Thursday, January 10, 2008

Don't Taze Me, Bro!

To the Media Project (WAMC)

Dear Alan, Ira and Rex,
In a recent show, you three were discussing the "biggest story" of 2007 and Ira, who normally displays such wonderful insight, dismissed the Florida University student who was tazed at a John Kerry appearance in Florida as a "wiseguy who wouldn't sit down". I've watched many youtube videos of this occurrence and Andrew Meyer waited calmly in line like everyone else and then asked John Kerry why he had conceded the 2004 election in the face of obvious voter fraud.

While Meyer was certainly insistent, the corporate media's rush to dismiss the guy entirely by calling him a "trickster" also implies that he deserved to be tazed. Watching any full-length video of the event, you can see that the man was a well-informed activist and that he was intent on asking Kerry some very uncomfortable questions but you can also see that there was clearly never a need to taze him.

Kerry's non-reaction (and the non-reaction of most audience members) to the overzealous police is quite frightening to behold. Six or more cops hauled this kid up the auditorium aisle, stopped, pinned him and tazed him twice when he was clearly and completely under their control. The man's supposed reputation as a "trickster" should be irrelevant in the face of such stupidity and excess.

Ira, you know better than to buy the corporate media's spin on anything! I can only ask that you watch the videos and see if you still think the story is that simple. The REAL story is Andrew's
unanswered question and if the corporate press won't ask our mainstream ruling class politicians tough questions, who will? Maybe the "tricksters" among us, like Andrew Meyer, feel they have no choice but to show up and do the press' job? Are they so wrong?
Here are two videos of the event. In the second one you can clearly hear the police telling him that he will be tased (as six of them have him pinned). He responds, "Let me up. I'll walk right out of here".

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