posted in Technology
Hey Platforms: Your Violent Content Policies Are About To Meet The Pentagon’s Firing Squad
www.techdirt.com/2026/10/09/hey-platforms-your-violent-content-policies-are-about-to-meet-the-pentagons-firing-squad/posted in Technology
Hey Platforms: Your Violent Content Policies Are About To Meet The Pentagon’s Firing Squad
www.techdirt.com/2026/10/09/hey-platforms-your-violent-content-policies-are-about-to-meet-the-pentagons-firing-squad/Replying to @dermanus@lemmy.ca
Imagine thinking a government is so fundamentally violent and unjust that you’re motivated to kill 13 people at random in protest.
Then you’re in jail and wondering if you did the right thing, tortured by doubt.
Then they announce your live-streamed firing squad execution and you’re like, “yeah…”
(And this in the fantasy scenario where Hassan was only tortured by doubt.)
Replying to @schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
I already don’t believe in the death penalty, but this shit is absolutely wild to me. Why are we using a firing squad in 2026? Who the hell decided to bring that back?
Replying to @atrielienz@lemmy.world
I’ve seen it argued that it might actually cause less pain and therefore be more humane than lethal injection even if it looks less clean, though not being an expert in how people die or how quick it is when someone is shot, I can’t verify that. Personally though, I agree, I just dont feel like death can be a good thing and if you can execute someone, you sorta definitionally have them captured and under your control anyway, making justifications like preventing future violence irrelevant.
Replying to @CarbonIceDragon@pawb.social
That doesn’t take into consideration the damage it does to you as an individual when you have to be part of a firing squad. Part of the reason they fell out of fashion was because of the psychological effects on the people carrying them out.
That’s not even to mention the fact that they can be botched (just like lethal injection), and I don’t believe that being shot several times is humane in any way.
Replying to @atrielienz@lemmy.world
I think the tradition is to have one blank bullet in one of the rifles so people can kid themselves into believing they didn’t kill someone.
Replying to @schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
In my experience, firing a blank doesn’t feel like firing a live bullet.
Replying to @atrielienz@lemmy.world
I imagine there’s no kickback? Maybe it’s an urban legend, or it helps at least pull the trigger, hoping you’ve got the blank.
Edit: Looks legit. standard.net/…/how-utahs-execution-by-firing-squa…
heraldextra.comHow Utah’s execution by firing squad worksDRAPER — According to Utah’s technical manual for executions, which was obtained through public records request by <a href=”http://www.muckrock.com” target=”_blank”>MuckRock.com</a>, the “execution team” is a five-person squad with a team leader and at least one alternate. All must be certified peace officers who have proved their firearms proficiency by passing an accuracy test under similar […]Replying to @schipelblorp@sh.itjust.works
When you fire a weapon with a blank there’s less kickback (to the point where you’d notice the difference in recoil based on what you braced for vs what you got). At least, on all the weapons I trained on. Could depend on the weapon I guess though.
I didn’t mean to say it wasn’t a thing, just that given what I have experienced I feel like you’d know if you’d shot a blank or not. It might psychologically make pulling the trigger easier but I don’t think it changes the end result.
Replying to @atrielienz@lemmy.world
Also depends on the load in the blank; they can vary the amount of powder. But yes, an experienced rifleman can probably tell.