It is clear that the tasering incident and the Bush administration do not seem the least bit related to the writer. Bush, in his opinion, is just as an easy scapegoat the paper chose to drag into the situation for a little more unwarranted battering. This is quite telling. This belief alone sheds much light on why the writer is unable to see the connection between incidents. But there’s more.

Stating that other “free speech” issues deserve more attention that this is a most unfortunate choice. This off-topic distraction it is a base red herring which attempts to render the topic at hand irrelevant. It is most definitely not.

And I’m not even going to begin unpacking the ideological blocks the author illustrates with a comment like “It’s not about free speech anymore, it’s about politics.”

I understand that this is an opinion piece, and that opining doesn’t necessitate political awareness. I also understand that many psychological studies show that people (especially young people) judge people who are similar to them much harsher than they judge those unlike them. Perhaps this is what is happening here. Regardless, I just really expect more from an opinions editor - and from a student paper that sets out ideas for the student body - than critiques flimsily built upon foundations of “Yeah, I don’t get it, therefore it can’t be worthwhile.” This is especially true when difficult politics that are detrimental to student rights receive praise through such shoddy logic as your writer’s.

p.s. — as for one reason why free speech and politics can not be extracted from one another here: THEY TASERED A STUDENT FOR ASKING QUESTIONS ABOUT OUR COUNTRY’S VOTING PROCESSES IN AN OPEN Q&A SESSION!