Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

Trust me, I’m a Daily Bruin columnist: Column 1

Thanks to the efforts of UCPD, Taser use will lead to more highlights on UCLA campus tours

Mostafa Tabatabainejad is totally guilty.

Some may say it’s premature to make conclusions about the incident last Tuesday, in which Tabatabainejad was stunned with a Taser five times in Powell Library after refusing to follow the orders of university police officers.

But I don’t think that’s jumping to conclusions.

It’s more like passing judgment over an event I know very little about and am mostly speculating on based on my preconceptions and personal agendas.

Or some other elaborate euphemism like that.

Either way, I carefully synthesized the scraps of facts that were available in those first 24 hours, cross-referenced them with my existing biases, came to my conclusions and joined the appropriate Facebook group: “Powell Taze: Taze Him Again!”

Public discourse blasted across the Internet faster than a Republican congressional scandal, shaping into a national news story almost overnight.

Facebook groups began sprouting up by the hour, polarizing our campus into two sides: UCPD-supporters and race-baiting terrorist-lovers.

Saying that Tabatabainejad was targeted because of his race is absurd, because I just don’t believe it.

Why would race be a motivating factor in the physical assault of a man of Middle Eastern descent who was making a scene in a crowded building in a post-Sept. 11 context?

Police officers are infallible beings, and it is our duty as Americans to trust their actions and not ask questions or demand inquiries.

If officers with years of experience felt it was appropriate to use a Taser, then they must have been correct.

After all, people with experience don’t make mistakes, and people in positions of power never abuse it.

Much attention has been focused on a study that said Taser use of three to five seconds can cause temporary inability to move one’s muscles for up to 15 minutes.

This means that if Tabatabainejad was stunned with the Taser for more than three seconds, he would have been physically unable to respond to the officers’ commands to stand up.

I’m not a forensic pathologist, but I am an international development studies student with an Internet connection, and after careful analysis of the video I’ve concluded that Tabatabainejad was stunned with the Taser each time for 2.9 seconds.

The only thing keeping Tabatabainejad down was his own crushing hatred for L.A.’s finest.

I think we should look at some of the positive sides of all this controversy: Now that millions of people across the U.S. have had the chance to watch the video, they’ve finally been able to see the beauty of Powell Library’s Romanesque foyer.

If only we could get someone pepper-sprayed in front of Royce Hall and tear-gassed on Kerckhoff Patio, we would have a fine YouTube recruitment series.

Do you think the other Jed is full of it like I do? E-mail this Jed at jlevine@media.ucla.edu. Send general comments to viewpoint@media.ucla.edu.

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