Summation of this thread:

"OMG, assault rifles! Erosion of freedoms! Police state! Why is our culture so gun-obsessed? The terrorists have won."

"Well, actually, that's a rivet-action MR-523 Swizzlewitz Sandblaster, and here's 52 gun-porn images of same. I have seven myself. Pussy"

Half Right: I bet they'd also buy some tinfoil

Right. Pointing out the and undisputed fact that there are armed police forces sweeping a loaded weapon across spectators at a major sporting event is conspiracy theory nonsense....

... but setting up armed police forces to sweep loaded weapons across spectators at a major sporting event because you think some shadowy organization of questionable force strength may pull off a non-specific action-movie-style attack on that event, toward which no known specific threat has actually been directed, is perfectly reasonable and level-headed.

Cobra Commander isn't real. I realize 9/11 was a really big and really loud thing, but that alone isn't proof that we need to lose our collective shiat and start running around in full S.W.A.T. gear all the time. Individual and unusual data points don't make a trend.

And, again, even if you aren't concerned with the security theater implications of having commandos running about the streets in full armor carrying powerful automatic weapons, all that shiat, and all the time they're doing it, isn't exactly free.

Stop being a coward. Terrorists aren't going to kill you and even if they try, odds are pretty bad that the maniacs with heavy weaponry are going to be able to stop them.

I imagine superbowl snipers have prevented about as many attacks as the TSA. But go ahead and keep pointing rifles at unarmed civilians, it makes you look ever so sane.

netweavr: I'd be more surprised if the police didn't take this precaution.

I can't imagine any situation which would require the action of a police sniper in a massive crowd and where the action of that police sniper would make the situation better than if he had done nothing.

ElusiveWookiee: Um....good. How is this scary?

I tend to be scared of real things like actual hidden and largely unaccountable snipers over my head, not imaginary attackers with unrealistic plots that are largely the result of a politician's fevered attempts at reelection

But that's just me.

/ alternatively, we could point out that this actually cost real taxpayer money even though it's aimed at a largely made up problem

I'd be more surprised if the police didn't take this precaution.

A surprising number of people are ok with this. How did the need for snipers at a public event become normal?

(I can't think of any other wealthy western democracy where this would be considered ok).

Happy Hours:
It's a little perturbing. Under what scenario would a sniper be required at a football game? Crazed gunman comes out and starts shooting?

Wouldn't there already be a shiatload of armed cops all around the stadium? Didn't they have metal detectors for entry?

You want to depend on a single layer of security and just assume that it's unbeatable?

It seems everyone is pissed off at the TSA for airport security and we speak of security theater but a sniper set up at a football game. No big deal. And if there is one sniper, shouldn't there be another just to make sure you get full coverage of the stadium?

A sniper isn't security theater. He's effective against certain types of threats, and for the most part nobody knows he's even there. That's pretty much the exact opposite of security theater.

Strategeryz0r: aspAddict: Krieghund: Really? Cause so far, it's been a big collective "meh"

And THAT is why we have the SCARY tag. The fact that a major public event like this can be surrounded by an invisible Rethuglican death squad like this, and the general reaction is "Yeah, we call that Sunday."

Sad to see what this country has become.

0/10

In this day and age, having police around in this capacity is a must. Otherwise it would be easy prey for the mentally unstable, or otherwise criminally insane.

It's a little perturbing. Under what scenario would a sniper be required at a football game? Crazed gunman comes out and starts shooting?

Wouldn't there already be a shiatload of armed cops all around the stadium? Didn't they have metal detectors for entry?

It seems everyone is pissed off at the TSA for airport security and we speak of security theater but a sniper set up at a football game. No big deal. And if there is one sniper, shouldn't there be another just to make sure you get full coverage of the stadium?

Strategeryz0r: Get the idea that everything is peaceful and happy out of your head...

It's the police departments mission to protect the public at large.

Classic example of cognitive dissonance.

Splinshints: Strategeryz0r: What part of, standard security measure for an event of this size don't you get?

That doesn't mean anything. Just because somebody says it's standard doesn't mean it's reasonable.

Strategeryz0r: It's standard operating procedure for every police department in the country, and has been since pre-9/11.

[citation needed]

See, here's the problem. You can say it's standard, but that means exactly squat. But I will do something here for you. I will immediately shut my mouth, take everything I said back and happily keep quiet on the subject going forward if you can do one thing that should be very, very simple if you're right.

Tell me how many terrorist attacks - and I'll need appropriate citations here, no just pulling numbers out of your ass and claiming you answered - have been stopped because of this type of security. Pretty simple, basic, common-sense question. We put out the money, now let's have somebody explain the return.

I'll wait, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

The need for specialized training for police sharpshooters was made apparent in 1972 during the Munich massacre when the German police could not deploy specialized personnel or equipment during the standoff at the airport in the closing phase of the crisis, and consequently all of the Israeli hostages were killed. Source (new window)

Since the 1972 munich massacre, utilization of police snipers to guard major events became SOP to prevent another event like this from happening. Around this time was more or less the advent of the SWAT team as we know it(1974 Symbionese Liberation Army shoot out in LA was the basis for the creation of the first SWAT team in the United States).

Police forces are not reactionary units, they do take pro-active measures to protect the public at large when it's obvious an event is a potential target for anything. The use of police sharpshooters as a security measure is NOT a reaction to a perceived threat. It is the pro-active deployment of assets to aid in reacting to any potential threats that may arise. So looking for what has been stopped by the deployment of police sharpshooters is next to impossible to quantify, because they literally are at any major event like this. Ever heard the saying that policing is not about fighting crime, but preventing crime? How do you think you PREVENT crime? Be being where you need to be to stop it before it becomes a problem, not fight it after the fact.

Would you rather have another Munich Olympics massacre before you understand why these guys are in place? Or would you like to ask another question that is impossible to answer so you can continue spouting your own brand of fearmongering?

Strategeryz0r: In this day and age, having police around in this capacity is a must. Otherwise it would be easy prey for the mentally unstable, or otherwise criminally insane.

To do exactly what?

The only thing those photos prove to me is that there were a lot of other snipers. This nest's field of fire is very limited. It seems he can't really depress his gun very low. There must be at least 3 other snipers, I'd think.

Huck And Molly Ziegler: I've always wondered, what with all the murder and mayhem worldwide in so many forms and fashions, why a filled American sports stadium hasn't been targeted by a violent person (or group) unlawfully using weaponry.

I'm guessing it's not because such a person (or group) hasn't thought about it, but rather because other persons - we grudgingly call them "the authorities" - have figured out in advance how to intervene before his thought turns to deed.

And the TSA has magic rocks that stop suicide bombers blowing themselves up in the line outside TSA checkpoints.

Strategeryz0r: What part of, standard security measure for an event of this size don't you get?

That doesn't mean anything. Just because somebody says it's standard doesn't mean it's reasonable.

Strategeryz0r: It's standard operating procedure for every police department in the country, and has been since pre-9/11.

[citation needed]

See, here's the problem. You can say it's standard, but that means exactly squat. But I will do something here for you. I will immediately shut my mouth, take everything I said back and happily keep quiet on the subject going forward if you can do one thing that should be very, very simple if you're right.

Tell me how many terrorist attacks - and I'll need appropriate citations here, no just pulling numbers out of your ass and claiming you answered - have been stopped because of this type of security. Pretty simple, basic, common-sense question. We put out the money, now let's have somebody explain the return.

I'll wait, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

This is common practice. Although those photos at the end of the article bother me. The way I see it typically being done is guys with binoculars monitoring the crowd and of course I'm sure they have rifles within easy reach. These photos show cops sitting there on their butt and they appear to be moving the rifle over the crowd.

That breaks one of the key rules of using a gun: "Never point the gun at anything you mind being dead".

While not having to reach for the gun does save a few seconds, the risk of an accidental discharge really makes point the gun at the crowd unacceptable IMHO.

Strategeryz0r: aspAddict: Krieghund: Really? Cause so far, it's been a big collective "meh"

And THAT is why we have the SCARY tag. The fact that a major public event like this can be surrounded by an invisible Rethuglican death squad like this, and the general reaction is "Yeah, we call that Sunday."

Sad to see what this country has become.

0/10

In this day and age, having police around in this capacity is a must. Otherwise it would be easy prey for the mentally unstable, or otherwise criminally insane.

Come on. You gotta give him at least two creativity points for "invisible Rethuglican death squad."

For my fellow gun nuts, dressed in our SS uniforms while rubbing a handgun on our crotches, here's the background -

"... a custom Remington 700. Blaze reader Ben writes that it's actually "a custom built Remington action and barrel that's in an XLR Industries chassis system," and it's the product of Kyle Miller who works on the western slope of Colorado."


Gun porn

Sorry for all you folks holding hands and singing a chorus of "Kumbaya" if I interrupted your peaceful world with firearms info.

Also - tripods suck.

aspAddict: Krieghund: Really? Cause so far, it's been a big collective "meh"

And THAT is why we have the SCARY tag. The fact that a major public event like this can be surrounded by an invisible Rethuglican death squad like this, and the general reaction is "Yeah, we call that Sunday."

Sad to see what this country has become.

0/10

In this day and age, having police around in this capacity is a must. Otherwise it would be easy prey for the mentally unstable, or otherwise criminally insane.

I just assumed they did this for all large sporting events.

ElusiveWookiee: Um....good. How is this scary?

It's scary because so many people hate you that you can't have a football game without looking under your bed for terrorists.