Last week a student named Andrew Meyer barged his way to an open microphone to pester Sen. John Kerry at a forum hosted by the University of Florida. His "question," such as it was, was a rant about the Skull and Bones society Kerry was in at Yale, a criticism for not impeaching Bush, curiosity about why Kerry didn't contest the 2004 election results, and a bunch of other random stuff. In the inevitable YouTube video, Kerry can be heard to start responding to Meyer, calling it an "important question."

Meyer, having egged on the cops who were trying to get him to stop ranting, had his microphone cut off. University police were soon dragging him away to arrest him, and Meyer put up quite a fight. The four officers would eventually pile on top of him, handcuff at least one hand, and then, despite what has become his famous protestations—"don't taser me, bro" now appears on t-shirts—they sent 50,000 volts of electricity through him. He writhed in pain and yelled; the cops got the cuffs on him and dragged him off.

Throughout all this the audience just sits there. Some look on as if a play has spilled into the aisles. Many face forward, just waiting for this nuisance to stop. No one does anything to help. Not even Kerry, who could have stopped the whole thing.

Within a day, many of the same people are marching and digging and blogging and opining. At least one student from the event followed the cops as they left with Meyer. But not a single person lifted as much as a finger despite Meyer's yells for help.

According to the cops, Meyer was laughing and chatting with them in the car, saying he understood they were just doing their job, and asking if there would be video cameras at the station. Even if all that is true, does it excuse Tasering him?

According to some published reports, as many as 200 people have died over the past few years as a result of being Tasered. Bear in mind that a Taser is not a generic term but a brand name for a monopoly that has sold its weapons to about two-thirds of all the police forces in the world, including towns in Fairfield County. Stamford police ordered Tasers because they felt they were safer than batons and pepper spray. In the first six months they had them, Stamford cops used Tasters two to three times a month, mainly against what one newspaper described as "rowdy bar patrons and crowds downtown."

Tasers are being overused. They should be a replacement for guns, not for batons or for human strength. Perhaps every officer who uses a Taser should be subjected to the same electrocution, for the same duration, himself (Bridgeport police chief Brian Norwood let himself be Tasered earlier this year to "prove" that it's safe). Then it would truly only be used in a life-or-death situation. It's quite disturbing that many uses of the Taser come about when, like Meyer, the person is already at least partially handcuffed.

The Taser is a microcosm of all laws making it "easier" to catch criminals, including the body of law known as the Patriot Act. Making it easier for the cops isn't the goal of a civil society. Making it hard for the cops to hurt innocent people is.

There are three reasons why the audience, and Kerry, didn't stop the cops. We're used to the police doing the right thing, from TV, movies, and even from everyday experience, and we give them the benefit of the doubt. Moreover, no one felt personally responsible. The classic case of passing-the-buck came 40 years ago when thirty-eight people in Queens witnessed at least a part of a rape and murder outside their apartment building where the perpetrator returned three times to finish off the woman, and not one called the police, at least partly because they hoped someone else would. The third reason: We are afraid. What could we have done? Tapped the cop on the shoulder and told him to take it easy? Guess who'd be Tasered next.

If you were in the audience, would you have done something? What?

Perhaps situations like this don't come along very often. Or maybe this is just a stark example of an everyday occurrence. How much injustice occurs all around us and we don't lift a finger?

Whatever happens to Meyer and the two cops who are now under investigation, we at least can draw these lessons: We can't always rely on our government, but we can always speak.

What would have happened if enough people in the audience, Kerry included, had shouted, from their seats, at the cops to stop? They're only human. It would be nice to think that they wouldn't have electro-schocked a handcuffed and prone 21 year old.

phil@maymin.com