Dragging Drones

Maria Kozdroy

Blog #16
10-31-14

Disclaimer: this blog is to be used as a response to class, readings, and presentations.

Prompt:  Explore questions of inequity.  Who has access to drones?  Could those not associated with a dominant country access the global network necessary to operate a drone?

 

Dragging Drones

            Drones have dragged people into the belief of inequity.  On October 31, 2014, several people from Grounding the War Initiative from Syracuse, New York came to speak with the students of the RPI introductory STS class, along with other older interested individuals.  The main argument of these individuals from this organization is that drones are killing innocent people and the only way to suppress these unjust actions for peace is by protesting and spreading awareness to others.  Mary Groves, the main supporter of this movement, has continually been arrested over the last 3 years from the actions she has taken on this subject of stopping drone attacks.  She believes that innocent Pakistani children do not deserve death as a result of U.S. drones.  Many consider these young kids are losing their life as a result of inequity.  In this blog post, I am going to argue that citizens should understand that drones are driven by government for the main reason of having equity in society as a whole, and not just the obvious inequity reasons; in other words, the only way to achieve equity is through supposedly considered “unfair” ways.

            On first look, people usually just see and acknowledge the obvious negative reasons of major problems in society that the media portrays, such as many military news as shown on the television.  The deeper meaning of drones should be dominant in society rather.  The question of who gets what in society has been a recurring conflict now especially with the increase in wars happening.  Drones are a major issue as they appear to be unfair to many people, as seen through the protest groups such as the one Mary Groves is part of.  Protesters like her tend to have only knowledge that is selected by government to be passed on to society, as known as the superficial reasons.  She probably does not realize the main reason why drones are used; to provide equity over inequity.  The ones that drones are often targeted at have caused inequity for American citizens and soldiers.  As a consequence, some lives are taken away, however, with the main goal of attacking the one that caused the unfairness to the country attacking.  Inequity and equity bounce back and forth between the two opponents, until hopefully fairness wins. 

            Additionally, no matter what country one associates with, country using or not using drones, one should be allowed to access information of operating a drone.  This individual will be on a neutral level of fairness and unfairness, which would probably prove beneficial in drone operation, so that they can provide unbiased facts and concerns of drone operation.  This is a very complex issue in society today, and if governments of these dominating countries is unwilling to absorb information from impartial sources, then equity will continue to be fought for. 

            Drones cannot be stopped by citizen protesters that only acknowledge the political effects on inequity apparent in society, but by those willing to accept the fact that drone uses for equity come before inequity.  I believe that the Grounding the War Initiative should rethink what they are protesting against to come up with a new set of beliefs centered on equity rather than inequity.

Sources:

Presentation at the Chapel and Cultural Center at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on 10-31-14, Grounding the War Initiative