Is "taserboy" another example of lack of respect and civility in the US?

Question

Is there a general lack of respect and civility in our country? I thought the student at UF showed a tremendous lack of respect toward a United States Senator. And I notice it here as well. Philosophical disagreement has turned into general stereotyping and name calling.
IF you think there is, is this a downward spiral, or will respect and civility EVER come back?
BTW: I do not exclude myself as a small part of the problem in this forum, so I am not trying to be "preachy"!!
Just Curious.
Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes an No... you see he WAS wrong in his actions. If he were civil and did not act like an ignorant fool none of this would have happened. All he really had to do was actually research and spend time on A question that mattered. Not acted like a child who is told he can only have one ice cream but wants two.

However, actions taken were bit unnecessary.

Answer 2

I think there is a downward spiral, exacerbated by the "if you're not with us you're against us" mentality of the current regime and the radio hosts who support them. I hate it.

I think there is not enough credit given to loyal opposition - the idea that you can love the country while disagreeing with it's leaders.

It might come back, if we stop listening to schoolyard bullies who can only frame an argument by slapping the other side.

It's cute to call Democrats defeatocrats - very clever, ha. But what is our plan in Iraq? Define victory and show me how to get there. Don't stand in front of me and tell me I'm a defeatist - stand in front of us and lead us to a conclusion. Win or lose, let's bring the kids home.

That's real leadership, and it is what's missing from all of our recent debates.

As for the return of the civility - in these forums, we all set the tone. If we treat people with respect, we demand it in return. Name calling is occasionally satisfying, but real, honest, open debates are much more so.

I don't know how to reset the radio guys and the politicians. There is always an element who will listen to that kind of radio, and a market with that force attracts more attention in politics than we will here on YA.

Here's hoping, though.

Answer 3

Ya know what the sad part is, where I live I can walk into a government office without showing any ID, or having my bag inspected, ex rayed, etc, or my body searched, or given anything more then a hello by the half asleep guard.

At the college there is no police thugs, no police I have ever seen.

I have never seen a person getting roughed up where I live by any authority.

I have never heard of a college student, or anyone getting harassed by any authority.

I am treated with respect by those in authority.

The only place I see security camera's are in banks.

I never fear a knock at my door.

I can walk out of my apartment at midnight, walk to the store and not fear getting mugged.

I never carry identification.

I have seen small groups of people, probably families, yelling at each other over some unknown issue as the police sit by in the background making sure it doesn't get out of hand.

I am an ex pat from the USA living in the Peoples Republic of China.

Now is that fugggged up or what?

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People here have explained why it is ok to taser the man, while he may have broken a few minor rules, the inhuman behavior of the police thugs makes me glad I got out of dodge.

How dare those people call themselves free.
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Peace

Jim


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Answer 4

Well I can certainly agree that there is a general lack of respect in this country. I attribute it to a moral decline in our core values. We want controversy and our 15 minutes of fame, and now news is actually entertainment. The ultimate in Reality TV. This forum is no different, I find it very entertaining with some of the philosophies that show up everyday. How many George's War, Larry Craig, Hillary Health Care, Gores Global Warming and 911 conspiracies can we endure. I believe no one has changed their opinion, they just find a more amusing way to answer the previous asked question.

Answer 5

I see it a different way and perhaps hypocritical towards Kerry. Kerry was a huge protester of the Viet Nam war. This kid was protesting the war in Iraq. What's the difference except that Kerry didn't get tasered. He threw his medals on the White House steps. Where's the lack of respect?
Kerry should have intervened. This is supposed to be a free country where we have the right to assemble peacefullly and hold our government accountable.
I think it was wrong and Kerry should have put a stop to the police's actions. The student after all, was just asking questions.

Answer 6

I've attended a number of political speeches at universities, and on two occasions questioner's were much less respectful to an elected official. In both instances the politician answered the questions, and no use of force was needed to remove the questioner, they just sat down. It's normal for a person to exceed their alotted time limit by a few seconds, so if that's their justification it has no merit. Asking a silly question in an excited voice isn't supposed to be a crime. (believe me, politicians are used to silly questions.)

Answer 7

No way. He didn't need to be tazered. He had 6 guys on him and he was handcuffed. That was over the line. I thought you were suppose to be able to disagree with your representatives in an open forum? Kerry even said he would answer the guys questions. This isn't "civility" or "ediquette", it was the Secret Service and Campus Security putting the smack down on a guy that didn't need it. They made the situation worse instead of better.

Answer 8

Respect and civility are taught at home, in my opinion. In this day and age, these do not appear to be "cool." Sarcasm and in-your-face are cool. Look at television ads that we love.

I see many young people defending taserboy's "rights" to free speech. I see them generalize that one experience into a belief that we now have a police state. This concerns me, because it can become a self-fulfilling prophecy for them.

In my opinion, the proper approach is a return to the basics of what the US Constitutional interpretation of free speech is.

Yes, the definition has been altered by Supreme Court decisions. But I want the young in this country to understand that those alterations to free speech have largely occurred since the Civil Rights movement. And some of the changes have occurred in response to abortion activists.

Every time we have an alteration of our right to free speech, it is because of people crossing over into unacceptable behavior.

ADDED: I do not think that curtailing free speech is the solution. In the cases of the "offensive" right-winged radio talk show hosts, one must merely flip the channel, close the book, or turn off the tube.

Answer 9

Perhaps "taserboy" is an example of the lack of civility that has been engendered in our society in modern times.....I wont disagree with that....

But if you want to see/hear the real embodiment and cause of this breakdown in respect and civility in our public discourse, you need only turn on the radio. And while left wing radio folks are not blameless, clearly, the lion's share of the blame goes to the right wing radio hosts. Folks like Limbaugh, Hannity, Ingraham, Medved and Prager not only make it ok to be disrespectful to those of differing opinions, they actually make you seem irresponsible if you even entertain any thoughts contrary to their beliefs......Their methods of belittling and attempting to make people with opposing viewpoints seem absurd are, in my opinion, the primary cause of the breakdown in civility in public discourse....

They are awful.....

Answer 10

You are right - cops seem to have a decided lack of respect for the people they SERVE, and all too often their behavior is less than civil..