on "paid, administrative leave." Kerry is heard, on the video aired on the MSNBC Tucker "I-beat-up-a-gay-guy" Carlson program, pleading with the campus cops to "let him ask his question." To be fair and balanced, Carlson has now joined the "Kerry is a wuss" crowd, which is the meme of the moment on the blogosphere.

Meyers should have known, or maybe does know, that resisting cops leads to them using physical force. So I think that we shall see that young Mr. Meyers acted not out of a sense of patriotism or truth seeking but of self-aggrandizement. Perhaps young Mr. Meyers is an agent provocateur? For whom? I think mainly from himself, because the more I watch the videos the clearer it is that Meyers provoked the incident.

Greg, you are one of only a handful of investigative journalists who keep the bastards somewhat honest but this op-ed piece is pure solipsism.

Watching the video left me shaken. What ever happened to that formality called the First Amendment?

The student was not acting inappropriately. He was assertive, but not obnoxious. He was merely asking some hard questions that demand some straight answers.

Even if you do not agree with the student's point of view, he was not acting inappropriately. He made no physical or verbal threat--he wasn't even obnoxious. He was simply assertive in his questioning. If, as some have suggested, he went over his tie limit, he could have been asked, in a respectful manner, to finish. I have seen many people in a supermarket checkout line act in a far more unruly manner.

As for John Kerry, well, frankly I'm dissapppointed that he didn't call the police to task. I would also like to hear Mr. Kerry's answers to the questions the student posed.

I'm not a lawyer, but it seems that the student should drag the cops and related parties into court over this.

I've watched this painful video three times. Andrew Meyers had already finished speaking when police came up to him and immediately started lifting and carrying him away. If the officers said anything to Mr. Meyers before laying hands on him, they certainly gave him no time to comply.

The police nonetheless keep carrying Mr. Meyers, toward the back of the hall. They apparently do not tell him why they're arresting him, since he keeps asking. They apparently fail to give him his Miranda warnings. They overpower him; get him flat on his back on the ground; and, when he continues to protest, they taser him. The audio of him begging them not to taser him is quite clear. So are his terrible, anguished cries afterward. Tasers, as we all know, can be fatal.

Andrew Meyers simply asked Senator Kerry three questions. The Senator could of course answer or not. But the First Amendment, one would think, protected the questions, even the third: whether Senator Kerry belonged to a Yale College secret society, Skull & Bones.

Yes, Mr. Meyers apparently ran over his allotted time. This was not a crime when I was a prosecutor. Nor was it a crime when Senator Kerry was a prosecutor.

Senator Kerry was probably the oldest person in that lecture hall. He was in a position to witness everything Mr. Meyers did and said. The Senator has the legal background to know that Mr. Meyers had committed no crime, and that the officers had no probable cause to arrest him. The Senator had been an officer in Viet Nam. He had once been capable, apparently, of command. He was certainly the highest-ranking person there.

Did the Senator at least address the officers directly? Did he for instance ask why they were carrying Mr. Meyers away and forcing him down on the ground? That might have given the officers pause. It might have spared Mr. Meyers the taser(s).

No. In the face of this violation of a student's First Amendment rights Senator Kerry, it is clear, remained oddly passive. On the video evidence, it was nothing to do with him.

Other students, with one or two honorable exceptions, seemed approving or passive, or perhaps in shock. Senator Kerry may have told them to stay calm. Most were quiescent enough already.

When a Senator apparently cares nothing for the physical safety -- perhaps the life -- of a student who has simply exercised his First Amendment rights, and the Senator apparently cares nothing for the student's freedom of speech, what does it say about the Senator?

Senator Kerry is up for reelection in 2008. I am a constituent of the Senator, and I am appalled.

S. McKee

I can totally appreciate that the G-ville cops overreacted in a major way - if 6 policemen/women can't remove one student without a taser, I'd say there is a major problem. I also think the student had a great point and was obviously passionate about his feelings. What puzzles me is that no one is commenting on this student's CHOICE to keep resisting when the police told him to leave or stop. I was thinking, as I watched the first part of the video, "now there's a student passionate about his views, how cool is that?!" and then I began to question his intelligence when he kept fighting the police. Not that I approve their behavior at all, but if 6 cops are telling you to stop, what part of that don't you understand? Stop and ask questions later. Yes, it would have been great if John Kerry would have done more, but the responsibility still lies a lot with the student. If he's going to be an activist and a resistor, he needs to understand the consequences (which may or may not be fair in the moment).

Just to clarify, I loved Greg's book and I am a liberal left-winger all the way. My daughter, who is a junior at UF, is the one who initially told me about this and even her and her friends (liberals all the way) felt this student acted stupidly (and yes, they also think the cops were way out of line too). My point is... please don't gloss over this student's responsibilities - when we throw all the blame at the police or Kerry or whatever, we end up looking like choiceless victims.

Thanks

This is something I would've expected from the bushie thugs-not from a talk by a former Democratic presidential candidate. Gore Vidal was right when he said that there is only one political party with two right wings-one called the republicans, and the other, the democrats. Someone needs to go to jail over this outrage.

Absolutely unbelievable that in America today you get tasered on a college campus for asking fair questions that needed to be answered. Shame on the power happy idiot security force. Shame on the students who cheered. I was sickened listening to the audio of this disgusting incident.
I too, live in Lorain County and am still furious over 2000 and 2004. I too want answers.
"Armed Madhouse" is a must read by those who haven't read the truth yet.
Andrew Meyers you are a true patriot.

Greg...
you wrote, "I must admit I feel some appreciation for Meyers." Why that reluctant wording? What did I miss? Did he not fairly represent what you wrote?

What struck me most in the video was not that "kerry, true to character, stood immobile," but that the entire audience of students (with the exception of the woman who loudly protested against the tazering) appeared embarrassed and unsupportive of this man. Why? My impression is that he didn't use the stuffy, dispassionate, "polite" style that keeps one from being tazered these days.

Exactly what did he do? As you noted, he spoke for more than 1 minute. He persisted. He asked an important question (even Kerry, in a surrealistic, Marlin Perkins style voiceover admitted to the audience as the tazering proceeded, that it was "an important question."). Myers was justifiably perturbed at being jumped by a bunch of cops after having "done nothing," as he so clearly phrased it. He was justifiably alarmed and outraged at being tazered several times.

So, why your apparent reluctance to express support for him? Were you, like the students, embarrassed by his style? If he were holding a republican to account, would we be more supportive? As Greg Kamiya has recently written, when all democrats can do is "wave their puny little arms" in mock protest at republican excesses and crimes, we may need to start engaging them in ways that go beyond polite discourse.
trudy

WHERE WERE YOU AS THIS HAPPENED? STANDING ON A STAGE WITH A MIC. Was you life threatened? Was riot being instigated? Was anything but silence interrupted?

Of course not. You were being asked an important question, a civil question, with background information for the more naive in the audience for the audience. You stood there and watched the assault on this individual by how many security guards? You didn't jump right down to his defense...you didn't see it as undue force. You didn't hear the taser sounds? You didn't do anything but say "...let me answer...it is an important question..." as they dragged him away? You, sir, shamed yourself today.

Adults are supposed to protect younger people. You are supposed to stand up to power. Such a small shameful display of (yes, I'll use the word) fascist power and you stood there waiting for the silent complacency of the audience.

I was one of the Democratic protectors(challengers) in Lorain County on election day. I was one of the Democratic observers at the bogus recounts in 2 counties. I needed the answers to that young man's questions also. I have never had an answer that can explain away the sum result of you and the other Democratic elected officials' inaction that allowed this country to sink so low. Where is that young man who saw war and came home to speak the truth so many years ago? I, at least , still fear the rage boil up inside as I watched the Madison police billy club my fellow students with the same arrogant confidence in the belief that ORDER (as defined by people with guns) is more important than the right to ask.

Finally, I don't think you have any idea how unhappy and angry Americans are with the country our elected representatives have
let us become... Your inaction on a stage today did not protect my rights as an individual or your "grin and bear it" acceptance protect me as an individual citizen in November 2004. Palli