Laser Pen Danger to Aircraft

[Smurf1976]

"Police statistics over the past decade (1997-2006) reveal substantial increases in youth violence across Australia."
- Professor Paul Mazerolle is director of the violence research and prevention program at Griffith University.

But if you want to believe that youth violence is not a problem and that violent media is not a contributing factor then I think you're being incredibly naive.

The basic principle of deterring crime is that there will be some form of punishment for those who offend.

Trouble is, a fist in the face or a glass smashed over someone's head doesn't result in any real punishment. A slap on the wrist and straight back on the streets ready to re-offend at the first opportunity.

Blame "smart" lawyers, slack judges and pathetic laws for this situation. The legal system (as distinct from a justice system which we don't have) has become an outright joke and that's well known, hence there's no disincentive to crime these days.

 

[Chris45]

That site seems unlikely to be objective about the issue, and I didn't see any statement of statistics.

Well, here’s a statistic for you:
“From 1997 to 2007, the number of young people charged with assault rose by 48%.”
- Australian Institute of Criminology (2008) Australian Crime: Facts and Figures, p. 59

I’m not going to get bogged down in a futile debate with you where everything has to be proven. If you believe that modern media has no significant influence on people’s behavior and there’s nothing to worry about and everything is fine with the world, then I’m sure there will be nothing I can say that would cause you to think differently. Anyway, there doesn’t seem to be any real will in the community to try and reverse the trend towards increasing violence so there seems little point in discussing it further.

However, I wonder how you would feel if one night you were driving along a highway at 110kph and someone shone a laser in your eyes (or threw a brick at you) causing you to crash and quite possibly sustain very serious injuries. But that’s OK, “it was just a laser” and he wasn’t intending to cause you to crash “it just seemed a un idea at the time”.

 

[Mr J]

Well, here’s a statistic for you:
“From 1997 to 2007, the number of young people charged with assault rose by 48%.”
- Australian Institute of Criminology (2008) Australian Crime: Facts and Figures, p. 59

I'm not saying whether you are right or wrong, but the statistic is on arrests, not offences.

I’m not going to get bogged down in a futile debate with you where everything has to be proven.

If you are going to make a claim, you should support it with evidence rather than emotional statements such as "how would you feel?". My feelings having nothing to do with it.

f you believe that modern media has no significant influence on people’s behavior and there’s nothing to worry about and everything is fine with the world, then I’m sure there will be nothing I can say that would cause you to think differently.

I believe it is possible that some people may be influenced by repulsive acts shown in media, but I also believe these people are the type to commit these acts independently of media. I don't think it is likely that a good kid starts watching violent movies, and then decides to start beating up other kids. I'm sure I read that peer pressure is the greatest influence for most, and the rest seemingly come down to environmental, psychological or chemical factors.

You won't change my mind because you haven't made a good argument, not because my mind is unchangeable. I think it's interesting that you jump to the conclusion of media, rather than acknowledging other factors that have proven to be significantly influential, such as social and psychological issues.

 

[noirua]

This website with its links are a concern. Should these green lasers be banned worldwide?: http://www.skypointer.net

 

[seasprite]

We had a pilot get "lasered" at the company I work for last year while coming in to land. He said one of the things that happened was the green light bounced around the cockpit as it got reflected off various surfaces.

I have been lasered once , fortunately it was a moonlit night and the runway lights were activated. Apart from that there is nothing worse than doing frost protection and the orchardist waves you in with his torch instead of using the handheld radio you gave him.

On another more humorous note about night vision and flying, another colleague was once coming into land at Sydney at night on a charter flight in a smaller aircraft with Japanese tourists on board. On short final he felt a tap on the shoulder so he turned around only to cop a camera flash in the eyes. Destroyed his night vision and he told me that he could only just see the runway and land safely.

hardcase , I guarantee there were a few 4 letter words when that story was told.

 

[Chris45]

Well, here’s a statistic for you: “From 1997 to 2007, the number of young people charged with assault rose by 48%.”

I'm not saying whether you are right or wrong, but the statistic is on arrests, not offences.

Probably as good an example as any for why continuing this discussion with you is pointless.

 

[Mr J]

Maybe you're happy to fill in the blanks with assumptions, but I am not. More may have been charged because violence is up, or perhaps people are more likely to report it these days. I can't discount the latter because when we had fights at school, it never went further. These days it does seem parents are far more likely to have the other kid charged. There's also no reference to whether the youths are more violent, or just acting more on their violent nature. I'm sure there are many other possible explanations. You're not willing to consider anything other than youths are more violent, so yes, discussing this with me is pointless. You have already made up your mind.

 

[nomore4s]

LMAO

Maybe you're happy to fill in the blanks with assumptions, but I am not.

The statement above is followed by:

More may have been charged because violence is up, or perhaps people are more likely to report it these days. I can't discount the latter because when we had fights at school, it never went further. These days it does seem parents are far more likely to have the other kid charged.

Isn't that an assumption? Where are your figures to back that up? :

 

[Chris45]

... so yes, discussing this with me is pointless.

Excellent! You finally agree with me on something. Haveaniceday.

 

[Mr J]

No, my use of qualifiers shows that it is just an observation and that I'm not stating it as fact :. Unfortunately, my heavy use of qualifiers is often overlooked on this site!