Microblog Memes

Terrorism for thee, not for me.

100% accurate and a wonderful preformance, I see an Oscar in your future.

Why? The machines are not the problem, shitty people are. Ok, you are right, shitty people will make stupid people fight against their machines.

Cameras are pieces of capital.

People are pieces of labor.

Bad branding doesn't help. Saying the full words "anti-fascist" makes it clear what is being talked about. Antifa is pithy but to people who don't know, it sounds like a shady terror organization.

Because they're fascists.

Because they are FA

My personal theory is that claiming antifa is bad allows them to imply that fascism is good without directly saying it, conditioning their base to accept all the face eating as just a cost of rooting out the wicked terrorists.

I may be giving them too much credit, though.

Hmmmmmmm I wonder why someone would single out anti-fascists as an enemy. You could say they're anti-antifascist

Because it's a useful narrative to demonize protest against the government.

He looks like a tycoon game person

I honestly thought it was like an AI drawing of him...

Oh you just know he's paranoid of absolutely everyone.

This is good thinking. Modern problems require modern solutions.

Ugh, if only we could, but everybody knows how formidable Antifa's many layers of bureaucratic gatekeepers are...

Lasers are not a very efficient way to damage cameras.

They can, sure ... but there are a lot of issues.

• 1W is your minimum power for this kind of thing, but at that level, permanent damage is relatively unlikely, especially at distance. To reliably damage camera sensors, especially from any significant distance, you're going to need a much more powerful laser. Dozens of watts at least ... which typically means you'll need a large, inconvenient, and tremendously expensive machine to do it reliably. (Pro tip: if none of this dissuades you, at least get a really powerful laser. Forget 'laser pointers' sold on ebay etc. You want skincare lasers -- hair and tattoo removal lasers are pulsed lasers with far more peak power and far more dangerous to camera sensors, if you can get them to focus at distance, and they're still fairly affordable. Rust removal/metal cutting lasers are also effective and powerful, but they tend to be larger and more expensive.)

• Even when laser damaged, cameras typically don't stop working entirely -- the laser tends to just create a few dead pixels here and there. Longer exposure or more power can cause more dead pixels ... but do you really want to have to stand there shining a laser at it for several minutes just to slightly degrade the image quality? (Worse, there's no way for you to review it and see how well it's working, so this will have to be all based on guesswork. Did you fully disable the camera? Just degrade it a little? Accomplish nothing at all? Are you done here, or do you need to keep using your laser? No way to know!) Needing to keep the laser on target for several minutes is also problematic because most high-power lasers have limited runtime before they overheat, and you may have issues with your laser if you try to run it more than a minute or two continuously. Not to mention, the longer you stand there, the more chance there is of you getting caught in the act.

• In order to shine a laser into the camera sensor, you must first stand in front of the camera sensor in clear view of it. Even if your laser succeeds in disabling the camera, the pre-destruction footage will be saved and could potentially be used to identify/prosecute you. If you're using a laser in the visible spectrum (which you probably should, because high power infrared/ultraviolet lasers have terrifying safety concerns), you'll also be extremely visible to any bystanders, witnesses, and nosy cops while you're doing this -- it will draw a lot of attention.

• High power lasers are dangerous to more than just cameras. They're dangerous to your eyes and the eyes of innocent bystanders. And when you're deliberately shining the laser at a partially reflective rounded target -- a camera lens -- laser beams could be reflected at almost any angle and potentially harm anyone nearby. Wearing protective laser goggles can help protect you from this (and you absolutely should be wearing them anytime you deal with high-power lasers), but with very high power lasers, they may not offer enough protection for a direct reflection, and of course they still do nothing to protect innocent bystanders who might instinctively look to see what that bright light is.

• Even the cheap ebay lasers are still much more expensive than other, simpler means of destroying a camera. Rocks, bricks, wire cutters, spray paint, mud, and hammers are all extremely effective and cheaper/easier to acquire.

All in all, I would not recommend trying to disable cameras with lasers.

Simpler methods are much better. Smash the camera or the solar panel that powers it with a rock, brick, hammer, or other blunt object. Cover the lens with spray paint, mud, grease, or anything else that will stick to it and be difficult to clean off. Use wire cutters to snip the wires leading to/from the camera. Use screwdrivers/wrenches to disassemble it and remove it. Use a reciprocating saw or angle grinder to cut down the pole it stands on.

And be extra careful not to accidentally point one at a camera without face coverings and nondescript clothing or they might think you did it on purpose and try to prosecute you.

Sigh… it’s just going to bounce off the lens/protective cover, take forever if it works at all, and draw a bunch of attention to yourself.

Whereas a cheap paintball gun is faster, safer, probably cheaper, verifiable, and more fun.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the creativity, passion and potential stealth… assuming you use a scope the way yabbos did years ago when they were pointing them at aircraft… but a 1+ watt laser is fairly dangerous and not easy to aim from a distance, so maybe use a tripod if you’re really hellbent on doing it this way.

Also, laser safety glasses.

In closing, a quote from one of my favorite movies “You’ll put your eye out kid!”