So, apparently that was wishful thinking

[conuly]

Well, shit. A goddamn sniper? How the fuck is that supposed to improve matters? And a robot bomb? Is that a thing? Since when is that a thing?

So, um, yeah. I don't even know what to say about this, so I'm going to just... post my previous articles (in another entry) and deal with current events later.

Comments

[ironed_orchid]

That sounds like a good strategy.

[alatefeline]

Yeah.

[alatefeline]

I laughed out of sheer shock. Apparently now police have bomb robots to PUT the bombs there instead of defusing them. I know that is a ridiculous detail to fixate in the midst of it all, but it seems telling.

[conuly]

It's not ridiculous. Actually, it's the most worrisome aspect of all this to me.

Random snipers are random, but the cops? Not so much. They're organized. You can't do much with random snipers other than try to identify them beforehand and, if applicable, solve any legitimate grievances they might have. But bomb robots? Why the hell would a legitimate government need those? Okay, to take out snipers... but when does this come up? And they just had one on tap?

[alatefeline]

Yes, that's the telling part, and clearly you've thought it through more than I have. When the arm of force of a community is more dangerous to the community than its absence, something is very very wrong.

There is a vicious cycle of violence and mistrust here. It feeds into the militarization of police, the acceptance of police brutality as a tool of oppression, the removal of the opportunity for police to be helpers instead of thugs, and the deaths and injuries of police and civilians being treated as necessary casualties. It operates semi-automatically through polarization and fear, and willfully through the choice not to see or reach out. As soon as I saw the news I started thinking about all the tells in the initial article how this was going to be spun to legitimize police violence in the court of public opinion and how it all goes back to the situations of millions of innocent people who are treated like criminals or worse in their own home. Meaning that the police officers killed and the casualties of police killings are both victims of the same system of oppression. But while they certainly deserved better, at least the police officers had made the choice of entering a risky job. It is difficult to speak to this awfulness in any remotely appropriate way. I don't want to diminish these deaths, but I also don't want to diminish those of everyone else.

And gods, I'm just exhausted. There is no less worrisome aspect, there is no bit I can't point to and say, "okay, this is awful, but here is something better." Maybe the activists who are carrying on...maybe...but they are legitimately angry and heartbroken right now and...I think this is a moral failing but I just can only read so much of the news right now... I was thinking today that Orlando was the old news, and my gods, how can that even be old news when it's just this summer and...and that's just in the U.S. and in major headlines...I'm rethinking a lot. And running from thinking a lot. I feel very very very small.

[kyrielle]

Temporarily trying to be fair, bomb-defusing robots (which is what they did this with) are _also_ able to carry a charge they can set off in order to set off any other explosives near them (when defusing isn't an option). Basically, "we're not sure how it triggers or how to stop it, so blow it up".

Which they then did to a person.

But...I'm horrified at the precedent and the idea being out there, and also, wifi/control signal security? And just not good that they came up with it, because like you say, they normally do think things out....

[kyrielle]

(Um, "think things out" not in the sense of going thru all details and consequences, but more in the sense of "doubt something like this came up totally out of the blue" even tho in theory it _could_ have.)

[conuly]

No, I got you.