"Don't Tase Me Bro' "--The Death of Civil Discourse

This past Monday Darnell Oldham, Sr., may have gotten himself permanently disinvited to Lansing City Council meetings. Oldham is apparently a bit of an eccentric who amuses himself by disrupting city council meetings. This week Oldham tossed a hangman's noose at the Lansing City Council. Oldham, an African American and Vietnam War vet, asserts that the noose symbolized the Lansing City Council's "lynching" of his right to free speech. Huh? To his credit, Council President Harold Leeman, Jr. is attempting to ban Oldham from future meetings. Good for him. Oldham is a proud representative of an ever increasing class of professional or semi-professional cranks who disrupt meetings and hi-jack events across the country every day.

Recently another professional disruptor interrupted a forum in Florida where failed presidential candidate John Kerry was speaking--or at least attempting to speak. Andrew Meyer, a University of Florida journalism student, repeatedly and forcefully asked Kerry why he conceded the 2004 election after multiple reports of disenfranchisement of black voters and rigged electronic-voting machines. Lest you doubt Meyer's illegitimate purpose, dear reader, shortly before he began his assault, he handed a video camera to a girl in the audience to film him. His intent was to post the video on YouTube, as he has done with other clips of his carefully recorded antics.

Meyer was given the opportunity to ask a question of Senator Kerry. He asked the question. Senator Kerry answered the question. Meyer then refused to leave the microphone and kept talking. Despite being asked to leave the auditorium and eventually being escorted out, he returned and continued to shout out his question. His efforts became so forceful, and his actions so disruptive that it took half a dozen security officers subdue him. He continued to struggle mightily with the officers, even as they tried to carry him out. Finally, they had enough. As one of the officers pulls out his electric Taser, Meyer is heard to exclaim (a little too late), "Don't tase me, bro. Don't tase me." So they taser him. His infantile behavior improved markedly.

What these people don't seem to realize is that their antics interfere with legitimate discourse and, yes, even the work that is being accomplished by these groups. The right to free speech does not give anyone at any time the right to completely disrupt the legitimate activities of the Lansing City Council, a John Kerry speech, or any other legitimate activity.

Meanwhile, back in Lansing, the throwing of a noose is never an acceptable means of expression--whatever the thrower's race. Such a racially charged outburst is beneath the dignity of anyone with a legitimate grievance and Oldham--and ninnies like him--should be banned from future meetings. His point, to the extent Oldham has one, could be made far more forcefully in a civil, coherent manner. If not to the city council, then to the newspapers, television cameras or elsewhere. Failing in that, Oldham should run for the city council then everyone will have to listen his opinions--good, bad or indifferent.

Of course, the Disruptor Class never really has the staying power to legitimately express their views or--heaven forbid--run for office and actually work for change or the positions they claim to advocate. They are more comfortable muttering in the shadows until their their moment in the sun. I've been forced to sit through more than my fair share of meetings that were made to grind to a screeching halt when some professional crank refused to be silenced after a full and fair opportunity to be heard. At those moments, I wish Tasers were standard issue to every city council.

Read more about it in the Lansing Journal. To read more about Meyer episode in Florida and see the video, Click here.