Sit Down. Stand Up.

Now Less Lethal!

Yeah- so I don't really keep the old blog up anymore, but I was on CNN.com yesterday reading about the Florida student getting tasered and found myself continuing on to the reader comments posted at the end. I just had to share a few of the gems:

"When you have police escorting you out of somewhere...just go quietly and don't resist"

"The bottom line - if you are instructed by the police to do something you do it. Period."

"Repeatedly disobeying protocol at an organized forum and creating disorder isn't to be tolerated."

"Do rude people need to be controlled? Of course they should, it is good that police were there and ready to act. I say to the police, good job! "

"In my eye - you get what you deserve. Had he spoken out in a respectful and calm manner - I doubt he would have been tasered. "

Don't get me wrong- I'm not crying police brutality here (well, not at this point, at least). I realize that the full story is still coming to light. I also understand that, more often than not, the best way to deal with police is to be as cooperative as possible.

But "just go quietly and don't resist"- is that for real? Really? Is there a T-shirt I can buy? I mean, even in the context of the situation and the rest of the comment- really? Are people seriously OK with the BEST case scenario (given the information that we currently have) being that a 21 year-old-student who was resisting arrest was wrestled to the ground and tasered for . . . what? Disturbing the peace? Heckling? Rudeness?

The question for me is not "did the police follow the appropriate protocol?" but rather "is that type of response appropriate in the first place?" I'm not ready to get a tattoo or anything, but I'm pretty sure my answer is "no."