Free Speech or F*** Speech

Controversy? Read on and contemplate.
Socrates fought for it during his trial in Athens. The Magna Carta was signed to promote it in England. Milton published ‘Areopagitica’ to argue restriction against it. The First Amendment guarantees it.
Free Speech. Simply put this could be the greatest power we as Americans, humans and citizens of the world have in our arsenal. What happens when this power is lost? What happens when our civil liberties are taken away?
This past week, a University of Florida student attended Senator John Kerry’s forum. Kerry spoke and afterwards took questions from the audience. During the questioning period, Andrew Meyer, the UF student, got up and asked a few questions. Some of the questions Meyer asked include; “What do you think about voter suppression in the 2004 Presidential race?” “Why didn’t you appeal the 2004 Presidential vote count?” “Were you a member of the Skull and Bones fraternity with President George W. Bush?” “Why hasn’t a move been made to impeach Bush?” The microphone Meyer was using cutoff and police officers came to escort him out of the forum. After raising his voice and having several police officers grabbing him, Meyer was tased. Please see video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCBcOQkUNjI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqAVvlyVbag
Both of these videos give two different views of the incident. Obviously some students agreed with this gentleman’s questions and rational, and others disagreed; proven by their clapping at his being escorted out of the forum. The student was subsequently arrested, jailed overnight and charged with resisting arrest and disturbing the peace.
These are great, interesting, valid, depth-seeking questions. They are also controversial, or can be seen as controversial by many people. Kerry even acknowledged the questions and began answering the questions as the student was being tasered in the back of the auditorium. This, in my opinion, only recognizes these questions as valid and not a distraction.
No matter the background of this student, which has come into questions, a bigger issue of civil liberties becomes present.
In response to this occurrence, students on university campuses across the nation have been reacting. In a column in Colorado State University’s paper, The Collegian, students reacted with differing opinions, (http://www.collegian.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=69ff4709-2ad4-4309-845f-5ebc419b240f).
Then, on Friday September 21, the editorial page of the same paper had a heading with the following, ‘Taser This… F*** Bush’. It spoke about the loss of civil liberties and the right to free speech. The editor did not publish this account maliciously, but instead in an action to incite opinions and conversations about free speech. Now, the editor is embroiled in controversy with the CSU presidential office. The paper has lost $30,000 in advertising money along with putting McSwane’s job on the line.
The editor has written a response to this uproar and the CSU president’s reaction (4). He did this by writing a controversial heading. This challenges our ethos. It challenges the daily standard. This challenges the traditional sense of newspaper reportage. It has been looked at with mixed emotions also.

“The editorial was bound to raise hackles, said Bob Steele of the Poynter Institute, a school for journalists, who advises newspapers on ethical issues. The best of editorials are evocative and provocative, but shocking readers in itself is not necessarily good journalism, nor is the use of shock-therapy editorial language the wisest expression of free speech." (http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6972545?source=rss).
Free speech is the only way how reporters, and us as citizens can agree, disagree, fight and challenge the government, authorities, and anyone’s opinions. Free speech is a healthy expression for us and essential to the media, especially media considering themselves public service media.
I digress, in free speech incidents closer to this area, one can look at what was happening to the University of California-Berkeley in the 1960s. Students became embroiled in controversy there over the subject of a park – People’s Park – and how the situation was being handled amongst the University administration and the student body. Residents of San Francisco fight for free speech everyday. This past spring, citizens performed a ‘die-in’ in the streets of downtown San Francisco. This demonstration was met with mixed reviews, with several citizens being arrested because of blocking traffic and disturbing the peace.
Now, did cops take away the civil liberties of this student at John Kerry’s forum? Did the editor of The Collegian act irrationally and with malcontent when publishing his editorial page in response to the tasering incident? The latter question is easier to answer. Obviously, the editor was not out to maliciously hurt George W. Bush, I have seen transients and panhandlers with more appropriate cardboard signs for this justification. I do believe that the strong language utilized by McSwane’s editorial page was a bit off the mark. One can incite conversation and inform the public without startling them to the point of irrationality. Some strategic asterisks or cartoons can be used instead of printing a word that has become taboo in our society. (http://www.the-two-malcontents.com/2007/09/22/colorado-state-university-student-newspaper-under-fire-for-taser-thisfuck-bush-editorial/).
Now, an alternative of challenging free speech with telling Bush off, would be to produce a story directly involved and in response to the tasing of Meyer the UF student. Why not print a story with the headline, “Tase this…F*** the tasing cops!” Wouldn’t that have hit home a bit more than to attack Bush? Don’t get me wrong, I am not protecting Bush, I am sure I have been known to join the choir in doing some Bush-bashing, but the larger picture here is free speech and civil liberty suppression regarding a law enforcement act against a citizen at a public forum.
Backtracking to the civil liberty in question to UF student Meyer. If after watching the videos of Meyer, you feel that cops used excessive force and were wrong in escorting Meyer out, then my guess is you feel that his civil liberties were taken away. On the other hand, if you feel that he was being disruptive in public and being a nuisance to his fellow citizens, then the cops were acting accordingly.
Personally, I think Meyer went to far when wasn’t concise and direct with his questioning. His postulating was too much. Furthermore his mentioning of Clinton’s fellatio incident was not suited and not relevant to what he was intending to get answered.
Meyer could have made a better point if he asked his specific questions quickly, directly and then held up a sign that stated his beliefs. (just an idea)
In saying that, I also think that the cops using tasers on the student were misdirected. With 4 or more police officers around him, my question is why couldn’t they cuff him and lead him out without using excessive force.




http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20835952/

http://civilliberty.about.com/od/lawenforcementterrorism/p/kerry_taser.htm

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,297126,00.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCBcOQkUNjI

http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2007/09/21/News/Taser.Incident.Ignites.Debate-2983312.shtml

http://www.denverpost.com/ci_6972545?source=rss


http://www.collegian.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticlePrinterFriendly&uStory_id=69ff4709-2ad4-4309-845f-5ebc419b240f

http://media.www.collegian.com/media/storage/paper864/news/2007/09/21/News/Letter.From.Collegian.Editor.In.Chief.Regarding.Bush.Statement-2984663.shtml