UCLA student columnist defends tasering of student, asks readers to send him Rodney King jokes
Tasered UCLA student retains prominent civil rights lawyer, plans massive law suit
Sometimes I come across a DUMB@$$ so astoundingly arrogant, so colossally stupid, and so monumentally insensitive that I’m almost rendered speechless. Almost.
Let’s start at the beginning. Some of you may have already heard the story of Mostafa Tabatabainejad, who, when confronted by campus police at UCLA’s Powell Library, refused to show his school ID card. Tabatabainejad apparently felt that he was being singled out because of his ethnicity. Well, one thing led to another, and Tabatabainejad was Tasered by the campus police. If you want to see what happened, and I must confess that I really DON’T, you can see it here.
No, I’m less concerned with what happened, reprehensible as it was, than with David Lazar’s reaction to it. When you read his screed, with the opening line, “In my opinion, he was asking for it”, you have to recognize immediately as the work of a true, dedicated DUMB@$$. Lazar couldn’t possibly have written his column without having at least an inkling of the absolute shitstorm he was about to wander into. It’s not even so much that Lazar’s opinions can only charitably be described as “politically incorrect”. It’s the sheer arrogance of his opinions and the dismissiveness with which he treats what happened to Mostafa Tabatabainejad.
“In my opinion, he was asking for it.” Gee, d’ya think there might be ANY possibility that what happened to Tabatabainejad might have had something to do with his ethnicity and the color of his skin? Didja ever consider that possibility?? What about the possibility that the police officers involved may have overreacted just a wee bit?
And what’s with the “Send your favorite Rodney King jokes to….”? Could Lazar have cemented his reputation as an insensitive, clueless DUMB@$$ any more effectively? Not bloody likely.
Many question the use of any force in this situation, but force is not without its purposes. To keep the rest of us safe, officers expose themselves to the constant threat of violence, and some officers see their colleagues killed in the line of duty.
For this reason, there are certain tactics police use in order to protect their own lives, tactics that may seem brutal or heavy-handed if taken out of this context.
Uh, right…except that, by all accounts that I’ve read, Tabatabainejad was minding his own business, studying in the library…like most any other college student. He wasn’t plotting a terrorist attack, he wasn’t constructing a car bomb…he was studying. There was nothing dangerous about anything Tabatabainejad was doing. So WAS he singled out because of his ethnicity and skin color? Maybe. Maybe not. But what came after was absolutely inexcusable, and for Lazar to excuse the police officers involved in this incident is racist at best and unconscionable at worst.
We now know, in hindsight, that Tabatabainejad was not dangerous, but he might have acted in such a way to make the police worried about potential danger. People should take this into account before jumping to conclusions.
Regardless of whether or not the police used excessive force, we should all agree that Tabatabainejad is at least partially to blame for his less-than-brilliant behavior.
Uh, no…we shouldn’t. A student guilty of the high crime and misdemeanor of studying is Tasered in the library…and Lazar’s response is to blame the victim? Well, the police wouldn’t have done it without good reason, no?
Congratulations to David Lazar, our latest DUMB@$$ AWARD wiener: in my opinion, he was asking for it. And he deserves it.
