# Dont Tase Me Bro > Don't Tase Me, Bro is a 2007 viral video featuring University of Florida student Andrew Meyer's panicked cry to police during his tasering at a John Kerry Q&A event. "Don't Tase Me, Bro" is a catchphrase that went viral after University of Florida student Andrew Meyer was tasered by campus police during a Q&A session with Senator John Kerry on September 17, 2007[1]. Meyer's panicked plea to officers, captured on video and uploaded to YouTube where it pulled in millions of views within days, became one of the earliest examples of a real-life confrontation turning into a mainstream internet meme[13]. The phrase sparked heated debate about police use of force, free speech on college campuses, and the internet's ability to strip context from serious events and repackage them as humor[3]. ## Origin On September 17, 2007, Senator John Kerry spoke at a Constitution Day forum organized by the ACCENT Speakers Bureau, a student government agency at the University of Florida[5]. During the Q&A, Andrew Meyer, a fourth-year mass communication student originally from Fort Lauderdale, approached the microphone to ask a series of confrontational questions[7]. He referenced Greg Palast's book *Armed Madhouse*, questioned Kerry's concession of the 2004 presidential election, pushed for Bush's impeachment, and asked about Kerry's membership in Yale's Skull and Bones secret society[5]. Meyer had actually grabbed a second microphone that had been shut off after the moderator, Ambassador Dennis Jett, announced the session was ending[7]. Kerry intervened and told officers to let Meyer ask his question[5]. But after Meyer used the word "blowjob" (referencing Bill Clinton's impeachment), event chairman Steven Blank had his microphone cut[7]. Two officers then attempted to escort Meyer out. He broke free, shouted "Thank you for cutting my mic!" and the situation escalated rapidly[5]. Within seconds, four officers were restraining Meyer. While pinned to the ground and handcuffed, Meyer yelled "Don't tase me, bro!" just before one officer drive-stunned him with a Taser[7]. Kerry could be heard from the stage saying "That's all right, let me answer his question," but the arrest was already underway[5]. Multiple audience members recorded the incident. Videos hit YouTube the same day[4]. - **Platform:** YouTube (viral spread), University of Florida campus (source video) - **Creator:** Andrew Meyer (subject/speaker), unknown bystanders (video uploaders) - **Date:** 2007 ## Overview "Don't Tase Me, Bro" comes from a real incident recorded on multiple cameras at a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida in Gainesville. The video shows 21-year-old student Andrew Meyer being physically restrained by campus police after an increasingly heated exchange during a Q&A with Senator John Kerry[5]. As officers pinned Meyer to the ground, he screamed the now-iconic phrase just before being drive-stunned with a Taser[7]. The raw, chaotic footage, Meyer's frantic delivery, and the casual use of "bro" while addressing a police officer combined to create a line that was instantly quotable and endlessly remixable[14]. ## How It Spread The footage spread at a speed that was extraordinary for 2007. Within two days, the video was the number one viral video on the web according to tracking firm Unruly Media, and "Don't Tase Me Bro" hovered between 9th and 11th on Google's most-searched terms[13]. One YouTube upload alone pulled over 6 million views in its first few years, while another version hit 8 million[4][7]. News coverage was immediate. Fox News, the LAist, and Wired all reported on the incident within 24 hours[1][13]. NPR blogged about it days later[10]. By the end of September, the phrase had been added to Urban Dictionary[4] and was featured as Urban Word of the Day on November 1, 2007[6]. The internet responded with a blitz of remixes, mashups, parodies, and image macros[13]. Entrepreneurs rushed to register domain name variations like donttasemebro.com and donttazemebro.com[13]. T-shirts and bumper stickers appeared almost overnight[13]. The Daily Show referenced it, and the phrase entered mainstream late-night comedy[14]. Meyer was charged with resisting arrest and disturbing the peace[1]. He spent a night in jail and later accepted 18 months of probation in exchange for dropped charges[4]. Two officers involved were placed on paid leave pending an internal review[8]. On October 31, 2007, Meyer broke his silence in an interview with the Today Show, saying he did not profit from the phrase and felt people were "disregarding the seriousness of the situation"[12]. In March 2010, TIME named the video one of the 50 best YouTube videos of all time[9]. ## How to Use "Don't Tase Me, Bro" works in a few common ways: 1. **Direct quote** — Drop the exact phrase in response to any situation where someone is being overly aggressive, confrontational, or dramatic. Works in text, voice chat, or as a video comment. 2. **Snowclone format** — Swap "tase" for another verb: "Don't quiz me, bro," "Don't tag me, bro," "Don't @ me, bro." The structure is flexible enough for almost any context. 3. **Reaction clip** — The original video footage (especially the tasing moment) gets clipped and used as a reaction to situations involving overreactions, police encounters, or someone getting what's coming to them. 4. **Image macros** — Stills from the video, often captioned with the phrase or variations of it, circulated heavily in the late 2000s meme ecosystem[3]. ## Cultural Impact The phrase crossed over into mainstream culture almost immediately. Wired called it "the newest cultural touchstone of our pop-cultural lexicon" just two days after the incident[13]. It was referenced on late-night TV, comedy sketches, and in song lyrics[3]. The New Oxford American Dictionary recognized the impact by naming "tase" one of its words of the year for 2007[5]. TIME's inclusion of the video in its 50 best YouTube videos list in 2010 gave the clip a second wave of attention years after the initial frenzy[9]. The incident also forced a real conversation about Taser use on college campuses. The University of Florida Police conducted an internal review that led to recommended changes in use-of-force protocols[3]. Civil liberties groups, including the ACLU, expressed concern that the humor surrounding the phrase was distracting from serious questions about Taser safety[14]. On the commercial side, the phrase generated a small cottage industry of merchandise, domain names, and parody content[13]. Meyer himself trademarked the phrase and sold T-shirts, though the trademark lapsed by 2016[7]. ## Fun Facts - Meyer handed his camera to a complete stranger, Clarissa Jessup, moments before asking his questions. She filmed the iconic footage and later returned the camera to him[12]. - Six officers were holding Meyer down when he was tased. He was already handcuffed at the time of the drive-stun[7]. - Kerry attempted to de-escalate twice, telling police "That's all right, let me answer his question," but officers continued the arrest[5]. - The phrase was searched so heavily that it ranked between 9th and 11th on Google Trends within 48 hours of the incident[13]. - Meyer's original video upload received almost 40,000 new comments in just the first few days[13]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is "Don't Tase Me, Bro"? "Don't Tase Me, Bro" is a catchphrase from a 2007 viral video showing University of Florida student Andrew Meyer being tasered by campus police during a Q&A with Senator John Kerry[1]. ### Where did "Don't Tase Me, Bro" come from? It originated at a Constitution Day forum at the University of Florida on September 17, 2007, when Meyer shouted the phrase as police pinned him down[5]. ### What does "Don't Tase Me, Bro" mean? The phrase is Meyer's literal plea to officers not to use a Taser on him. Online, it became shorthand for any situation where someone faces an over-the-top response or escalation[6]. ### How do you use "Don't Tase Me, Bro"? Use it as a humorous response to aggressive behavior, or adapt the snowclone format "Don't [verb] me, bro" for various situations[14]. ### Is "Don't Tase Me, Bro" still popular? The phrase peaked in late 2007 but is still widely recognized. TIME named the video one of the 50 best YouTube videos in 2010, and it's considered a classic of early viral internet culture[9]. ### Who is Andrew Meyer? Andrew Meyer was a 21-year-old mass communication student at the University of Florida who became an involuntary internet celebrity after being tasered at a John Kerry forum[5]. He later attended law school and published a book about the experience[7]. ### Was Andrew Meyer's arrest planned? Meyer insists it was not. In his Today Show interview, he said "You would have to be a fool to intentionally get arrested" and explained he only brought a camera to record his questions[12]. ### What happened to the officers involved? Two officers were placed on paid leave while the university conducted an internal review of use-of-force procedures[8]. The department eventually recommended changes to its protocols[3]. ### Did Andrew Meyer profit from the phrase? Meyer told the Today Show in October 2007 that he did not profit from the phrase[4]. He later trademarked it in September 2007 and sold T-shirts, though the trademark lapsed by 2016[7]. ### What questions was Meyer asking John Kerry? Meyer asked about Kerry's concession of the 2004 election, whether Democrats should impeach George W. Bush, and Kerry's membership in Yale's Skull and Bones secret society[5]. ### Did John Kerry try to stop the arrest? Yes. Kerry told officers "That's all right, let me answer his question" during the confrontation, but police continued restraining and removing Meyer[5]. Kerry later said he was unaware a Taser was used until after leaving[8]. ### What book did Andrew Meyer write? Meyer published *Don't Tase Me Bro! Real Questions, Fake News, and My Life as a Meme* on Amazon in December 2018[7]. ### Was "tase" added to the dictionary because of this meme? The New Oxford American Dictionary listed "tase" (or "taze") as one of its words of the year for 2007, driven by the widespread use of Meyer's phrase[5]. ## References 1. [University of Florida Student Tasered, Arrested During John Kerry Forum | Fox News]() 2. [Don't Faze Me, Bro? Taser Business Rolls - The New York Times]() 3. [Don’t Tase Me, Bro - Internet culture vs politics - Viral Temple]() 4. [Don't Tase Me Bro! - Know Your Meme]() 5. [University of Florida Taser incident]() 6. [Don't Tase Me Bro! - Urban Dictionary]() 7. [Skull and Bones]() 8. [University of Florida Taser incident - Wikipedia]() 9. [Urban Dictionary: don't tase me, bro]() 10. [Whatever happened to the ‘Don’t Tase Me Bro’ guy?]() 11. [Don't Tase Me, Bro - YouTube's 50 Best Videos - TIME]() 12. [It's Taser Time! : Blog Of The Nation : NPR]() 13. ['Don't Tase me, bro!']() 14. [‘Don’t Tase me, bro’ student breaks silence]() 15. ["Don't Tase Me, Bro!" Jolts the Web | WIRED]() 16. [Why Don't Tase Me Bro Still Matters Two Decades Later - Thepilotworks]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/dont-tase-me-bro Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library