Its manufacturers hope this neat, compact, little machine will become the hottest fashion accessory of 2007.
Every cool dude needs one, and they come in a range of stylish colors – pink, blue, silver and black – to compliment one’s cellphone, Ipod, or Blackberry.
In case you’re in any doubt as to its identity, this is a Taser. Point it, squeeze the trigger, and ZAP! Yes, a quick injection of 50,000 volts into the poor unfortunate who dared to upset you.
Of course, if your victim has a weak heart, or uses a pacemaker, you may kill them – but what the hell! – it’s only another of those fun toys…….and in the majority of states you don’t even need a permit!
Can’t resist? This little baby will set you back well under $1,000. At that price, why not have a matching pair?
Taser’s chairman, Tom Smith, would have you believe everything written above is true. However, before rushing off to Wal-Mart you may like to take an hour or so to go HERE and read not only what these things do to people, but what effect they have on those who use them.
According to Tom Smith: (via the BBC)
“The new device brings our life-saving technology into a new, consumer friendly form factor designed to provide a safer, effective means of personal protection.”
Strange, considering Amnesty International argues they’ve been linked to 150 deaths since 2001.
The weapons are designed to administer 50,000 volts for five seconds. No scientific research has been carried out into the effects of such a powerful burst of electricity – police officers experiencing the effects for just a second or so describe it as the most agonizing pain they’ve ever known – yet these devices are now available in America to members of the general public and are carried by almost every police officer in the country.
What is the matter with us?
Why are we so scared of our fellow humans that we need to invent such heinous devices, let alone market them as a fashion accessory? The Taser was originally billed as a device to save lives by constraining without the need for firearm use. In Britain, while Tasers are available to certain police officers specially trained in the use of firearms, they are not standard kit. Eight out of ten UK police officers would like to have them. Senior officers are concerned that, if they do, it may effect the relationship between the public and the police.
It will. They are right to be concerned.
The Taser may have a very minor role to play in official policing. Instead, there is much evidence it is used indiscriminately by officers as a handy way to bend victims to their will. The British police have proved over the years that firearms are not necessary for good general policing, provided that policy is backed by strict, nationwide, gun control. In America, the policy is to meet violence with greater violence. Statistics show, beyond doubt, that it does not work.
The Taser is a dangerous weapon, not a fashion accessory. It’s use should be curbed by stringent federal controls, as should the possession of any firearm.
Why Americans in particular should show such fear of one another is difficult to fathom, but unless they are prepared to take drastic steps to alleviate the root cause of that fear – the weapons they keep to defend themselves from each other – the innocent victims of such devilish creations as the gun and the Taser will continue to die.
Filed under: Devilish creations