# Congressman attacks student for daring to ask him a question **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 15, 2010, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227 "2010-06-15T00:25:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 12
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/221 "2010-06-15T19:51:15Z")
Breitbart has proven to be a flat-out liar in the past, so why would it be a stretch to believe that he would do it again? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/222 "2010-06-15T19:51:57Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > In my opinion this was Etheridge showing his true colors. Any opinion of the true colors of the two “students” who ambushed him and are ashamed to show their faces? ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/223 "2010-06-15T19:52:16Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > So unless you want to believe that Brietbart is an out-and-out liar, he and his organization had nothing to do with setting up the confrontation. I definitely believe Breitbart is an out and out liar; I don’t know whether his organization is involved with this confrontation. It reeks more of the Leadership Institute/Campus Reform Tea Party gonzo video stuff actually. My guess is that they knew somehow that Etheridge was a weird old man and easily baited and they said something in the deleted part of the video that set him off. I doubt what they said was anything that deserved his reaction, but if they want to claim attack they’re the biggest pussies who ever walked down the streets of D.C.. Whether Etheridge would qualify as a public figure and be subject to the rules generally applied to them is a matter for debate. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/224 "2010-06-15T19:52:19Z")
Oh, here we go. **Dio** versus **Starving Artist**. The rest of us can fuck off to the pub for an hour and the thread will have 5 more pages of “nuh uh” “yeah huh!” ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/225 "2010-06-15T19:54:27Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Oh, here we go. **Dio** versus **Starving Artist**. The rest of us can fuck off to the pub for an hour and the thread will have 5 more pages of “nuh uh” “yeah huh!” I’ll spring for the first round if you go reserve the dart board. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/226 "2010-06-15T20:02:05Z")
> [@Starving\_Artist](#): > > He held the kid’s wrist for a good thirty seconds and ignored at least three requests to let go. [Cite (at :21, :41 and :46)](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZKie0Z4kaw) > > Then, when he did let go, it was in order to immediately grab the kid by the neck and yank him forward, followed by the shoulder crunch which was apparently intended to get the kid’s face into camera range. > > There was clearly no editing between the student’s greeting of Etheridge and the question “Do you fully support the Obama agenda?”, followed by Etheridge’s glaring tone and demand to know “Who are you? Who are you?”, followed by the camera smack. The entire encounter from the student’s greeting up to the point where the camera was smacked was uninterrupted. And given that the demand “Tell me who you are! Tell me who you are!” continued along the same vein while Etheridge held the student’s wrist in his grasp indicates to me that there was no other provocation in the meantime. > > In my opinion this was Etheridge showing his true colors. The baleful glare and tone of voice, the smacking at the phone, grabbing the kid’s wrist and refusing to let go followed by the neck grab and shoulder crunch, are all things that most people would not do under such minor provocation unless they were accustomed to behaving that way to begin with. > > I wouldn’t be surprised if an investigation into Etheridge’s past behavior toward underlings and other random “little” people in his life were to reveal a tendency toward intimidating and bullying behavior, combined with a touch of arrogance and superiority as well. > > How has it gotten to the point in this country where simply asking a Democratic congressman whether he supports a Democratic president’s agenda is a “weaseling tactic”? Thanks for posting this. You just saved me a lot of typing. **Dio** , I think you’re breaking with reality on this one, too. I would tend to agree with your position if there was any evidence that these kids were being obnoxious in-your-face little twits, like the guy Aldrin decked (my new hero). But I see no evidence of that. In fact, this whole incident is so bizarre because the congressman’s actions seem so inappropriate. Talk about your overkill. So, my question is what, specifically, leads you to believe that this kid (who looks more like high school age to me, not that it really matters) did that warranted physical confrontation? Both with the camera, which didn’t appear to be “in his face”, and the kid himself. **Czarcasm** : I’ve come to expect this hyper-partisan blindness from **Dio**. It’s his gift. But dude, come back to earth. You’re jumping the shark so high you should be able to see the curvature of the earth. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/227 "2010-06-15T20:05:22Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > My guess is that they knew somehow that Etheridge was a weird old man and easily baited and they said something in the deleted part of the video that set him off. What deleted part? As I said above, the part of the video showing the kid’s greeting, question about Obama’s agenda, the wrist-grabbing and phone-smacking are uninterrupted. Then when the video picks back up, Etheridge still has hold of the kid’s wrist and is still demanding - in the same tone and with the same demeanor - to know who the kid is. There is nothing about Etheridge’s tone, body-language, demeanor, or questioning to indicate that he was enraged by something said between the time the video is interrupted (as the result of his smacking the phone, btw) and the time it picks back up again. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/228 "2010-06-15T20:05:49Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > In fact, this whole incident is so bizarre because the congressman’s actions seem so inappropriate. It does seem bizarre enough that had Etheridge said, “That’s not what happened, they edited out X and Z and left Y!” I’d have backed him as strongly as **Dio** is doing. But the unconditional apology pretty much takes any wind out of those sails. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/229 "2010-06-15T20:06:46Z")
Hey, **Bosstone** , look who read **Starving Artist’s** post and declared _I_ was over the top! Last one to the pub pays for the whiskey chaser-you want ale or porter? ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/230 "2010-06-15T20:09:08Z")
And just what is it about my post that you consider to be over the top, **Czarcasm**? ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/231 "2010-06-15T20:10:11Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Hey, **Bosstone** , look who read **Starving Artist’s** post and declared _I_ was over the top! > Last one to the pub pays for the whiskey chaser-you want ale or porter? Shoot, even if I disagree with you on this argument, compared to those fine folk you haven’t even started up the hill. This thread calls for a drinking game. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/232 "2010-06-15T20:10:19Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > It does seem bizarre enough that had Etheridge said, “That’s not what happened, they edited out X and Z and left Y!” I’d have backed him as strongly as **Dio** is doing. But the unconditional apology pretty much takes any wind out of those sails. Yes. And that would make infinitely more sense. Both as far as the congressman’s actions go, or **Dio’s**. When I saw the video before reading this thread, the only thing I could come up with was that Etheridge must have just come from a place where he got some really bad news. I’m mean really bad. Still, “do not touch” is pretty easy to follow. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/233 "2010-06-15T20:12:38Z")
So have the videographers identified exactly what type of class project they were working on? I’d be interested in knowing what class it was for, what the project was, and who else they “interviewed” as “do you support the Obama agenda” is a bit of a vague question for a class assignment. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/234 "2010-06-15T20:12:51Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Oh, here we go. **Dio** versus **Starving Artist**. The rest of us can fuck off to the pub for an hour and the thread will have 5 more pages of “nuh uh” “yeah huh!” It also poses an existential and philosophical dilemma. Because **Starving Artist** is, by definition, always wrong. He is so fucking stupid and dishonest that not a single thing he says can be taken seriously by anyone with more than three functioning neurons. And yet he appears to be on the correct side on this particular issue. I just put “ **Starving Artist** is correct” into a logic evaluation engine, and the damn thing exploded all over the desk. The incommensurability of the two terms caused an infinite feedback loop that destroyed the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/235 "2010-06-15T20:15:32Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It also poses an existential and philosophical dilemma. > > Because **Starving Artist** is, by definition, always wrong. He is so fucking stupid and dishonest that not a single thing he says can be taken seriously by anyone with more than three functioning neurons. And yet he appears to be on the correct side on this particular issue. It works a lot better if you figure that his opinion is worthless, not actually negative of the truth. He can always be counted on to be anti-Democrat and anti-liberal; hence, what he says never actually matters. That his blind partisanship happened to dig up a truffle instead of a turd this time doesn’t really mean anything. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/236 "2010-06-15T20:16:00Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Any opinion of the true colors of the two “students” who ambushed him and are ashamed to show their faces? And who says the kids are “ashamed” to show their faces. According to Breitbart, someone in his organization happened upon the video after the fact and posted it to the Breitbart site. This would indicate that it was someone in Breitbart’s organization that obscured the kid’s faces, probably because they didn’t have signed releases allowing them to show the kid’s faces. See? The explanation is easy-peasy. No big mystery, no big conspiracy and no “shame” involved. ---
**Author:** ![Starving\_Artist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aeb1de/32.png) [@Starving\_Artist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Starving_Artist)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/237 "2010-06-15T20:19:41Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It also poses an existential and philosophical dilemma. > > Because **Starving Artist** is, by definition, always wrong. He is so fucking stupid and dishonest that not a single thing he says can be taken seriously by anyone with more than three functioning neurons. And yet he appears to be on the correct side on this particular issue. It’s most amusing to note how you always preface your grudging acknowledgements that I’m right with indignant and faux-intellectual declarations about how I’m always wrong…except for _this_ case. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/238 "2010-06-15T20:22:41Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Shoot, even if I disagree with you on this argument, compared to those fine folk you haven’t even started up the hill. This thread calls for a drinking game. It wouldn’t work-everyone participating would be trying their damnest to lose ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/239 "2010-06-15T20:26:21Z")
Meh. Partisans get aggro with videotaping a Congressman, said Congressman responds even more aggressively. It’s a wash: the aggro partisans are jerks and should be thoroughly investigated, esp. as to why they targeted this particular Congressman. The Congressman should be watched carefully for signs of unprovoked physical violence (though this stuff was definitely provoked). Otherwise the Congressman gets a pass: the fact that the students remain unidentified, the video was edited, etc., etc., and showed up first on the Brietbart site, means no one can reasonably take it at face value. In the meantime, I’m all for the drinking game. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227/240 "2010-06-15T20:32:15Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Any opinion of the true colors of the two “students” who ambushed him and are ashamed to show their faces? In the course of his trolling thE OP forgot to bracket “attacks” with “brutally” and “innocent”. Totally gonna fail at his Hannity “big lie” class at this rate. -Joe [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227.md?page=11) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/congressman-attacks-student-for-daring-to-ask-him-a-question/543227.md?page=13)