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**This is most certainly NOT in poor taste-- this is an example of police overpowering innocent university students. At heart, the principle is absolutely identical. This is a newsworthy event, it appeals to our national, cultural history, and it should be rightly chronicled as so in this encyclopedia. ] 19 September 2007. **This is most certainly NOT in poor taste-- this is an example of police overpowering innocent university students. At heart, the principle is absolutely identical. This is a newsworthy event, it appeals to our national, cultural history, and it should be rightly chronicled as so in this encyclopedia. ] 19 September 2007.
**Wow, that's very offensive. A split-second tazing of upper-middle class prankster for insulting a United States Senator is not comparable to a merciless beating by police officers for no reason other than racism. ] 21:22, 19 September 2007 (UTC) **Wow, that's very offensive. A split-second tazing of upper-middle class prankster for insulting a United States Senator is not comparable to a merciless beating by police officers for no reason other than racism. ] 21:22, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
***Er, what? The Kent State victims were white students shot for protesting Vietnam, not victims of racist beatings. -- ] 02:02, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
*'''Keep'''. This story is meaningful from several angles: the passivity of Sen. John Kerry, former candidate for U.S. President, the forebodings of the beginning of a police state in America, the loss of free speech, historically one of America's most treasured traits, and with all the video evidence, this story is not going away. This event may stand the test of time, much like the murder of four students at Kent State University during the Vietnam War.--] 11:31, 19 September 2007 (UTC) *'''Keep'''. This story is meaningful from several angles: the passivity of Sen. John Kerry, former candidate for U.S. President, the forebodings of the beginning of a police state in America, the loss of free speech, historically one of America's most treasured traits, and with all the video evidence, this story is not going away. This event may stand the test of time, much like the murder of four students at Kent State University during the Vietnam War.--] 11:31, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
*'''Keep''' - Let the facts be presented as the vision of Misplaced Pages allows for. This event is clearly of interest beyond news and internet video --for anyone wishing to research contemporary issues in free speech in the college system of the U.S. ] 07:37, 19 September 2007 (UTC)Benzl *'''Keep''' - Let the facts be presented as the vision of Misplaced Pages allows for. This event is clearly of interest beyond news and internet video --for anyone wishing to research contemporary issues in free speech in the college system of the U.S. ] 07:37, 19 September 2007 (UTC)Benzl

Revision as of 02:02, 20 September 2007

University of Florida Taser incident

University of Florida Taser incident (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log)
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WP:NOT#NEWS. The University of Florida police overreacted to a borderline heckler at a John Kerry speech. Footage was shown on television because it contained the memorable line "Don't tase me, bro!" and some print sources ran stories, but this has no lasting, encyclopedic interest. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 04:06, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

  • Keep. First, 'Footage was shown on television because it contained the memorable line "Don't tase me, bro!"' is not the reason I'm interested. In fact stating that this is the only reason there is interest is overreaching...and insulting. Obiter you do not speak for everyone...clearly! This is a current event of some interest; obviously. Stating that the line "Don't tase me, bro!" is the only reason there is interest and thereby qualifies the article for deletion is beyond ridiculous. Second, if the two videos are watched and listened to carefully one will quickly realize that everything stated in the article as of this point in time is accurate. In fact one can clearly hear an officer threat to tase Meyer before he begs not to be tased. Third, POV tags should NEVER be thrown without a reason being given. William (Bill) Bean 13:43, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    Um, I didn't add the POV tag to the article. Nor have I commented on the article's accuracy or who was "right" in this incident. You obviously have me confused with someone else. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 15:24, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    Comment: Where did I say YOU added the tag Obiter? Please point that out. What I'm saying is that the reason you give for killing the article is not the reason I'm interested in it. Further, I'm stating that you don't speak for me. That should be pretty clear. Perhaps you should work on your reading for comprehension skills. Just a suggestion. William (Bill) Bean 21:06, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    As you threw up your comment out of order at the top of the list, immediately after the nomination statement, it was logical to infer that it was a direct response to it. I'm befuddled by your assertion that I don't speak for you. I've never claimed to, nor, AFAICR, have I ever interacted with you before. Proposing a community discussion of this article has obviously elicited an emotional response from you, and I'm frankly at a loss as to why that should be so. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 21:36, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    You certainly make a lot of assumptions. "Proposing a community discussion of this article has obviously elicited an emotional response from you, and I'm frankly at a loss as to why that should be so." Obvious? Since it is highly unlikely that you read minds I can only assume that you are jumping to a conclusion without sufficient evidence. Shocking! What is obvious to me is that the people who are having a problem with this article do not know how to follow proper procedure. Beyond my faux pas at putting my vote at the top of the list rather than the bottom I do know two things with total certainty. When an article is tagged for POV a reason must be given. When an article is nominated for deletion that nomination should appear where the entire community can find it. Otherwise both are meaningless; for obvious reason. FOLLOW PROPER PROCEDURE!!! William (Bill) Bean 00:39, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
    I don't feel this is a conversation I need to continue. I will simply point out (again) that the nomination was indeed posted to the afd log for September 19 by the TWINKLE script, which does this automatically. This is because is was nominated at 4:06 Greenwich Mean Time on that date. You couldn't find it because (as you said) that you looked in the log for September 18. Even though it was still the 18th where you lived, it was already the 19th in other parts of the world. Do you understand this now? ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 01:02, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
    Stop with the "assumptions" and it will end. Do I get this now? No I'm too obtuse! Give me a slight break here. My ONLY concern is proper procedure. That is it! Now is there anything else you want to make "obvious" about me or are you through playing the passive aggressive game? William (Bill) Bean 01:27, 20 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. This is the Kent State shootings of our era, a demonstration of excessive police state force against students massively reported in the media. It is also reminiscent of the Rodney King beatings. Ejeder 13:19, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    • I must say, comparing this to Kent State is in rather poor taste. Phil Sandifer 13:32, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    • I will agree with Phil, above. Nobody was seriously hurt in this incident; nor did it involve a shooting of any sort. Tom Sullivan 1500, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    • This is most certainly NOT in poor taste-- this is an example of police overpowering innocent university students. At heart, the principle is absolutely identical. This is a newsworthy event, it appeals to our national, cultural history, and it should be rightly chronicled as so in this encyclopedia. User:Unidyne7 19 September 2007.
    • Wow, that's very offensive. A split-second tazing of upper-middle class prankster for insulting a United States Senator is not comparable to a merciless beating by police officers for no reason other than racism. Revolutionaryluddite 21:22, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. This story is meaningful from several angles: the passivity of Sen. John Kerry, former candidate for U.S. President, the forebodings of the beginning of a police state in America, the loss of free speech, historically one of America's most treasured traits, and with all the video evidence, this story is not going away. This event may stand the test of time, much like the murder of four students at Kent State University during the Vietnam War.--RuthStar 11:31, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep - Let the facts be presented as the vision of Misplaced Pages allows for. This event is clearly of interest beyond news and internet video --for anyone wishing to research contemporary issues in free speech in the college system of the U.S. 75.35.23.193 07:37, 19 September 2007 (UTC)Benzl
  • Support/Delete I agree. Already, we've had 1 user (not saying any names), going through and removing hidden notes, and people referring to the prankster as "douchebag". A delete is what this article needs. 04:09, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep - Huge story, of relevance and interest to the American and world public, and which users will come here looking for. This story will not go away or be forgotten, and thus merits coverage in our encyclopedia. Badagnani 04:09, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • No, you're incorrect. This is a rare example of use of force with a Taser on a college campus, against a student asking a question at a forum, something that doesn't happen often and raises questions about the use of force (specifically with an electro-shock weapon) in the United States. As such, it is a very high-profile example of the Electroshock weapon controversy and not to treat it would leave an illogical lacuna. Badagnani 04:22, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep Interesting event, during the election campaign, may spark debate about policing in the USA. I'm sure much worse happens every day, but this case is particular because there was a violent reaction, a will to censor political critique. A peaceful political opposer was tortured by electrical shock until he accepted to wear handcuffs and be arrested for no reason. This is a rare happening in the USA, normally political censorship and intimidation is more discreet. It's an interesting turning point, especially as it was ordered by the democrats who often oppose the heavy handed way the Republicans have of dealing with problems. Democrats have often campaigned for the use of tasers instead of guns, and gun control in general, this gives an interesting insight on how they may be planning to use them. Jackaranga 04:18, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Right. It's in the news right now, but it's unlikely that it will have lasting historic importance. And now we apparently have the danger the article will turn into a coatrack after the rest of us have forgotten about it next week. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 04:25, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete per WP:NOT#NEWS, this is a NN event. Just because lots of people watch it on YouTube does not make it notable. meshach 04:40, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Comment This is a great deal more than a "popularity of viral video" issue. First amendment rights, use of excessive force, student rights, and broadcast rights can all be seen in this article. Though there have not been many reported incidents of campus police use of excessive force, there have been other cases as well. I can see the article being incorporated into another article that deals with free speech, student rights, use of force etc., but for now it should stand. William (Bill) Bean 15:06, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep This is much more than a story about a prankster that loves attention. Using violence to put an end to what amounts to disorderly conduct is rather disturbing. It won't be long before this story is lost in the clutter of the ever changing news sites. At least here, we'll have a chance to view this story to its natural end. This is not always the case when relying on broadcast/cable news.Alecquaid 04:54, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete. WP:NOT#NEWS. No encyclopedic longevity. - Crockspot 04:55, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete - WP:NOT#NEWS - time will tell this event to be without lasting significance. If something notable emerges and there is more significance, a new article can be written with the benefit of more hindsight. Dlabtot 04:57, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete This is classic WP:NOT#NEWS MarkBul 05:05, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Comment - Wow, AfD seems to have died down. I still stand by my delete. This will end becoming a hatrack soon 05:20, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep This is a very notable story right now. Keeping and closing off edits for the time being until we see how impactful it really is may be the way to go User:Edgecution03 04:57, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete I agree with Dlabtot's statement. This is not notable, and if it somehow turns into the root cause of a major policy change, then the article can be re-created. This kid was being pulled out for disruption the same way a heckler would be thrown out of a comedy act, and the police used vastly excessive force. This sort of thing happens so much these days that police have a reputation for it, especially in certain communities but even in general. There was no lasting injury. A couple of years ago, University of Central Florida students were tailgating, and there was an altercation in which an undercover UCF officer had his gun drawn. An Orlando cop was in the area, and due to a lack of communication between the two police forces, the Orlando uniformed cop shot and killed the undercover UCF cop who had drawn his gun. Guess what? This story does not have an article, nor even a mention anymore anywhere in Misplaced Pages (no, this is not supposed to be a police brutality example, just an example of notability). Mbarbier 05:24, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Comment Umm, his/her point is not that an article should be created for that incident - but that an article rightly has not been created for that incident. Dlabtot 16:00, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • 'Comment' "Um" is not a proper way to start a sentence; just for future reference. Whether or not an article is created and kept is not up to you. It is a rightfully a community decision. Stating your opinion that "rightly" does not qualify for this article is all fine and good, but you do not speak for everyone. I'll be happy to remind you of this "sad" fact as often as necessary until you get it. I can see that it might be often. Finally, flagging an article NPOV without giving cause is in and of itself POV. I could also be considered vandalism. I strongly suggest you refrain from doing that in future. Your talk page indicates this is not the first or even second time you've done this. William (Bill) Bean 21:15, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep - We've got an article for Rachel Corrie of all people; this guy's just as notable. Evan1975 05:35, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete, per Not#News -- best handled at Wikinews:Student_questioning_Senator_Kerry_is_tasered. – Zedla 06:01, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep per Badagnani. --Itub 08:31, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. This was a news story, but it's not only a news story. There are enough references to it out there that, as Badagnani said, someone who missed all the coverage in 2007 may come upon a mention of it a year or a decade from now and want to know more. I don't agree with Tyler Warren that we should dump an article if people could look up the information elsewhere on the Web. We don't do original research, so most of Misplaced Pages's content is available elsewhere on the Web, and the rest is available in libraries. JamesMLane t c 09:48, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. Very significant event, not just a news article. Someone could want to read this article months/years from now. Connör 10:22, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep per JamesMLane. Darksun 10:24, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep why the hell would it be deleted? - mnuez —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.13.148.23 (talk) 10:43, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete This is not Wikinews. --ElKevbo 11:15, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep - Just one day since the event's occurrence, and this article has already been nominated for deletion. Amazing. Why on earth such a rush to delete??? Evidently some editors are blessed with psychic powers, able to determine that a month or a year from now this story will have been forgotten, and is thus of no lasting value -- and accordingly, not worthy of an article on Misplaced Pages. Or perhaps I'm wrong -- maybe they have access to that time-travel vehicle from Back to the Future. If so, I'd like to at least see some sort of physical evidence -- you know, a cancelled check or something like that. :)

Ahem. In all seriousness, this nomination is based on nothing more than a personal view that supposedly "minor" incidents of police abuse, where the victim wasn't maimed or killed -- aren't deserving of attention. That might be a valid argument -- if we were talking about Iraq or Afghanistan. But this sort of thing is not supposed to take place here in the United States. So unless it turns out that it was all staged -- nothing more than some sort of "performance art" on the part of both the student and the police -- it should be considered intrinsically worthy of documenting here on Misplaced Pages. But wait... that would be notable in itself, wouldn't it?! (And by the way, let's not forget that most online newspapers don't keep their articles online permanently.) Cgingold 11:27, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

  • Keep for now. At the moment, this is a major event, with plenty of non-trivial secondary coverage by major news organizations. Revisit it in 6 months and, if by then it's no longer considered major then it can be merged with the applicable articles. I have to express concern that some of the arguments above (on both sides of the issue) cross the line of WP:NPOV and WP:ILIKEIT/WP:IDONTLIKEIT. 23skidoo 11:56, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete - this is a subject for a wikinews article not an enclycopediac one. People feelings about the importance of the event don't change it being simply a newsworthy event. - Peripitus (Talk) 11:58, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep -- how can you assume so quickly that it does not have long-lasting encyclopedic significance? Surely we need to wait a while and see how it plays out to determine that. In the meantime, this clearly satisfies the first criterion of WP:BIO -- subject of multiple, independent, reliable published reports. Dylan 12:03, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Merge to List of cases of police brutality or some similar article due to recentism.... There is no telling that this event will have any actual historical impact. When it does beyond the initial media hype (as with all passing events), then perhaps a stand-alone article is warranted. It is way too early to determine the long-lived impact of this, and a case should be proven to keep it (other than to avoid deletion), not the other way around. —Erik (talk • contrib) - 12:44, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Sure it does. Read WP:NOT#NEWS and WP:NOTE -- the long-term historical significance has not been established for this. I was published in a few newspaper articles, so maybe I'll be a big deal someday -- let's create an article on me, shall we? This is not evidenced to have far-reaching impact -- it's just the topic of the week as far as anyone can tell. Not even the I-35W Mississippi River bridge has its own article about all the national press that it received. It didn't stay in the national scope forever, and there's no evidence that this will, too. I don't want to blank mention of the incident from Misplaced Pages, but it needs to be more concise (less WikiNews) and placed in a broader article. —Erik (talk • contrib) - 14:52, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep -- the massive media coverage more than establishes notability. As for the "performance art" argument, if it turns out that this was all staged, in my mind this does not diminish notability. I mean, if this was staged, it is probably one of the most successful (in terms of media exposure) acts of performance art ever; such an event -- a student successfully creating a scene that captures global media attention and provokes a "serious" national discussion regarding excessive force used by police and freedom of speech -- would perhaps be even more notable than a tasering incident standing alone. Interestingstuffadder 13:11, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep No question there is censorship in the United States, and also there are those who would censor any mention of this censorship, as evidenced by the sprinkling of delete votes here. But, sorry, it's a little too late to "keep a lid" on this one now; even the BBC has reported on it. Os Cangaceiros (Yippie!) 13:45, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Why isn't there an entry for this nomination in the September 18, 2007 nomination for deletion list? Damned hard to discuss a nomination like this, in the broader community, if no one knows where to comment on it. William (Bill) Bean 13:47, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Comment SOFIXIT already. Edison 13:55, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    Comment The person who threw the tag should fix it or the tag should be removed. William (Bill) Bean 21:17, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
    It's already listed at the log for 19 September. Just because it was September 18 in the United States when it was nominated does not mean it was September 18 everywhere else in the world. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 15:28, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Weak delete Keep Edited to add: per 494 news article about the event to be found at Google News search and 1.2 million views of the YouTube video of the incident. It is offensive to compare a publicity seeking student (perhaps the only white guy in this millenium who would call a black cop "Bro") who gets tasered by the police in their attempts to remove him when he stays at the microphone too long during a question and answer session, with four students going about their business at a university being shot dead by the National Guard, or with a young lady being crushed by bulldozers when she puts her body on the line to prevent homes being demolished, or with a man stopped for speeding and beaten half to death because of his race. Go to a political event, a town council meeting, a stockholders meeting, or any other forum and seize the microphone, refuse to yield it after asking a question, and you will likely be removed, by force. The force may be taser, mace, or just arm twisting, but you will eventually be carried out. That said, this is one of those stories which might or might not prove to be encyclopedic. We have the philosphy "notability is permanent" but so far this is just a news story, and per WP:NOT#NEWS it may be deleted. Our newshungry 24/7 newschannels take any titillating video footage and run it around the clock for a couple of days, and every paper runs lurid stories to try and coax coins out of someone's pocket at the news stand. This is not "Currenteventspedia." For that, see Wikinews. People wanting to look up this news story 2 years from now can check the NY Times online files. The news editors are not trying to choose enyclopedic stories. "Notability is permanent" implies that "only things with enduring notability should have articles." See also the essay WP:NOTNEWS which distinguishes between the encyclopedic and the merely "newsworthy." We might have a philosophy of creating an article about a newsworthy (but posibly not encyclopically notable event) and then later deleting it if coverage rapidly drops off, which is what I prefer. In such a case, our initial impression of notability was mistaken. If it has no enduring effect on society (such as laws passed, defeat of a political candidate, regime change at a college, new rules for campus police using tasers) it can be deleted later. Or in accord with "permanent notability" we can wait and recreate the article if it proves to have enduring importance. Who can say at this point what its long term effect will be? At least the story is appropriately about the incident and not the non-notable person. Edison 13:55, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Weak keep My guess is that there will be something else about this case that cements its notability, but my crystal ball isn't working very well. Saying that this should be covered at Wikinews is cute, but nobody actually reads Wikinews (I came here, looking for an article called Andrew Meyer; I haven't visited Wikinews in months—it is usually hours behind Misplaced Pages in getting news-like updates.) dcandeto 14:20, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. This incident might not be the Kent State of our time, but it is certainly newsworthy, particularly in the context of comparable incidents of police over-reaction in recent history (the UCLA taser incident, the Seattle WTO riots) that all are Wiki articles ApolloRPL 14:21, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. - This should not be deleted the day after it happened. Wait until the incident settles down, see what comes of it, and then reconsider it for deletion. The fact that it was even nominated for deletion this quickly is suspect. Digitiki 15:37, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Strong keep This article isn't about the student; it's about the incident, which is ongoing. It involved a US Senator, has been widely reported on by news outlets both online and offline, and has so far resulted in at least one investigation by the University of Florida. It's therefore pretty notable. The incident will surely be mentioned in Kerry's and the University of Florida's articles, so it's best just to link to its own page where the full incident can be explained.--Gloriamarie 15:40, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Comment. Most of the keep rationales that I am seeing here are based on the fact that this is a "major news event". This does not address the fact that, by policy, Misplaced Pages is not a news blotter. I am also seeing rationales that this story seems to support other collateral theories, which amounts to original research, which is also against policy. I have also seen at least one contributor who's first edit was to this AfD, which is suspicious in and of itself. I would hope that the closing admin will give these rationales their appropriate weight (ie., no weight at all), when determining consensus. This is beginning to look like the Zeitgeist the Movie AfD. - Crockspot 17:14, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete: As of now. This may turn into a big deal depending on what happens with the officers and the investigation. But as of now, delete per WP:NOT#NEWS. - Rjd0060 17:25, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep: Multiple reliable sources.
  • Keep: Widespread media coverage, multiple sources, significant topic. Xizer 17:55, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep: Very notable news event that is an example of a broader trend of Campus Law Enforcement violence, see UCLA_Taser_incident, the event has caused widespread campus protest and will quite likely involve legal response. Further it happened during a question and answer with a U.S. Senator, the setting itself adds weight. — Falerin 18:17, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep: If you think that the tasering of students is less important for an encyclopaedia than MediaWiki or any of the other random naval-gazing pages that you have, then you lot are all even more circular than I thought. If you are going to insist on notability then half the stuff has to go, e.g. every episode of a sci-fi show has a page for heavens sake!!! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.36.234.82 (talk) 18:19, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Strong Keep : Andrew Meyer may be a goofball but the incident showed unacceptable police brutality. Tasering someone for being a nuisance is a sinister development. It is a record of what the police do to those who dissent. The phrase : "Don't tase me, bro" has entered the lexicon of American dissenters. The article must be kept. Tovojolo 18:23, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Strong Delete - Too recent an event for an article. Wait a month or two so we can gain some perspective on the event and its impact and then recreate. At the moment, it is clearly NEWS. Blueboar 18:30, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep and stop wasting time with trying to delete things that happen to pertain to recent events - nothing in WP:NOT#NEWS supports deleting an article like this. Nothing there compels us to delete anything about an important event. It is merely a reminder that we don't need an article on every single homicide or traffic accident.
This story reaches beyond that. It touches on issues related to free speech vs. creating a public nuisance. Police brutality vs. maintaining order. It also touches upon long-standing sentiment (misplaced in my view) by a minority of the US electorate the Republicans are somehow "disenfranchising" people's vote.
Just because it is a recent event does not mean it is a news story. Some people actually thought we should delete Virginia Tech massacre because of WP:NOT#NEWS. This is not as big a waste of time as that effort was, but the same principle applies. Recent events can and should have a perfectly viable encyclopedia article.
This article complies with all Misplaced Pages policies and it is a far more useful reference (to give just one example) than any number of articles on minor British nobility who are someone "notable" because they were born into a bizarre caste system. Johntex\ 18:30, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep: the event has already become highly notable. The fact that it concerns police harrassment of a university student in a university hall in the USA when he was asking about issues such as the 2004 United States presidential election controversy and irregularities and the Movement to impeach George W. Bush to a former candidate for president of the USA makes it likely to remain notable in the long term. Whether or not it is correct that the 2004 US pres election was rigged, and whether or not it is morally/legally/politically justified to impeach Bush are POVs, but it is NPOV to say that these are questions concerning one of the most powerful people on this planet. The fact that someone asking questions which are implicitly critical of this extremely powerful person got jumped on by police in the supposedly academic setting of a university lecture room makes it unlikely that the notability could drop. Boud 18:37, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep. This is an important issue on the state of our police force, and on the right to freedom of speech. As a college student and as the editor of a newspaper that is covering this event, this page has helped me find links, sources, and facts. This is about a student being treated with unnecessary force while exercising his right to freedom of speech and his right to peaceably assemble on Constitution Day, of all things. The fact that some are tired of the quote, "Don't tase me, Bro!" does not make this issue unimportant.--Manda babylon 18:51, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
I'm a bit disturbed to hear that you use Misplaced Pages to research your journalistic work, and it is patently POV to assume that he was tazed for exercising his "freedom of speech". He was tazed because he was running aroung the hall being disruptive, pushing cops, and resisting his detainment. Tasers and pepper spray are used to subdue combative detainees, rather than risk hurting him or the officers by forcing him to submit through muscle power or a knightstick. Better to be tased or sprayed than end up in traction. I saw the video, he was running around like a fool, and he is lucky that he didn't get seriously injured. All of these arguments run counter to what this project is all about. It isn't a soapbox for radical students to "stick it to the man", it's an encyclopedia. - Crockspot 18:59, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Crockspot, your characterization that he was disruptive, running around like a fool, etc. is your personal opinion. I saw the same videos and I think he did none of those things. You want to delete the article because of your own POV.
As for Manda babylon using Misplaced Pages for his journalistic work, there's nothing wrong with that. He used it to find links, sources, and facts which he could verify himself. Nbauman 19:25, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Well there you go. Two opposing POVs do not necessarily equal NPOV. The guy obviously took a lot more steps around the hall than most people are allowed to take when the police want to detain them. I think they were very generous with him. As for using Misplaced Pages to find reliable sources, true, it is good for that. I guess I was also taking into account the POV that this journalist was expressing. If the view expressed above is repeated in his/her news reporting, then I would have a difficult time giving that reporting much credibility, as it would be obviously biased. - Crockspot 19:30, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
The point is that this article is important and suitable for WP whether or not Meyer's demeanor was appropriate, and whether or not the police were right to arrest him or taser him. Those are the issues that people are debating. You're trying to remove the debate from WP because you believe in one side. Nbauman 19:59, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

(comment?) I live in [[Bris

So it's probably Bush's fault that Kerry didn't jump in and start punching cops, no? I think I have to walk away from this discussion. My eyes are starting to glaze over. - Crockspot 19:38, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
His non-reaction makes it notable? Aside from not making sense, this is factually inaccurate. Kerry tried to address some of Meyer's questions after he was cut off, even though Meyer wasn't listening and was drowning him out. 21:49, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Kerry could easily have intervened; he had the microphone. He could have said, to the campus cops, "Hey! Wait a minute! This is America, and the First Amendment says people can ask questions of Senators. Let the man go." Instead, he said nothing about brutality toward a student who asked him embarrassing questions, in a scene reminiscent of Red China or the old Soviet Union, and which lost him a certain amount of support from those whoi supported him in his run for the Presidency. Then he said he had no idea the student was arrested or tasered, making him the only person in the hall whose powers of observation were so impaired. Edison 23:45, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Strong keep. This is an important incident, for those of us who believe in free speech. For those of us who don't believe in free speech, it may not be important, but they shouldn't censor Misplaced Pages for the rest of us. The very fact that people are so divided about it shows that it is a watershed conflict about censorship, and people will cite it forever. Cases like this go through the courts for years, and people will want to look up the background facts about it during that time. In addition, I found that the Misplaced Pages article had a very well-selected collection of links when a Google search gave me thousands of mostly-repetitive links, so I want to keep it simply because it's so useful. Nbauman 19:40, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
P.S. As an example of how good this article is, it has a link to a Fox News story with the only comment I could find by two lawyers, discussing the reasons why he could or could not prevail on the legal issues. Nbauman 20:11, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete This will probably be kept or done so by default. Obviously, it's hard to give a proper argument toward deletion of this article at this point, since it is a major news item, but I do not feel that it will have sufficient long-lasting notability. It would help if we could wait a week or so and then determine if an article should be made, but at this point, I would ditch it. Dannycali 19:43, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Comment: If it's on so many news sites as everyone claims, why is it "censorship" not to include it in Misplaced Pages? We're not an indiscriminate collection of information, nor as Edison put it, "Currenteventspedia". shoy 19:57, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
The reason why it's censorship not to include it in Misplaced Pages is that most of the people who argue for its deletion are arguing that it's not important because they don't approve of his demeanor or of what he was trying to do. Those who give greater importance to the First Amendment believe the abuse is important and the article is important. Those who give greater importance to being polite, to not annoying the majority of people and to following authority and the police believe the abuse is not important and the article is not important. People are arguing for its deletion based on their political beliefs. Nbauman 20:18, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Comment. No, they're not. They're arguing for its deletion because they don't believe the incident has demonstrated any long-lasting notability, as almost all of them have stated. They are having to deal with people who dislike that stance defaming them by ignoring their stated rationales claiming that their votes are politically motivated, or by making dark (and rather ridiculous) comments about how "putting the article up for deletion so quickly is itself a suspicious act." Binabik80 21:00, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
A little background. I happen to think that deputizing the campus rent-a-cops is a canonically bad idea. I protested against it when the administration did this at the University of Michigan back in the early '90s when I was a student there. That is hardly the issue. This video is simply this week's version of LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE. ObiterDicta ( pleadings • errata • appeals ) 20:25, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
But it's not like if we don't have an article on it, it's going to fall off the face of the earth. If it becomes an important and oft-cited incident, we report that. But if it doesn't, we shouldn't. shoy 20:32, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep I just got through reading the article on the UCLA taser incident last year, that was is still of interest, and this one will be to as a reference to similar topics in the future. --Michael Lynn 21:04, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep It's a very notable event that inolves many moving parts: A former candidate for U.S. President, a university format, police brutality, free speech, the use of recording devices and mainstream websites such as YouTube in quickly spreading news, and so forth. I agree that this is a pinnacle event for Generation Y. Sure it's not the same thing as Kent State, but it is a controversial issue that will be discussed for years to come. I'm sure now whenever people talk about Taser guns, this will be brought up. Whenever people talk about university police, this will be brought up. Whenever people talk about political speeches at colleges, this will be brought up. It has changed a lot of things and the way people look at them. Abog 21:07, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • "A pinnacle event for Generation Y"? How could you possibly know this given that it happened two days ago? Because you speculate that people may talk about this in the future does not mean that this is an important event. When it becomes one, then it is the time for an article. Gamaliel (Angry Mastodon! Run!) 21:12, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • It already has become an important event. Just like any other event becomes significant immediately after it happens. I've never heard of something being not important and then all of a sudden becoming important 5 years down the road. Abog 21:20, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
Does anyone even remember the UCLA tasing anymore? 128.227.126.157 21:13, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Plenty of important events happen without notice because their full implications are not known until later. This is a matter for historians and reliable sources to decide, not you, but you've already decided it's "a pinnacle event" based upon lord knows what. It's not important, it's just a passing news item. Gamaliel (Angry Mastodon! Run!) 21:24, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Delete or Transwiki (I'm not volunteering). Passing news item. Many users who have said "Keep" are proposing to use Misplaced Pages as a soapbox for advocacy, which it is not. If the article is nominated a month or a year from now, they can be expected to make the same arguments plus "notability isn't temporary!" even though we have no argument for notability except "It was on the news," and "It's notable to me." Gazpacho 23:41, 19 September 2007 (UTC)
  • Keep at the moment , 1275 news stories in Google Top News. The extreme interest now is a good indication of continuing interest--due not primarily to the police action alone, but the relationship with the presidential campaigns. DGG (talk) 21:23, 19 September 2007 (UTC)

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