As I watched the video of the Florida University student being removed from the microphone as he was asking visiting speaker senator John Kerry questions, I was shocked.
I don't know if his question to Kerry whether the senator belonged to the same secret society as president Bush while at Yale was the reason for the hyperagressive response of security or not. That's the point at which the particular video I saw began.
Perhaps it was some other provocation from the student that occurred before the video started that caused his Saddam-like take down and continued Iraq-like pounding afterwards. Maybe that particular student has a connection to the 9/11 terrorists who attacked the World Trade Center? Or maybe he had chemical and/or biological weapons in his front pocket or yellow cake uranium in his back one. I don't know.
But as I watched four security guards throw him to the ground, I was surprised by their need to exercise further force in the form of a Taser weapon on a man already overthrown.
And that's where the shock came in. The audience sat passively by as the guard goons unleashed their excessive power. Of the guards, I wondered if fear of hitting one of their own at such close range was the saving grace that prevented them unloading a round or two from their pistols in the kid right then and there?
I did see one female student step toward the guards, pleading with them to get a grip on themselves. But save for that courageous individual, the crowd sat apathetically frozen to their seats, in tribute to the police state we've come to accept and obey.
The video ended after the tasered student was drug from the hall. I wondered if, after the meeting with Kerry, everyone adjourned to the stairs outside the assembly hall to say the Pledge of Allegiance in a gesture of appreciation for our new found national security? And I wonder if--like the crowd--I'll maintain my passivity when next we unnecessarily attack someone, say Iran, with excessive, yet unnecessary force. Glued to my seat. A spectator. Again.
1 comment:
I saw that video footage here is a link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giZspLXXBPs&mode=related&search=
Most disturbing is the fact you hear Kerry saying those were good questions & he'd like to answer them. While the cops are forcing the questioner out & tasering him.
There were some people who appear to in fact be gazing at the stage, letting the Kerry show go on, as if this ruckus and abuse of power were not happening. But others seem to be aghast that this is going on. Most people are very cautious & intimidated by gun carrying cops who have overreacted.
I've been through lots of Non violence trainings, and I know it takes real focus to respond to such an escalating situation w law enforcement.
The crowd could have surrounded the cops & sat down to let them know they were being watched, without escalating. But thank god the cameras were rolling & recorded the whole incident. Although one girl screamed out, that is not actually recommended, because that stirs up the cops as well.
I never hear the cops tell him to tone down, or ask him to be seated. Apparently someone cut the microphone- but he had just finished asking the questions, and might have been satisfied to sit down & listen to the answers.
If not & they thought he was too charged to continue @ the mic. a verbal warning or notice that is microphone time was up & he would need to step down or he could be arrested.
No telling if he would have escalated, but it seems he was never informed or given options.
Including the option to hear the answer to his questions!
I'm guessing the ACLU will take on this case, as it is clearly a violation of freedom of speech.
Granted this was an amped up college kid who was not exercising proper Q & A protocol, not using an inside voice, if you will, but he had questions.
In a way, I wish we were all that pissed off about the stolen elections. His fresh youthful fervor --someone who wants to find some truth, and ask why did it play out like it did?
We were having a discussion about the dem presidential candidates tonight & while my political science major son said he thought the dems have it for sure in the next election, my husband reminded him the republican sanctioned voting machines are still in play.
There is a saying: It doesn't matter how many votes a candidate gets, it matters who is counting the votes.
The son contends he is still seeking a positive reason to vote for any of them. Although not only will he vote for sure-- he will spend days helping to get other college students registered to vote.
Last year, he was reportedly standing at by the Voters registration table on campus yelling...
Step right up, Get your Democracy!
Still, I think the key item is we have verifiable accountability in the voting process.
The rubbermaid containers they use in Iraq on paper votes are more reliable than Diebold computer voting. Reverse vote counting, purged registered voters, and 8 hour lines to vote in the US? Hell, more of us should be right up there with Andrew Meyer pitching a fit as well.
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