Author: Marty Cramer
A hoard of protesters marched outside the Group of 20 summit in Pittsburgh, demanding that steps be taken toward achieving world-wide economic stability, the Associated Press reported. The police present took the opportunity to unleash the latest in experimental weaponry in an effort to disperse the crowd. It’s called the LRAD, and its use at the conference suggests that technological companies are sliding down a slippery slope of dangerous new developments. The moment the police decided to utilize the sonic device, they blurred the line between devices used for militant purposes and those used for civil purposes. As of yet, no one, including the company that developed the LRAD, has officially taken responsibility for the event.
The American Technology Corporation (ATC) created the long range acoustic devise (LRAD) with a specific purpose in mind: to improve communication between crowds and police, ideally diffusing potentially deadly situations. “LRAD resolves uncertain situations and potentially saves lives on both sides of the device by combining powerful voice commands and deterrent tones with focused acoustic output to clearly transmit highly intelligible instructions and warnings well beyond 500 meters,” the ATC posts on its Web site.
The LRAD is marketed and distributed under the term “device” in an attempt to undercut speculation that it’s actually a dangerous weapon. However, there is a stark disconnect between theory and application. The LRAD received its first major media attention in 2003 when, according to BBC News, the U.S. and U.K. troops used it to combat Iraqi insurgents. It was seen again in 2005, when a cruise liner “deployed a military-grade sonic weapon” against hostile pirates off the coast of Somalia. The BBC further specified the same mechanism that erupted in Pittsburgh can even cause permanent damage to a person’s hearing or even aneurysms from 300 meters away.
That same “sonic weapon” was turned on the public last week, sending a clear message to the American people. By blasting protesters with the LRAD, the police, and more importantly the government that regulates them, imply that violent Somali pirates and political activists should be treated the same. This creates a grave atmosphere for us as Americans.
When the police blasted their fellow citizens with the sonic cannon, they attempted to silence the Constitution itself. The First Amendment guarantees free speech and the right to protest, rights that cannot be destroyed by sonic cannons or any other weapons. But allowing police to utilize the LRAD to silence protesters, the U.S. government attempts to do just that. This event brings light to a terrifying prospect: an ongoing civil war against American protesters and political activists. Many citizens, however, will be terrified by the government’s science-fiction-themed weaponry, and will be too terrified to speak out against political corruption. If the people cannot openly express their political critiques without being subdued with military-grade weapons, then the fundamental ideals of our nation have been tainted.
Marty Cramer is a sophomore ECLS major. He can be reached at cramer@oxy.edu.
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