Unjustly Tasered

Man, I feel like an idiot. Pirate talk, followed by Legos. I hadn't actually watched the video about the guy getting tased, or even read all of Jake's post.

WASHINGTON D.C. – Sen. John Kerry issued the following statement today, in response to the arrest of a student at the University of Florida.

“In 37 years of public appearances, through wars, protests and highly emotional events, I have never had a dialogue end this way. I believe I could have handled the situation without interruption, but I do not know what warnings or other exchanges transpired between the young man and the police prior to his barging to the front of the line and their intervention. I asked the police to allow me to answer the question and was in the process of responding when he was taken into custody. I was not aware that a taser was used until after I left the building. I hope that neither the student nor any of the police were injured. I regret enormously that a good healthy discussion was interrupted."

And now most of the mass media is focusing on how this student deserved what he got because he once made a funny movie. What those campus cops did was barbaric, wrong, and probably politically-motivated. Yet Local10.com, "South Florida's #1 web source for local news" says it's that they did that because:

Tasered Student Has History Of Practical Jokes

POSTED: 7:18 am EDT September 18, 2007

UPDATED: 8:59 pm EDT September 18, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- Video of police Tasering a persistent questioner of Sen. John Kerry became an Internet and TV sensation Tuesday, generating fierce debate about free speech and the motives of the college student involved - a known prankster who often posts practical jokes online.

The dude standing on a street corner with a "Harry dies" sign doesn't change the fact that the police responded with unjustified force, and it doesn't change the fact that the guy had a valid question. Since I've been in a couple of Pizza Face Death Movies, does that mean I'm fair game for the police to taser me? Does it mean my vote shouldn't count? Does it mean Kerry shouldn't get to answer any questions I might have? Does it mean I deserve a couple thousand volts shot through my chest? Maybe they should round me up and shoot me in under 3 days like those white-rose kids the gestapo killed for hanging up anti-war flyers? We're getting closer and closer to Nazi Germany every day.