Equal Time Radio

No one doubts the lack of civility in our present culture and that adds to a general perception that we are not safe. Our mass media feeds us a steady diet of lurking dangers and we lap it up with alarm systems and anti-bacterial gels and extended insurance coverage, giving “personal protection” a whole nuther meaning. How real these fears or how manufactured, we are certain only that they sell a lot of products.

From the BBC:

US stun gun maker Taser is unveiling a sleeker version of its controversial weapon aimed at safety and fashion conscious members of the public. Available in pink, blue, silver and black, the gun fits into a handbag like a mobile phone. (full article)

Yesterday when Arizona-based Taser introduced this new weapon, it’s a safe bet that they left out certain information in their sales pitch. At the top of that long list is the company’s financial picture. They’re hurting. Numerous articles mention their falling stock prices. While I haven’t found reliable current figures, their slide began in the first quarter of 2005 with stock off 60% of its value; one source puts that number at 87%. Why the nosedive? One reason, perhaps the main reason, is slumping orders from professional police and military organizations. Why that? Because 50,000 volts of electricity into a human body not only incapacitates, it can kill. (Taser is mum about the strength of its new model; it will be sold inert and then activated. However, they have not denied that the new version will have the strength of 50,000 volts). There is a plethora of documented death by taser - one source lists 150 in the US and Canada between 2001 and 2005 - but “documented” is the key word since most often the death results from heart failure and that’s how the death is recorded. Robert Bagnell’s story is one of those.

Another unmentioned in sales tactics was probably Amnesty International’s efforts to ban the uses of all tasers. Their Excessive Use Of Tasers In USA briefly explains and more completely here. Some of the stories resulting in legal actions against tasers are here.    

Nor did the Taser sales reps probably mention the absolute lunacy of introducing a mostly unregulated and potentially lethal weapon into the hands of a scared and trigger-happy public, which can only be desribed as a glittering example of corporate greed without regard for our country’s welbeing. Leaving aside the boon to criminals this taser will be, imagine a spooky glance, a benign threat perceived as hostile, an out of control argument, a child that won’t behave…well, one’s mind can run wild with these scenarios. At azcentral.com you can read what a few of our fellow citizens have to say about the soon-to-be-hip Taser CZ. This comment by macho8319 caught my eye:

“I hope the consumer version has a voltage dial that goes up to 11.”