Anyone else wondering about all the pro-Taser, pro-authoritarian

[pnwmom]

newbies that seem to be crawling around here lately?

[Mythsaje]

1. Some of 'em aren't newbies...

Of course, I've always had issues with the authoritarians...it's part of my charm.

Such as it is. :D

[DBoon]

2. It would be interesting to look at their IP addresses

see if this is some sort of astro-turfing, as has happened with climate change forums

[Warren Stupidity]

3. This is an old fight here.

There are plenty of DU'ers who come out and support all sorts of brutality as long as its cloaked in lawnorder. Newbies of course might be doing it too. Yes it is shocking, but the entire population of this nation is pretty well brainwashed and terrorized into acceptance of all sorts of outrages by agents of the ever expanding state. DU is no exception.

[wtmusic]

4. When you've seen someone shot dead who would have been alive

with a Taser, it changes your outlook a little. Count me in the pro-Taser camp--but insisting on better training and more restraint.

[Withywindle]

5. There have been cases of people who died after being Tasered

You can't tell who might have a heart condition, etc., just by looking at 'em in a heated situation.

Basically I agree with you though. Seems to me Tasers should only be used in cases where deadly force might be necessary otherwise. Which certainly does not apply to a college kid without ID in a library, whether he mouthed off or not!

[gaspee]

7. I dont' think that's a valid argument

What I mean is, if a cop used a gun in a lot of these taser cases, he'd be going to jail for murder. A lot of these taser incidents never would have escalated to gunfire, yet the cops are willing to taser on a whim. Or for their sadistic fun, or 'cause they're in a bad mood, or just ain't getting any respect (barf.) And can't foget the classic -- everyone's a criminal and deserves what they get.

So, I don't think that's a valid argument.

[Warren Stupidity]

8. Ok here we go.

I have been waiting for that defense. Yes, a non lethal weapon is a grand alternative to a lethal weapon. However what has happened is that for many police forces the taser has become the technique of choice for dealing with nearly all non compliant behavior by civilians interacting with law enforcement officers. Situations that would never have resulted in the use of a gun, or even a club, are now routinely dealt with by taser. For example, the recent UCLA episode. The police should never be empowered to punish, their job is to protect the community, not provide instant justice through electic shock.

[wtmusic]

11. I think we agree

As I said, more restraint is needed...in this case, I was eating at a restaurant when a van got pulled over outside. The driver got out and came at the cop swinging a saber. The cop shot him once through the heart.

[Ignacio Upton]

13. Apples and oranges

The student was a passive agitator. He should have been dragged out instead of tased.

[pnwmom]

10. I'm referring to the UCLA incident more than Tasers in general.

Where the alternative would NOT have been to shoot anyone dead, but simply to haul the student out of the library.

When you say "count me in the pro-Taser camp" -- that doesn't mean that you favor using Tasers repeatedly on non-violent, passive resistors . . . or do you?

[pnwmom]

18. When you know of a woman in your town who was Tasered

sitting in her car after a fender bender --
when you know that she was Tasered because she didn't follow orders to exit her car
when you know they Tasered her near her transplanted kidney
when you know that the police assumed she was drunk, but she had no alcohol in her system,
when you know that after she was Tasered and dragged out of her vehicle and the Fire Dept. people immediately saw she was in DIABETIC SHOCK and THAT'S why she hadn't been responding

when you know that all over the country that are cases of people in diabetic shock being treated EXACTLY as she was . . .

it changes your outlook a lot.

[gaspee]

6. I've been around awhile

Don't post much though, and it isn't newbies. DU is surprisingly full of fans of police brutality under the so called "law and order" guise.

It kind of sickens me, actually. If dems/progressives are so pro-police, it's no wonder the cops get away with all the shit they do.

There are too many "tough guys" out there who are so willing to blame the victim and exonerate the cops that there will never be justice.

When the left is all in favor of a police state... well, I get sort of twitchy about my fellow citizens.

[Karenina]

9. It's not just newbies

although I, too, have noticed... There is a subset on the Amurikkkan population that feeds on brutalization of "the other." THAT is the very reason the "war" in Iraq continues unabated. It's quite sick, but it IS. Be it "coloureds," women, gay people or anyone who is "different," whatever atrocities they experience at the hands of the dominant culture is somehow justified. How DARE THEY defy authority!!! I'm SERIES111!

[Ignacio Upton]

12. I can't believe anyone is defending those assholes

Granted he was acting out of line originally, but he was HANDCUFFED and the police could easily have dragged his ass out of the room. It's also fucked up that the campus officers threatened to taser bystanders who were objecting. Tasers also physically subdue people, so asking the student to get up is bullshit.

[Hav]

14. .

He didn't comply but I can understand that one reacts pissed if one has the feeling of getting singled out.
I heard he got tasered 5 times, even while handcuffed? And yeah, I guess it might be quite hard to get up after that. After all, they were made to immobilize people...

But what made me really realize that this security guy shouldn't have the job was that he threatened other students. That made me think that this is just a power thing for some, a tool for a bully. "You want some, too? Didn't think so haha!"
Anyway, this guy should get fired.

[951-Riverside]

15. I wont name this particular long time DUer but I will say he/she works in the medical field

and supports any use of the tazer regardless if it appears the officer is in the wrong.

[Hubert H. Hubert]

16. Newbie here

You won't find a pro-Taser, pro-authoritarian bone in my body. The sudden popularity of the device is absolutely horrifying to me. They are being used far too often by lazy people who can't be bothered to try to resolve non-violent situations without the need for sending 50,000 volts through a person.

[pnwmom]

17. Welcome to DU, Hubert H. Hubert!

I agree completely. If the Taser hadn't existed, the officers would have done right away what they finally did at the end -- pick up the guy and haul him out. That's all it took.

[ncrainbowgrrl]

19. Locking.

If you notice posts that seem to indicate that the user writing the post may have taken a wrong turn and found DU, please use the alert button to let the moderators know.

Please don't start new threads for this purpose- it's not necessary, and frankly, counterproductive.

Thanks in advance for your understanding and continued assistance in helping to keep our community a welcoming and safe place for all.

-ncrainbowgrrl