4 ms·
How are the drones even relevant to the discussion? There are people controlling some device in order to kill other people. Why does it matter that the device h
by rcthompson 13y ago
How are the drones even relevant to the discussion? There are people controlling some device in order to kill other people. Why does it matter that the device happens to be an UAV in this case? How is it different if the device in question is instead a cruise missile? A rifle? A knife? A fist?
To me, the whole discussion about drones is a big misdirection that uses people's irrational fear of "killer robots" to make detractors forget that ultimately, there's a human pulling the trigger.
Who cares if Obama authorized a drone strike to kill a US citizen abroad? What I care about is that he authorized an assassination of a US citizen, not that he chose "drone strike" as the method.
- TeMPOraL 13y agoI think complaints are not about drones per se, they are about the US drone program. It doesn't matter whether it's an UAV, a manned aricraft, or a rocket propelled chainsaw. What matters is that there's a program of systematic murder of innocent people on the other side of the globe without any formal declaration of war.
- rcthompson 13y agoMy point is that most of the complaining is about the drones, and it shouldn't be.
- gorhill 13y ago> "How is it different if the device in question is instead a cruise missile? A rifle? A knife? A fist?" I am pretty sure it's easier to dehumanize people when they are merely pixels on a screen.
- rcthompson 13y agoThat's true, but it's missing my point. The whole "drone war" is being cast as robots killing humans, mostly ignoring the fact that humans are making every decision about who to kill. This puts the focus of the debate on the technology instead of where it should be, which is on the people who have decided that it is ok to kill other people. So people protesting the program are demanding "Stop using drones!" when they should be demanding "Stop murdering people!"