by Sixstrings » Thu 24 May 2012, 16:37:41
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('mattduke', 'C')hief Deputy Randy McDaniel of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office in Texas told The Daily that his department is considering using rubber bullets and tear gas on its drone.
Our courts are failing us, and it's very sad.
This is one of those things that's so obvious, a good SCOTUS should find a reason to declare it unconstitutional. This isn't what America's about -- armed drone police, Jesus.
And here's why this is such a bad idea..
In democracy there is always some friction / healthy give and take between the People and government. In troubled times the People protest, march for civil rights or march for the environment or march for jobs whatever.
At least in the old days, the police were human beings.
If we go to using drones then it becomes way too easy to just push a button and shoot a protester from the sky, or a "suspect" for that matter.Requiring that human beings do policing, and that they be more toned down than the military, that's what protects our rights. Even with humans we've still had rare incidents like Kent State in our history -- but with drones it all becomes way too easy,
you're detaching humanity from the use of force. This is a huge ethical cliff.Also with human police, and never using the military on our own citizens domestically, when we do get civil disturbance there's some give and take. If people are protesting in the streets long enough then eventually somebody in government decides to maybe address the problems. This is what America has always been about, from union-pinkerton clashes to war vets camped out protesting Hoover in the Depression.
If somebody can just push a darn button and unleash a fleet of robot drones that's not good.People need to THINK about where this is headed. What if you're stopped one day by an aerial police drone -- DO YOU WANT TO DEAL WITH THE DRONE OR A HUMAN BEING?
What if the drone makes a mistake? What if you're targeted mistakenly, like a software glitch or human error back in some cubicle ten states away?
It's really bad stuff, but there's nobody in government or the courts who will say this crosses the line.
Good find, but this will get merged and buried in the THE Drone thread.