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Tech Wars In Meat Space

Posted by michael on from the less-lethal,-and-other-euphemisms dept.

Starfish writes: "Police and protesters are asking if new technologies used by both sides will turn street protests into bloodless, but also meaningless rituals. Real protest robots, phaser-like weapons, and other cool gadgets are discussed in this Village Voice article. Good heads up about the Ruckus Society's tech action camp in October."

4 of 151 comments (clear)

  1. Elitist Revolts in History, part 1 by Ars-Fartsica · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Don't forget that other great romantisized revolt, where a small cadre of wealthy, elitist intellectuals led the trash of the countryside into armed conflict - the American Revolution.

    You're of course only highlighting the inherent contradiction in a democratic society - free speech that threatens free speech.

    Well, in any case you live in a corporate republic where the flow of information is controlled by increasingly narrow interests, so you have to wonder what we're preserving in any case.

  2. Re:Meaningless ritual? Not if there's a camera aro by SubtleNuance · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I am a veteran of a couple large-ish Anti-Capitalist protests (Windsor, Quebec). Let me assure you, there are certainly agent-provacateurs amoungst the crowds. The police badly need to justify their overwhelmning threats of violence. While I was marching with the Windsor-Detroit Communists (we had grown to about 800-1000 on the streets in Quebec) we were joined at the front by someone who was as obvious as could be. He reputed to be a local Communist (though our known-local-contact didnt know him) he was dressed in 'casual wear' like it was haloween and asked *alot* of odd questions with regard to our direction and intent. It was almost laughable. We later made a film and this person features prominently in it.

    Now, it is also a known fact that radical movements, like the present anit-capitalist one, will become paranoid and dillusional. Those involved will cease to trust 'outsiders'. The solution to this I fear is absolute honesty, why keep secrets at all? If you are completely honest about your intent there is no need to keep secrets.

    What to help ruin the present Plutocratic Picnic? Join the FIGHT! See protest.net.

  3. Re:Cops will have the bots... by lavaforge · · Score: 2, Interesting
    This leads to an interesting question:

    If protesters were to use non-lethal force against the authorities, would the authorities be permitted to step up to lethal force to "protect" themselves? I see a probability that the police might use non-lethal force as nothing but an antagonistic agent in order to cause some good old fashioned patriotic carnage...

  4. Re:Meaningless ritual? Not if there's a camera aro by Peter+Dyck · · Score: 2, Interesting
    the general public wouldn't have had a clue about what the protest was about - all they saw was a bunch of "anarchists"

    On the other hand, had there not been violence the general public would have been fed pre-digested propganda how the G8 countries are going to make the World into so much better a place. I doubt they would even have shown the peaceful demonstrations.

    Not that I accept the violence, though.