Re: PA availability, was: [semi OT] Women wargamers

 ---- tom barclay wrote: 
> Charles spake thusly upon matters weighty: 
> >  but if you have a PA suit that is immune
> > to small caliber fire, then all they have to do is walk up to the
fellow
> > and take his gun away.
> But you lose 
> 1. SA (SItuational Awareness) to some extent by being in a zoot suit

probably true. bear in mind that you might well have more sensor data
available - 360 degree optical and IR, telescopic optics, mm-wave radar,
and, possibly most useful, seismic/sonic sensors on hands and feet so
you cn listed through walls. plus a big computer to help you handle it:
if you just get sensory overload, that info is no use at all.

> 2. You lose human contact - more important than SA to a lot of cops. 
> For example, the average disturbed person or person with a chip will 
> react better to a 'human' presence than the presence of a large metal 
> behemoth that represents some of the forces that are probably seen to 
> cause the distress (society, law, government, military, you name it - 
> authority and power in general, the well to do).

well, you can always wrap the suit proper in something less threatening.
a Teletubby or Barney suit, perhaps? no, sorry, *less* threatening ...

> I still think, even in the 
> future, for just this type of reason, PA will remain a SWAT tool.

definitely.

> It 
> has its place where the cops have to unsheath their claws. But in 
> most situations, a human face and a kind but firm voice can stop a 
> lot of the incidents before they escalate.

in the uk, regular police don't carry a gun. the uk has a much lower
crime rate than the us. mind you, i think most european police are
armed, and their crime rates are lower than ours. oh well.

> Tom. 
likewise.

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