Nuke 'Em

UPDATE: Reports about the recent murder of Kasandra Perkins and subsequent suicide of Kansas City Chiefs' player, Jovan Belcher, provide some clues about their relationship. Apparently they were the "perfect couple" who quarreled all the time. Kiss of death, if you'll pardon an expression. As a former battered women's advocate, what I read hints of a guy who was jealous and controlling, perhaps even imagining that his girlfriend was cheating on him. As for the Chiefs' lame attempts to help them with counseling, I can only laugh. Since when has an organization of professional male athletes, a business owned by men, run by men, and beholden to men, ever done anything for women, except to use them? And now for my timely re-post of a seven-year-old entry about a solution that could have prevented this mess. 


Mrs. Linklater may seem like she spouts the liberal company line here for the most part, but she ain't as knee jerk as you may think.

Ever since spending six years working with victims of domestic violence, I think there should be better ways to keep the bad people from hurting the good people. Or let's just say there are things we can do which could provide a more targeted, accurate deterrent than a piece of paper with an order of protection signed by a judge. Or that .357 under your pillow. 

Perpetrators of violent crimes would be selected for a new, special treatment after they are released. And it wouldn't be a spa day.

Back in the nineties, almost twenty years ago, I learned from a former LA police officer turned security guru, that it is possible to imbed a disabling microchip inside a person. You read that right. The microchip can be loaded with chemicals and a GPS locator, so bad guys can be tracked down and then stopped in their tracks. Or vice versa. Naturally, one would hope that they wouldn't be cutting down trees or driving your car at the time.  

Since the courts can't seem to do much to prevent rapists from raping again, or child molesters from molesting again, or men who batter women from battering women again, or violent criminals from committing violent acts again, or illegal immigrants who commit crimes here from coming back into the country again, I like the possibilities of this idea. 

In my world, there would be three types of chemicals in each chip. Strong, stronger, and strongest. We'll get to them later. 

Along with violent criminals, there would be other types of prisoners who qualify for a chip as a condition of their release. 

First, every mope who makes parole would be required to have a chip. What better way to remind a parolee that freedom ain't free than with the sudden loss of consciousness when they don't color between the lines?

And parole or no parole, some felonious types should be required to have a lifetime chip. Child molesters, rapists, and men who batter women are the first three that come to mind. 

Just think of the jobs we could create! Somebody's got to make the chips. Somebody got to make the chemicals in the chips. Somebody else has to install the chips. And more people will have to monitor the chips. Plus you always need people to market the chips. Wow. I think I've stumbled upon Mitt Romney's wet dream. But I digress.

Where was I? Oh. Chemical Number One, the strong one, would be activated when a criminal goes out of bounds. The courts can define the boundaries. For instance, consorting with someone else who has a microchip would be considered out of bounds. Being near a school, a playground, or a bar could be another. Getting too close to certain people, i.e., wives or girlfriends who have orders of protection, is a third. Did I mention deported criminals who cross the border illegally? 

Push a button from a remote location like say, Roswell, NM, and the bad guy would start to feel a clicking in his implant like a countdown to zero. He has fifteen to thirty minutes to find a cop or a police station to turn himself in. Based on the GPS in each chip, the police stations nearest the locator would also get a warning signal. 

If the bad guy misses the deadline, Chemical Number Two, the stronger one, would make him very sorry. He could become nauseous or dizzy or start hallucinating. Or maybe he wets his pants. I'm still working on this one. 

Chemical Number Three, the strongest, would knock him down and out, if the cops haven't tracked his GPS and found him already. The chemical would also emit a distinctively sweet smell like that pink soap they use in bus terminal bathrooms. That alone would help identify the perp. And keep people out of harm's way. One sniff and they'd know to run. 

At any time of course, the chemicals could be escalated to another level with another push of a button.

How Bladerunner of me.

I figure there are two chances of any of this happening -- slim and none. The Fourth Amendment and all. The possibilities for abuse [i.e., the Patriot Act] are too numerous to count. And the ACLU, well, they worry about people like me every day.

But a girl can dream can't she?