Disaster struck Monday when senator and former presidential candidate John Kerry visited the University of Florida campus to have a dialogue with students. One thing that bugs me are these “dialogues” that American political figures have with “the people.” A dialogue, according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is “an exchange of ideas or opinions.” It has been well documented that Bush and his people handpick the audience at their appearances to ensure that none of the attendees has an idea or opinion different from their own. And for the rest of the political figures in America, it seems that it is now against the law to question, jostle or challenge these leaders in any way. They attend these events expecting to be thrown softball questions that allow them to expound on their rehearsed political sound bites. In the case of Monday’s event, when a Democrat held an informal and fairly empty event, student Andrew Meyer seized an opportunity to ask John Kerry why he chose to concede the 2004 election on election day despite numerous voting discrepancies and scandals. Fair question. Meyer then went on to frenetically ask Kerry two more unrelated questions before university police cut his microphone and pulled him out of the auditorium. Then all hell broke loose. As you’ll see, this kid is a lunatic, but he’s a young college student asking Kerry a tough question not a rioter. My favorite part is when he yells “help! help!” and then later when he is on the ground he asks the police “what the fuck are you doing?” And Kerry, often blamed for being weak, doesn’t really step in and try to put an end to the madness.

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