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Recently (post 9/11), most large protests have been cordoned off into so-called "protest cages" while the police presence seems much more omni-present. Anger over recent events (the first election of W, the war, enviromental concerns...) has escalated. I think cramming angry people who want to have peaceful demonstrations into out-of-the way locations makes them feel that their voices are not being heard and that the government thinks their opinions are of no value. Anger supressed becomes angrier. There are always a few that reach their boiling point and do something stupid, like throw rocks or worse at the police. Protests can become riots this way, things escalate and innocent protesters get hurt too. The threat of more force only serves to highten aggression. The plasma ray looks pretty bad compared to the isolated use of force against specific aggressors.
What concerns me more though is the description in the article about making this weapon cause the maximum amount of pain possible. (who said it burns the flesh?) Could this be just a bit excessive for protests and riots?
I like K925's idea of using it in combat. What a much more civilized idea for war. Stun the enemy troops, swoop in while they're unconcious and put them in detetion camps until peace is declaired. Well, it's a nice fantasy.
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Believe nothing, even if I tell it to you, unless it meets with your own good common sense and experience. - Siddhartha Gautama (The Buddha)
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