I object to less than 100% lethal weapons being used on rioters.

Damn, there's nothing I hate more than slavering mutant man-boars. That part of it needs to be fixed.

My understanding is if you can't get out of the path of the microwave ray, you get all hot and bothered. If you can't get out of the way of the Browning Ma-Deuce .50 cal, you get pureed. Your choice.

And wasn't the same thing said lo these many years ago about that other new invention - guns? Perhaps the meaning of the word 'weapon' has escaped them...

I hate rioters.

Why not use a flame thrower? Just light it and start walking towards the crowd. If they don't have the good sense to disperse, tough.

"What happens if the microwave radiation triggers a genetic mutation turning the crowd into slavering mutant man-boars?"

What the Hell comics have you been reading all these years? Surely you know that only Cosmic and/or Gamma radiation is necessary* for the activation of our latent mutant genes.

You're slipping.

*radioactive and otherwise toxic chemicals can of course be used too.

I agree with Megan. Our money would be more wisely spent on weapons that kill smelly hippies, anarchists, and trustafarians.

Barring that, I guess cannons that shoot soapy water might work.

tasers, pepper sprays, rubber bullets... all designed to be 1) non-lethal, and 2) non skull-cracking.

that law enforcement is willing to consider using them instead of guns and nightsticks speaks very well of them.

of course, they won't get any credit for it and the asswipes who hate civilization will rail against them anyway.

Allen, I'm sorry but you're wrong there. You've forgotten about Fallout Boy - Radioactive Man's sidekick. His superpowers came about as a result of a series of powerful face x-rays. I don't remember what his superpowers were, other than pointing to some dangerous thing and mentioning it to Radioactive Man.

Might failure to use the most effective possible means of riot dispersal possibly result in something other than 100% non-lethality?

"What happens if someone in a crowd is unable for whatever reason to move away from the beam,"?

Well, I don't rightly know, Neil. Sounds like we need to do an intense series of experiments and find out. What was that? You volunteer?

The A-10's main gun.

Enough said.

It's considerably less than 100% lethal unless they've disabled the rate-of-fire-limiter and stall the freaking plane out of the air.

Oh wait, less lethal for the _target_. Um. This doesn't qualify.

Can't they just send in Margaret Cho with a microphone and a list of her ten best "jokes"?

That should clear the place out.

Plus they can use it to heat up their sandwiches between bouts of hippie-bashing.

What happens if they can't get out of the way, you dipshit? I guess they'll Jiffy-pop all over your tweed jacket and Birkenstocks, won't they?

Yeah, they're right.
Let's just go back to firehoses.

And dogs. Big, bitey, 100% non-lethal dogs.

And lots and lots of men with batons, doling out wooden shampoos. Sensitively.

I don't know, but microwaving a crowd sounds lot more humane than, say, blaring Yoko Ono from loud speakers.

Ballpark Franks
They plump when you cook 'em

Ballpark Franks!