http://www.alligator.org/articles/2007/09/19/news/campus/protest.txt
A bunch of students at the University of Florida protested the 'censorship' of the tasered dude.
And besides that, some are now claiming this was a deliberate stunt:
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/09/19/was-tasered-student-pulling-stunt
Your thoughts please.
2007-09-19 02:33:59 · 20 answers · asked by Still Beautifully Conservative 5 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
Well--having seen the tape, the student's right of free speech was not violated--he was removed from the podium for being deliberately disruptive.
However, the tasering that took place a minute later is less clear. The student did become violent and the police were justified in restraining him. But they may have used excessive force by tasering him.
2007-09-19 02:57:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
No.
Even at public events (I don't know whether this one was government-sponsored, or put on by a private group), time, place and manner restrictions on speech are permitted.
This person exceeded his time, and was disruptive.
There is a difference between freedom - "ordered liberty" - and anarchy.
If free speech means anyone can get up and essentially take over a meeting for his own purposes, then we will all be able to drown each other out. Then no one will have free speech!
PS I don't think cops should have to wrestle for an extended period with someone. And tasers are more humane than the old truncheon, or nightstick.
And no one knew exactly what they were dealing with at the time. We've all had two days to second-guess. What if he had had a gun or something? He clearly seemed unbalanced, and anything is possible in those situations. Ask police who are out on the streets every day.
I'd rather be safe than sorry.
2007-09-19 02:47:48 · answer #2 · answered by American citizen and taxpayer 7 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Yes I saw it , the media (at least GMA )this morning tried to blame it on the young man, saying he was being obnoxious. However , I want to know where John Kerry was when all this was going on and why he didn't intervene or tell the cops to leave the kid alone. And as far as I've seen no statement from him or his office on it either. Getting to be very scary in the US and sometimes what happens in the US makes it way up to Canada. Very scary, marching toward a police state sure as shootin.
2016-05-18 04:31:20 · answer #3 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dear conservatively beautiful,
The student was arrested for interfering with the Free Taser rights of the Police. If you saw the video, you would clearly know that he jumped in front of their Tasers and prevented the cops from having innocent celebratory fun at Kerry's speech....
This is very similar to shooting AK-47s into the air at Iraqi weddings, which has been shown to be equally hazardous.
Signed,
Tased and Confused
2007-09-19 02:51:21 · answer #4 · answered by outcrop 5 · 1⤊ 2⤋
No they were not. He was asked by the people to step away from the mic he refused and had to be physically removed.
By the way he didnt get tasered for his speach as everyone on here say, He got tasered for resisting as they tried to remove him. Everyone makes it sound like they just tasered him while he was speaking.
The right to free speach doesnt allow for you to be disruptive. It also doesnt mean you can say what ever you want. Just like you can't yell fire in a movie theater if there is none.
2007-09-19 02:45:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
I do not believe that his free speech rights were violated as the officers addressed the student twice while he was at the microphone and both times stepped back and allowed him to finish his questions.
2007-09-19 06:48:52 · answer #6 · answered by labken1817 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Who would have ever thought that an absolute lack of decorum, poor manners, disrespectful speech would be considered the epitome of " free speech".
He asked for every bit of that.
He was told his time was up
he didn't leave the mike (his choice)
they turned the mike off
he didn't leave the mike (his choice)
the police attemped to escort him away from the mike
he screamed and writhed like a greased pig (his choice)
he continued to resist the police as he was led away (his choice)
he was tasered ( they're choice thank God)
I hope he gets fined thousands and banned from any more campus activities. It's obvious he was raised by wolves and has no idea how to carry himself in a respectable manner.
2007-09-19 02:44:50 · answer #7 · answered by tnfarmgirl 6 · 6⤊ 2⤋
He was given the same allotted time to ask questions as the rest of the audience. If anything Meyer was suppressing the freedom of speech of the others by not relinquishing the microphone when his turn was up. The kid was looking for publicity...He got it...in spades.
2007-09-19 02:42:55 · answer #8 · answered by kathy_is_a_nurse 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
I am a bit torn on this one... While I do believe he has been wearing his foil hat a bit too tight and was out of line, you can clearly see the woman (university police, not city/state) wait for the nod before taseing him.
She did not use her training to determine whether he should be tased, she waited for a cue (from a socialist sympathizer) … That concerns me…
2007-09-19 02:47:38 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Disruptive and obnoxious intrusion into a political forum isn't free speech, it's disturbing the peace.
Some folks just don't seem to realize that there is a difference.
2007-09-19 02:44:01 · answer #10 · answered by thegubmint 7 · 5⤊ 2⤋