That video made me sick to my stomach. You are witnessing George Bush's America, an Orwellian police state where descent= treason. That legacy will live long past the Bush years, and may in the end be his most important (I didn't say positive) contribution to society.

Several years ago here in DC, many of my friends, while peacefully demonstrating against the Iraq War, started being commandeered by police on horseback until all their exits were blocked. They were then cuffed, thrown into a scorching bus, and left there for between 7-26 hours.

Yes, the police chief did eventually resign over it. But if you think this type of Gestapo behavior does not have a chilling effect on democracy, you are willfully turning a blind eye.

The hand-picked crowds enforced by political hacks with no legitimate legal authority, the echo-chamber media which doesn't report but rather creates the stories, the endless questioning of patrotism for any political speech... It is all straight out of 1984.

America should be ashamed at what we have become. Haven't the terrorists already won? We're told their goal was to make us change our way of life. Haven't they?

We suspend the basic tenets of the Constitution and a common law concept of justice that dates back to the time of the Magna Carta. We invade and occupy sovereign nation who have not attacked us without a Declaration of War. We live in constant fear of the next "threat" lurking around the corner.

In short, we have already given up much of it means to be America, and the world knows is.

I think the cops suck!
That was totally uncalled for.What happened to freedom of speech?
My brother is a police officer and I can tell you
he has severe pysch problems and has no right caring a taser or a gun.
There are good cops but unfortunatley the longer they are police the harder
they get.Kerry is a total jerk and thank GOD will never sit in the oval Office!!!!

Shouldn't judge the kid too harshly.

His adrenalin was probably racing just being up there. Then people (police) start grabbing him. Is pretty natural to freak out a bit.

The cops, on the other hand, are trained professionals - or should be anyway. Yeah, and not well handled by Kerry. I wonder if he answered the questions in the end.

I'd say Meyer, and freedom of speech in general, were the victims here.

Police Brutality!

It's been reported elsewhere that Meyer is a journalism student. What the h3ll are they teaching at the journalism school down there? Aren't journalists taught to ask politicians simple questions, then nod their heads and accept any answer they get? What would happen to this country if all journalists were as relentless as Meyer?

I watched the video a few times this morning on CNN. From what I saw, Mr. Meyer deserved what he got. When 3-5 officers order you to stand down and you fail to comply, they are authorized to convince you to do so. In my opinion, the officers showed a great deal of restraint in not tasering the boy immediately. In the video, an officer drew down on Mr. Meyer and subsequently holstered his weapon. It was Mr. Meyer's continued resistance that led to his being tasered. If any disciplinary action should be metted out, it should be against Mr. Meyer and not the officers. On video, these individuals showed restraint, compassion and eventually the resolve to do their jobs. They should be congratulated... not thrown under the bus by a bunch of students only out to protect themselves from possibly getting tasered in the future.

This is some of the most biased "reporting" I have seen outside of "Fox News"
Tell me the story without all of your negative comments about Kerry. Other new agencies were able to do it. Why not you?

The student's comments seemed to be relevant; that if Kerry (and Gore) had the wherewithal to stand up to the Monster that stole the election(s) in 2004 (and 2000), our history would have been utterly different than it has come to be as a result of our being ruled by the imbecile we currently have in office. It's been a long time since students in the US have showed any political fervor, but they're still getting the same treatment.

It make me sick that a student is taken away and tesered because of asking too many questions... This police dept needs to be sued BIG TIME! Maybe then they learn something!

I am very upset after watching that video. Although Meyer was certainly being inappropriate and looks to me like he has some mental/social issues, he wasn't actually threatening anyone. I understand why the police at first tried to remove him because he was going on and on and being disruptive, but why did they need to taser him? There were enough cops to be able to restrain him and take him out of the auditorium. Meyer got tasered for being a nuisance, not for posing any threat... is that how we treat people? Kerry should stand up now and say that that was wrong and unlawful.

refering to "When 3-5 officers order you to stand down and you fail to comply, they are authorized to convince you to do so. In my opinion, the officers showed a great deal of restraint in not tasering the boy immediately"

the mere fact that there were 3-5 officers who are trained to restrain suspects resorted to use of a taser is suggestive of the mentality of law enforcement today. either they're huge wusses or they're thugs. you pick.

Unfortunately there are still people out there like Chris Taylor (I use the word "People" loosely; more like Zombie). Are you kidding me? Which Gestapo State do you live in? Are you a FOX News executive? Whatever happened to Freedom of Speech? How about we all go down to FOX News or to Rush Limbaugh's station and just start kicking them around?

Yet more abuse of power by the cops. As someone said previously, we live in what seems like a police state today. And cops wonder why everyone hates them?

That kid's screaming reminded me a lot of the inarticulate and thoughtless screaming that went on after Kerry LOST in 2004... just as Gore LOST in 2000. I suppose the only originality Meyer has is that he's a sore loser trying to incite a fellow loser to... what? Another stiffly delivered "joke"?

Whether or not Kerry received the majority of the popular vote is irrelevant. What applies here is the law centered around the electoral system. The irony is that all the polls ahead of the 2004 election showed the flipside: It appeared that Kerry would lose the popular vote but win based on the electorate. He made a very clear statement hoping to preempt any challenges brought forth by Bush... and had to eat his words.

If you don't like the electoral system (which isn't inherently flawed, but rather a a victim to strongly divisive policies), lobby to change it. Don't spaz out on stage and make an ass of yourself. This country and her freedom are based on laws that can be adjusted; disregarding them will lead to anarchy and chaos. Thanks for giving this clear example.

Robots robots everywhere.

Kerry Robot.
Police Robots.

Bro,

That's no excuse to tase someone. Bro gets thrown around all over the place these days. Bro is the new dude. An officer might prefer "sir," but again, license for tasing? I don't think so.

Again, the first thing every Lefty Wingnut does is blame it on Bush. You people are a joke! I sincerely doubt any of Dubya's entourage was at the Kerry function posing as college campus police. You are deluded, like the rest of your 49%!!

I've seen the video, it's sickening.

I can't believe what has become of our country since George W Bush stole the Presidency. George Orwell knew what he was talking about when he wrote 1984.

Point 1. "Freedom of speech" does not mean "harrassment" is okay, or "abuse", or "willful misconduct." Ask the question, shut up for a complete response and then let someone else take the mike when your time is up. Point 2. When officers are present to control the situation and keep the public safe... listen to them. It's a simple rule... wrong or right, pick the right place to fight any battle. In a public forum, with presidential hopefuls and an environment of extremism around the world, play it smart. Kudos to the cops... they did their jobs.

That was not good policing.The kid should have been removed from the building immediately. Instead they stayed in the building and further interupted the meeting. The police were as big a problem as the student in the end.

Chris, great comments. Meyer's set it all up and got what was coming. James' analysis is biased and misinformed. By all other accounts, the police attempted in many ways to end Meyer's civil disobediance in a peaceful and manner.

Unfortunately the police showed gross unnecessary brutality on several accounts.

The main factor being that Andrew was already handcuffed on the floor when they were tazering him. This was 100% beyond necessary and the officers faces seemed to even be elated by his pain.

I think Andrew is set to make at least $1m from the police in damages. Given that america is a lawsuit country - i would not settle for anything else.

Andrew - congratulate the police for a good days earnings for yourself.

Unacceptable police actions.

I'm about as white as you can get and I've been calling my also-very white brother "Bro" for nearly 40 years.

Please! "Bro" is an accepted pleasantry these days, particularly when one's trying to get a male sibling or even friend to behave acceptably himself.

The police state grows stronger every day. I hope this kid sues the hell out of those cops and their employer.

Cops are sick!

No need to use force on him. He did not do any crime activity but treated him as criminal. Cops are weak on bad criminals but show tuffness on good citizens. This incident needs to be investigated.

Note to Frank James: "bro" is not a racist term. At least not out here in California. Here I can call an officer, a black man, a peer or even a middle aged man I had never met before, "bro". That note was unnecessary, incorrect and I believe shows a bit of your racism... or overwhelming desire to prove yourself not a racist.

The treatment he got was pretty mild compared to what a lot of other authority types might have done.

Kerry isn't going anywhere fast for a couple reasons a) he wants to use my money to tell me how to fix my problems and b) he has the personality of a bag of dog poop.

yawn....who cares?

Note to Chris Taylor: How about sticking up for the constitution? You are right, when a cop ask you to stand down you do... if said cop has reason to... however, some of us with convictions(read patriotism, knowledge and will to uphold constitutional rights in our own lives) realize that resistence is the correct avenue when rights are being trampled. COPS should carry the constitution and a few key laws on civil rights in their pockets at all times... and be forced to read it before acting out like this.

Well said, Mr. Taylor. May some policeman show that level of restraint and compassion to your children and grandchildren someday.

We're going to blame President Bush for this. Get real and grow a brain. I didn't see that great war hero kerry doing anything to help this man.

You people should have done more than just stand there. This is a national epidemic. We are living in a nation of candy asses who are far removed from the great courage of George Washington's army & the participating colonial militia. If you're not willing to make a stand, you don't deserve America. The work isn't done.

Mr. Meyer will know next time to Move-on when the high and mighty tell him to. I guess he just didn't understand John "the Viet Nam warrior" Kerry's nuance.

I think the author of this made a few of his own over-the-top personal attacks and (I'm betting) incorrect assumptions. Also, this video doesn't show what's going on behind the student and why did they try to stop him so fast from asking his questions? But, at least he was allowed to get up and speak. If it had been Bush up there he would have been prescreened and never even allowed to attend, let alone have a microphone.
The other Chris Taylor is obviously a police officer or of that mentality that thinks they are always right and that everyone should obey and submit to them without question. This student didn't really do anything wrong to deserve the treatment he got from those in uniform. What makes the author assume he was addressing a black officer when he said "bro" and so what if he was? It sounded to me like they decided to tase him when he used the f word as if that's violent and they wanted to shut him up and not hear that anymore. They already had him pinned down on the ground. Why don't we arm these officers with duct tape instead of tasers so they can put it over the mouths of their victims to shut them up to prevent escalation to violence when they can't otherwise stop the f word.

Funny, we celebrate every 4th of July for when we put bullets between the eyes of the Brits just taxing us wrong. Could you imagine anyone defending this type of action by the police shooting other white people just for slight injustices? They are the antonym of an American. I mean it's not like the Brits were going to put us all in a gas chamber, could you imagine any of these modern types standing up that way? They'd say the grievances were minor issues, and to sit down and obey the old King.

The only thing more amusing (in a pathetic way) than many of the previous posts is the scream from Meyer as he gets zapped. Ah, the pleasure of schadenfreude!

To Chris Taylor II: Well stated. Well written. Wish that there were more Swampers in this forum like you instead of your Evil Twin Chris Taylor I.

Rediculous. First of all, the Kerry bashing comments are uncalled for. What was he supposed to do, jump into the fray and pull Meyer out?

Secondly there is absolutly NO racial connotations surrounding the word "bro". I hear it used amongst the whitest of white men lots of times.

And lastly, how do 5 trained law enforcement officers fail to remove a student from the auditorium and feel they need to use a taser?

Maybe Meyer should have thought twice about what he was doing, but the police CERTAINLY acted with excessive force.

I actually think the system worked well here. The student went to college to learn, and yesterday he learned:
- to respect authority
- to say your piece and move on
- the outcome of challenging a man with a Taser.

Sen. Kerry learned:
- the intelligence level of his supporters
- that he'll never make it on the comedy circuit

The police learned:
- over-reacting looks really, really bad on U-Tube
- to assume that there will always be someone with a videocam taping your every move

All's well that end's well!
Them's my $.02, anyway.

University of Florida = University of Fascism! That school's police force is disgusting and so is their administration for not firing all police involved.

John Kerry has become for us Democrats, what Alan Keys is to republicans.

You wish they would just GO AWAY.

The student should have listened to the officers. When they said it was time to leave, it was time to leave, after numerous attempts. Then the officers wanted to lead him away, & that's when he continued to resist. The student just kept going at it.
When someone resists arrest it's never pretty. Physical force is necessary for the safety of the officers & the suspect.
This has nothing to do with Kerry, 2004 elections, Bush or politics. This has to do with someone disturbing the peace, then resisting arrest.

Resisting arrest is a crime. Where in the Constitution does it state you have the right to commit crimes against police officers? He was forcefully resisting the officers, he's lucky all he got was tazed. The punk got what he deserved.

The only thing more amusing (in a pathetic way) than many of the previous posts is the scream from Meyer as he gets zapped. Ah, the pleasure of schadenfreude!

Posted by: Michael Hunt | September 18, 2007 1:25 PM

You are a sadistic dips&%t Mr. Hunt. How you can take pleasure from hearing that kid shriek is far beyond me. I'm not surprised though that you chuckle with glee at this, you sound like a perfect neo-con.

I mean, sure the kid was just exercising his First Amendment rights, but if I can watch him get tasered for no apparent reason than it really is all good, right? Screw empathy, screw democracy, screw America. Everyone needs a good tasering every now and again, right? Keeps the riff-raff in line.

Wouldn't tasering a handcuffed kid while he's pinned to the ground by 5 officers constitute excessive use of force?

To knuckleheads Trevor and "whatnow," this has little if anything to do with John Kerry. Its far bigger than that. Its an attitude that condemns legitimate descent, as protected in the First, that's FIRST Amendment, as a now barely legal activity.

What this has to do with Bush is instilling an us vs. them mentality where anyone who disagrees should be called an enemy combatant and locked up, and treating the Constitution, in particular Amendments 4-6 as optional. From this video I can't see exactly what the kid did wrong, but whatever he SAID it did not warrant an onslaught from 5 police officers and a tasing while he was already pinned to the ground.

One poster brought up another relevant point, which is, when was the last time President Bush had to take a question from a non-friendly audience? If he's such a tough cowboy, how about mixing it up with someone who doesn't think he's the Second Coming. Maybe Kerry just needs to tighten up his screening apparatus (sarcasm).

The leader of the free world should be able to answer honest questions from his subjects at least a couple of times a year. Its necessary for democracy, but of course, the Bush Administration doesn't actually believe in democracy, at least not here at home.

Oh the irony- the single least democratically inclined Administration since at least Nixon sets about the world trying to "promote democracy" at the barrel of a gun.

Though we have a massive trade and budget deficit, as well as exponentially expanding debt, one thing you never have to worry about with the Bush Administration is going into an irony deficit. They always come up with something.

Wow, I didn't even know that Kerry was running for President - all the media talks about is Obama, Clinton, and Edwards.

I've heard of using electricity to revive a dead person, but not a dead campaign (take note, John McCain). Very original, Herr Kerry. May you go down in flames in 2008 as gracefully as you did in 2004.

And people, stop blaming the Bush administration for everything that ever goes bad. This had nothing to do with George Bush, and more to do with the need for vigilant security any time a presidential "candidate" (self-proclaimed or legitimate) is in public. If you want to find the cause of this, look at the number of political assassinations that have occurred in the last 50 years. Candidates should be aggressively protected when making public appearances. The only debate here is whether Kerry is really running for anything.

A couple of comments: As a professional public speaker and a lawyer, I would expect Kerry to have the skill set to difuse this situation prior to the police's involvement and more importantly direct the police to stop immediately with the physical removal - if he didn't want him removed. There was a distinct point during the rant in which Meyers started to lose the crowd. Kerry could have seized on that pinnacle by threatening to end the question / answer period or demanding a poignant question in return for an honest answer. Instead Kerry opted to do nothing and someone (organizer, school, Kerry team?) instructed the police to step in. I have no defense for the cops. In my opinion they went too far with the taser, they would have been better getting control of him and taking him out of the room immediately to reduce the disruption. I do believe that any good DA could have found Meyers in violation of some local code (disturbing the peace, etc). Last but not least - Patrick your recommendation of standing up to the Cops is the poorest advise you can give. We live in a litiguous world where digital media makes video recordings easy and cheap to make. If you think someone (cops or otherwise) are violating your constitution rights record it and take them to court. Fighting those constitutional offenders will only get you thrown in jail or worse, killed. There is a time and place for every battle and one of them is not over some dimwit about to get tasered because he wanted to run his mouth during a forum with some two-bit political hack.

Distrust and Verify,

The word is "dissent", not "descent", which is the action a skier performs on a mountain. "Distrust" your spell-check, and trust your thesaurus a bit more. You're welcome.

I find it interesting that we are all supposedly in a "police state", straight out of "1984", etc., etc., and yet here we are debating this incident and corresponding issues online, with little to no fear of censorship, retribution, a knock on the door, or even a surprise tazing. Even if/when Ms. Clinton is elected, the only fear I will feel is for our national security and for my decidedly middle-class wallet. Have a nice day, and happy 25th birthday to :-)

"Help, help!" – loudly cries protester as he physically resists police.

Yes, I said “Protester”. This student trying to gain attention was given multiple opportunities to comply with direction from both the event organizers and the police that were present to maintain order. He was playing to the audience and the cameras.

It is not the position of any police officer to risk bodily harm if a subject continues to disregard direction and physically resists. The campus police demonstrated appropriate compliance to most use of force continuums by applying a little shock to this idiot's system when an escalation of physical force may have caused injury to the subject and/or a law enforcement officer (ie: strained muscle, broken arm, concussion, etc.).

Wake up people! Free speech is alive and well but when you try to commandeer a public event for your own pleasure, expect to be asked to leave or shown the door.

Yeah Frank, and had PA gone the other way (which had a smaller voting gap than OHIO) he would have been looked on as one of the biggest losers the Dems have ever seen.

Funny how "ifs and butts" can go both ways.

How can so many stupid people in the thread say the First Amendment gives someone the right to resist arrest?

Michael, if you're not feeling like we're living in a police state...

Don't you tense a little and look down at your spedometer when a cop is behind you? You're at that guy's mercy unless you're very compliant.

Maybe you're okay with being ordered around, but that doesn't make it right.

WOW, somehow about half the writers found a good reason to blame this on President Bush. No wonder we have such a wide political divide, with psychotic political reasoning like this!

Chris,

The former Democratic nominee for president of the United Sates and decorated combat veteran is a lot of things, but a "...two-bit political hack" isn't one of them.

And who gives a crap if you have esq. after your name?

Looks like the questioner wanted some publicity- he got plenty. Mission accomplished. As for the taser- oh stop whining. Now he knows what it's like to be black.. lol

"Mr. Hunt"
If you have little to no fear of censorship, retribution, a knock on the door, or even a surprise tazing, then why do you use a phony name? your parents didn't really name you Mike Hunt did they? If so, they should have been censored.
For all those who are beating this kid up for "resisting arrest" how did he resist? looked to me like only with continuing to run his mouth mostly by saying "what did I do?" and "why am I being arrested?" I didn't see any swinging of fists or flailing of arms or attempt to run on his part. Did you? Am I blind? I would like to see how all you cool level headed Borg react for real if you were taken down in a similar fashion for no reason that you could understand. I bet there would be a bit more resistance than this kid gave.

That is the funniest thing I have ever seen in my life. I love all the comments about how we are living in a police state and all the bs. This spoiled rotten college kid got exactly what he deserves. This is probably the first time this spoiled brat was ever told no or stop. He didn't know how to handle it, so the police handled it for him. When I first saw this I thought "what a great day in america"

Meyer is an attention seeking whore. Just spend 10 seconds with him.

I realize the video is bad, but at the beginning of the video, I did not hear the police tell this young man that they were arresting him. Actually, I'm not sure that I ever heard them tell him he was being arrested--I heard them to tell him to stop resisting. I agree the student was resisting, but he kept his hands up and open--his words and his movements did not look threatening in any way, and although I wasn't there in the heat of the moment, it seems unlikely that the police really felt threatened either. So over all, I think tasering this student was a bit much.

I hope that if I am ever in such a situation, the police will at least let me know (clearly) that I am being arrested and what law I have broken.

i am certain all goverment machinery is used to hide the truth from us.
There is a lot curroption going on in all aspects of life and I am amzaed how this can go on.
I do not blame police as they are doing their job, which is to help hide the truth.
Bush will never go down as a bad leader as everthing and everyone with any power has a price and sold out of shut down due to fear.
This kid deserves a loud applause for being couragous and fearless.
Police did went too far, but thats their job..
who is to blame; big money that makes it all happen.

Notes to John Kerry:

How can this have happened in front of you while you stood there & made a joke? Do you think standing by & allowing a citizen to be beaten & Tazered for exercising his freedom of speech displays the kind of leadership qualities this Nation needs?

Why haven't you spoken out or made a statement?
Every minute that goes by without you addressing the situation further incriminates you the Democratic Party.

Andrew Meyer deserves an apology from you!
Please be a Man & Speak Out!

"If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity,
then you have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men."
St. Francis of Assissi

Pray for Peace.

"I didn't see any swinging of fists or flailing of arms or attempt to run on his part."

Then you are blind and retarded.

I guess you missed the part where it took SIX officers to get him down.

The word is "dissent", not "descent", which is the action a skier performs on a mountain.
Posted by: Michael Hunt | September 18, 2007 2:00 PM

You completely nailed my spelling... Hahzah!

Alas, you are still sadistic for extracting pleasure from this kid's pain. But my spelling, well, I occasionally mess up my homophones so I guess we're even.

Oh, and have you ever heard of "warrantless wiretapping?" What exactly do you think that means? If its perfectly legal to surveil (is that word ok with you Mr. Spelling-Check?) without first seeking court approval, how do you really know what information is or isn't being collected on you, and what communication is or is not being monitored?

Fascism is alive and well in America. It is weak-minded, sadistic fools like Michael Hunt who help it thrive.

"When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.

When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.

When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.

When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.

When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out."

Who will speak out for you, Mr. Hunt?

To those who say Meyer "deserved it" merely because he may have been in violation of the law, I really believe that when it comes time for twelve registered voters to decided, we'll see who was really behaving in a criminal fashion. For engaging in an act less dangerous than speeding, he had a dangerous and pwoerful device applied to him. For those who say the 2004 election was open and shut and that Meyer's questions wee merely sour grapes from a crackpot, I ask if you've read the book he refers to.
Something he read inspired him to behave in such a fashion. I've not read the book, but Kerry seemed to think it was worth a read even though it was apparently not a glowing appraisal of him. We have become soft and weak in our defense of liberty. We have the country we deserve.

It is true that the student acted inappropriately. I think it was reasonable to cut off his mic after showing unwillingness to relinquish it. HOWEVER, tasering him was a COWARDLY act! The student was subdued and posed no danger to the cops, the audience, or himself.

John R.,

Sure I "tense up" when I see the ol' black-and-white behind me, until I check my speedometer to see that I am complying with the law as written by elected representatives (well, or 5-10 mph over, which has never caused me a problem). I just do not fear a "death squad" coming to get me because of a post I made online.

Mr. Taylor II,

Thank you, I never heard that one before, especially in junior high and high school. At least our names are a bit more real than "Distrust and Verify."

Meyers deserved what he got. To me it looked like he had an agenda worked out in advance, and likely calculated it would end like this. I watched the video, his responses appeared loud and exaggerated. Ask "a question" means that - not hog the microphone "informing" people, and then become belligerent when asked to give it up.
Anyone who would support him and his style needs to rethink what "rights" means.

Wow...

Is this what Donald Rumsfeld meant when he said "Democracy isn't Pretty". Damn right! It takes that extra bit of passion that Meyer has to bring the focus to the larger issues. I have seen it a thousand times at City council meetings where the politely sedated and blandly organized patrons move processes along at a crawl. Its the loud homeless guy at the back of the room that astonishingly funnels all the dribble to the main point.
Yes its true there has to be order but not at the cost of passion. Jesus Christ, Who where the founders of this Country? Where they the sedated audience members politely raising there hands reading timidly from there prepared notes? Hell No! Get a clue! RIGHT NOW WE NEED MORE ANDREW MEYERS!

"I remained silent;

Posted by: Distrust and Verify | September 18, 2007 2:39 PM"

Do us all a favor and remain silent now.

Tazing someone who resists arrest isn't fascism.

Sad state of affairs in a country when somebody has to be forcefully removed from asking a question. Even sadder when public sentiment lies with a system that backs the oppressors. Granted, his questions were aggressive, but they did not merit violent suppression. Kerry was more than prepared to dodge the questions anyway, so whoever gave the order to arrest the kid, would have been better advised to wait it out and let the moment vanish. Instead we see an example of quick and sudden censorship. This is not Bush's America in action. This is our America. And unless we toss out both Republicans and Democrats, rip it up and start all over again, we're not ever going to be able to be truly free.

Disgusting. Amnesty International has called on the end of using Tasers as there have been over 150 deaths from them.

This is a sick use of power, and it people must be held accountable.

You'd think the entire point of learning the history of fascism is to stop it in it's infancy, yet by many voices here you'd think it has to grow up to full fledge fascism before they are to say or stand up for anything. To me, Americans are not whiners even when complaining about the smallest, itty bitty, fraction of injustice, because the power behind this great nation is so mighty, that we should not even TOY with the idea of letting it go beyond our control.

The reason that this protester stated; "…don't taze me bro…" is because the police where giving him voice commands to comply or he would be tazered. He clearly knew what was coming next if he continued with his unacceptable actions.

The infantile behavior of this protester as he narrated his supposed 'victimization' while he continued to resist arrest is comical! Are we all seeing the same video?!

Welcome to the adult world Mr. Student, where tantrums will not be tolerated like they were at home. I know it’s a shocking (pun intended) dose of instant reality, but rarely are there empty threats here in the real world Mr. Student – consider this an important part of your ‘higher education’.

Do those of you that feel this is a demonstration of a police state and police brutality really feel that anybody is allowed to disrupt public events until they decide they are finished?!

How long would you same people let this guy shout at your bedroom window while you tried to sleep before you asked the police to have him removed - by whatever non-lethal means necessary?!

He wasn't asking a question- he was ranting and didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. Unfortunately in todays world there are people walking around - who seem relativley harmless, but decide now is the time to snap. ( see Virginia Tech)

We would be talking a whole different story if the guy's next move was to threaten or take a run at Kerry..which given the escalating tone of the guys voice had to be considered as a possibility.

Having said that - I don't think it had to go this far- and if it had to I wish it were the Code Pink maniacs being tasered instead of the earnest colleg bro'

sounds like we need to get a few more police officers, lawyers and politicians on here to clearly define what resisting arrest is.
(yes, I know "politicians" and "clearly define" makes an oxymoron)

Doug Zook,
Sorry if my sentence didn't make sense but Kerry is a professional public speaker and a lawyer. I am not, but I did take public speaking courses in college and participated in Toast Masters, so I do feel comfortable commenting the fact Kerry should have been able to diffuse the confrontation at this point in his career. I will give you that two-bit political hack may not be appropriate. Maybe bad/poor presidential campaigner is more appropriate because he could not beat GWB who is lower than a two bit political hack. In 2004, moderate America was looking for any reason to vote Democrat and the Democrats put forth Kerry. Kerry laid one of the biggest goose eggs in political history. Someday my kids will ask how GWB ever got a second term and unfortunately "Kerry" will be the answer. And yes I read the book, but the bottomline is it should have never been that close to begin with.

The view from here: It is truly a shame and a pity what is happening in the States. Freedom of speech is over, and has been for awhile. The manipulated media attests to this as well. With recent executive orders, freedom of the individual is almost over too. Which is what the States is based on, freedom from tyranny is what your ancestors sought in the New World. How can you let it all go so easily? I know your gov't doesn't listen to the people it has sworn to represent, but can anything be done? Bush doesn't seem to make speeches in public anymore, it is safe audiences like military bases, etc. Wonder what he is afraid of?
The student is screaming for help and nobody in the audience moves. A stunning event that. Then he screams in pain.
If freedom is ebbing away, then wouldn't people say something?
Apparently not.
What a shame, what a pity.

Considering that this story originates in Florida, I do think that it has to do with President Bush and how things have changed in the last six years. I do not remember any of the Bush supporters who were beating down the precinct doors while monitors were trying to count votes in Florida during the 2000 elections being tasered. Those actions were much more disorderly and violent than what occurred with Mr. Meyers. I guess your ability to "dissent" depends on whether you bear the imprimatur of those in power (i.e., then governor of Florida Jeb Bush). Do you ever wonder dictators like Hussein, Kim Jong Il, and Castro achieve 99% electoral results? Because the only way to participate in their "democracies" is to agree with them. Similarly in America, now only GOP thugs can "dissent."

Everyone here saying this is an example of a police state, are quite frankly morons. The UPD is under control of the university, not the president who has nothing to do with this. I go to UF, I saw the guy as he was dragged out. It was his fault for being obnoxious, he deserved to be kicked out. Tasered, no, but he WAS being a disruptive moron.

A short post script: not only were the GOP thugs who were intimidating vote counters (who, by the way, were trying to follow the rule of law of the state supreme court, which said that the recount should proceed) in Florida in 2000 not tasered, but are now in charge of various government programs in the rebuilding of Iraq, where we are supposed to be teaching democracy and rule of law. Admittedly not directly on point, except to argue that the current administration defines participatory democracy based on how corrupt and power hungry one is.

I have heard reports on WGN radio in Chicago (that I have admittedly not verified) that Andrew Meyer has a website and a history of performing such attention-getting acts, then linking or posting the video on his site. If that is true, then I have no sympathy whatsoever for him. He intentionally hijacked an opportunity for public debate in the name of personal publicity and the bandwagon-jumping press is all too happy to heap it on. And all you need to do is watch COPS once in a while to know that it's NEVER a good idea to resist police officers intent on getting you to stop doing something. Even if you're right, you're gonna end up stomped. Er, I mean stopped.

That video made me sick to my stomach. You are witnessing the Liberal Democratic Party's America, an Orwellian police state where dissent equals treason. That legacy will live long past the failure of Kerry's campaign, and may in the end be his most important (I didn't say positive) contribution to society.

You know what I find frightening? When people post videos of police attempting to take someone into custody who is deeply agitated, combative, and in some cases, flat out violent, and then fault the police if they have to use force. He was asked to leave the podium... he refused. He was told he had to leave the auditorium... he refused. He was told to cooperate with the police... he refused. He had every opportunity to avoid what happened and to suggest otherwise is to ignore what's obvious from watching the video. This has nothing to do with freedom of speech or politics. It is simply an unfortunate case of an out of control, unstable college student and the segment of the general public that believes people who exhibit this behavior and refuse to honor repeated requests to comply shouldn't face any consequence for their actions.

Meyer staged that incident for the purpose of bringing attention and sympathy to himself. You people that continue to blame Senator Kerry are missing the real point of Meyer's outburst. He is setting the stage to further his own position in journalism.