I am not a huge fan of drones although I have operated one and they are a lot of fun to handle. The thing is, the good ones that can actually do something are very expensive. Lately, but in very limited capacity, stores like Wal Mart are increasing the pace of deliveries through drones that will fly certain products - but obviously with a weight limit - directly to your front door in record time. Forget 1-day delivery, how about right-away delivery.
Well some people are less than excited about the fact that even our skies are being filled with commercialism.
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I have seen drones in the past that people were using and was upset about them because it sometimes seems like they are simply invading your privacy. I am quite certain the government has even better ones that don't even need to be something you can see in order for them to use them. Wal-Mart on the other hand probably doesn't have much interest in noticing if you are in a bikini in your backyard like some of the pervy people that would buy such a thing for those ends. Wal - Mart is likely just trying to stay ahead of the curve in an ever-increasingly competitive marketplace.
Well, one Florida Man decided that enough was enough when a Wal Mart drone was on its way to someone's house and he took matters into his own hands in a manner that is just oh-so-Florida. He decided it needed to be shot down.
His name is "Dennis" and that is all I am going to say about him. I have his photo but I have no desire to name and shame this person because I actually kind of agree with what he did. He was on his own property and even though they have gone to great lengths to make these drones as quiet as possible, to me it is undeniable that once your airspace is being invaded by corporations, we have gone too far. Peace and quiet is a very rare things these days and if you can't even expect to get that sort of thing on your own property, I think that the consumerism and our societal need for instant gratification has gone too far.
So Dennis shot one time at the drone and put a hole in it. It is unknown (because of the lack of news coverage) about whether or not he destroyed the drone, but I certainly hope that is the case.
Because of the very accurate GPS on these things that are necessary for them to be able to find your front yard for delivery, Wal-Mart was very aware of where the shots came from. When they canvassed the area, "Dennis" didn't even attempt to lie about the crime. He was arrested and immediately released without bond but was charged with, among other things, "firing at an aircraft" which is something I was unaware applied to unmanned robots invading the airspace of your yard.
One thing that is quite admirable about this incident is that Dennis only fired one shot and managed to hit the drone on the first try. I don't know how much experience you have with firearms but a 9mm isn't a long-range weapon, it is highly inaccurate after about 50 feet or so for most people. Therefore, Dennis is one hell of a marksman, especially if the drone was moving at the time of the impact. To me that is amazing.
I think there needs to be some sort of discussion about the sanctity of private property, even if the invading thing isn't alive and doesn't touch the ground. If a robot dog that Wal-Mart owned were to wander onto your property in Florida, you would be entitled to destroy it. So why does this not apply to things in the air. I am sure there is some sort of lawyer type out there that can try to explain how you do not own the air rights of your own property or something and if that is the case that is a bunch of BS in my opinion. A man's house is his castle and if we are going to have corporations using the space above your house as some sort of expressway to deliver goods then I can see the future here and it is only going to get worse.
Congratulations Dennis, I applaud you and I am at this moment going to get out there and see if there is a GoFundMe to donate money to your cause. I don't believe he was wrong to do what he did.
oh wow this is great. If you do find the gofundme for this guy, please pass that information on to the rest of us.
I looked for it and couldn't find it. The incident has completely disappeared from the news cycle as well and I can't locate any follow-up either. I would bet that this was settled out of court provided the guy doesn't have any priors.
Well that's a shame. It was in Florida though so there is a very good chance that he wasn't given a very harsh sentence for raging out on a drone.