I followed the incident only peripherally, but this morning I happened across an online interview between Andrew Meyer, the famous, "Don't tase me, bro!" student who was taken down during a John Kerry speaking event, and the Today show. It's available here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
I have to tell you, I had a dim view of the guy based only on the scant attention I'd paid to the incident at first, but after reading the interview, I came away very impressed. An excerpt:
TODAYshow.com: Your original point may not have been about free speech, but your name has now been mentioned alongside Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s in recent First Amendment debates. What has your experience taught you about free speech in 2007?
Meyer: Politicians are not used to being asked the hard questions. I think free speech has been willfully discarded to an extent by American journalists. They have stopped asking questions that matter. Maybe their refusal to be vocal is what makes my outburst look so surprising in contrast.
(More excerpts on the flip.)
TODAYshow.com: What is your biggest criticism of the media in covering your story?
Meyer: I haven’t seen any mainstream news outlet once dissect the questions I asked the Senator. Everything is about me personally or the taser. This is the type of tabloid journalism prevalent in America today. When my story is over, they won’t start covering Blackwater or Ron Paul. It’ll be Britney Spears and Paris Hilton, business as usual.
I don't think I could give a heartier "Amen" to this.
My favorite excerpt, though, is this:
TODAYshow.com: Your arrest has sparked a lot of questions about free speech and police brutality, but one of the biggest questions remains your motive for attending the John Kerry event. What was the point you were trying to make?
Meyer: The first question I asked the Senator was about his concession of the 2004 election. Greg Palast, author of "Armed Madhouse," the book I was holding up at the forum, proved that John Kerry won the 2004 election. The ultimate point I was trying to make was to bring up was the heinous way millions of American votes were chucked in the garbage on Election Day. Not only is this a total assault on democracy, but the same tactics used to throw away votes in 2004 will be used again in 2008. Read about the Help America Vote Act and see for yourself. HAVA helps America vote in about the same way the PATRIOT Act patriotically dismantles the Bill of Rights. In other words, it’s completely Un-American.
The second question I asked was why haven’t Kerry and the Democratic Congress made any moves to impeach Bush, considering he has led us into two wars of aggression in Iraq and Afghanistan, and wasn’t even legitimately elected (as Kerry knows since, as he told me, he has read "Armed Madhouse.") If Kerry is so concerned about the aggressive posturing the administration is taking towards Iran, why don’t he and the Democrats running Congress do something about it? They have the impeachment power. Millions of Americans believe they should use it.
The third question I asked Kerry, which Tim Russert of NBC’s Meet the Press also asked Kerry (and Bush), is was he a member of Skull and Bones in college. Some people treat this question as a joke, but Kerry and Bush never denied the assertion. Perhaps their involvement in the same secret society (once known as the Brotherhood of Death) has something to do with the answers to my first two questions.
OK, I'm not so enamored of the Skull & Bones line of response, but the rest of it? Pure gold, as far as I'm concerned.
Finally, to top it off, an acknowledgement of personal responsibility:
TODAYshow.com: Knowing what you know now, is there anything you would have changed about your own actions at the John Kerry forum?
Meyer: I have talked about this a lot in my apology letters. Next time, I will definitely line up in front of the microphone sooner!
I wish I had maintained my compsure. The next time I will.
Andrew Meyer, you're OK in my book! Again, you can read the whole thing here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/...
DTH