“Who are you? Who are you?” No this is not the start of a CSI episode, or a Who concert, but the mantra repeated over and over again by Rep. Bob Etheridge (D-NC) in the course of his assault on a “student” who asked him nothing more than “Do you fully support the Obama agenda?” he says “Who are you?” or “Tell me who you are?” over 10 times in the course of the 1 minute 11 second video version I saw. In fact he does not say much else.
His actions spoke louder than his words. He acted like a fed up celebrity confronting a paparazzi, but he is not. He is an elected official, a public servant, and nothing justifies his grabbing the individual questioning him by the arm, knocking the camera out of his hand, or grabbing him by the neck. He acted like he had been threatened, insulted, or generally accosted. He was not. The individual addressed him respectfully and asked him a simple question. It was not personal, controversial, or even rude.
Questions have been raised over whether the individual is indeed a student as he portrayed himself, but this is really irrelevant. It serves as an attempt to spin it so that if the individual was being deceptive then Etheridge’s actions were somehow justified. No matter who the individual was the representative’s reaction was violent, excessive, and likely criminal. Nobody has the right to assault someone else no matter what the spin.
Whether DC authorities will have the nerve to take it as far as criminal prosecution remains to be seen, but I would doubt that they do. If this action were taken by a tea party attender or any other common citizen, I bet their treatment would be much different if also caught on video. Rank, as they say, has its privilege but some ranks come with responsibility and rules of behavior.
I would ask the representative who he was. Is he above the law? Is he setting a good example? Is he upholding the standard of his office? No, no and most definitely no.
