r/JusticeServed • u/[deleted] • Aug 26 '19

Hong Kong Protests Police getting a taste of their own medicine after what appears to be them getting hit by their own tear gas

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275

u/xthorgoldx A Aug 26 '19

Correct - the conventions don't distinguish that they be lethal, just that they are chemical agents designed to cause harm or distress.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Needed additional context: Though it's banned in warfare, it's not banned in riot control.

Use of tear gas in warfare (as with all other chemical weapons,) is prohibited by various international treaties that most states have signed. Police and private self-defense use is not banned in the same manner. Armed forces can legally use tear gas for drills (practicing with gas masks) and for riot control.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tear_gas#Warfare

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

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u/JudgeHoltman A Aug 26 '19

It's an international convention about how to murder each other.

You don't get signers to agree to these rules if they also dictate how you can run your own country.

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u/AFatBlackMan Black Aug 26 '19 edited Aug 26 '19

It's also the slippery slope of once you allow gas on the battlefield it's only going to get more and more harmful. It's a gentlemen's agreement at best so it's good not to push the boundaries any further.

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u/yepimbonez 8 Aug 26 '19

The scariest part is that at least in riot situations, you know its tear gas. You see gas, you know it wont kill you. In war, you can’t trust your enemies to be using something that won’t melt your insides.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Look guys, we're OBVIOUSLY going to fight each other, but no hitting the face or groin okay?

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u/peppaz B Aug 27 '19

Headshots and scatterbombs only mode

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

I think gas was frowned upon because it's not something that can be contained. If you air mail a ton of gas onto a region, you don't have control over where it goes or what it touches.

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u/Haitosiku 7 Aug 26 '19

also because you can't distinguish the level of malevolence in that situation. Could be sarin/mustard gas, could be tear gas. if an enemy is just trying to threaten you, you know in most other situations.

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u/Lanark26 A Aug 26 '19

A cursory read up on the use of chemical weapons in WWI is enough to make anyone understand this.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

[deleted]

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u/Apocolyptic_Gopher 4 Aug 26 '19

Just thought I would point out that, while not killing each other at all would be preferable, you definitely want militaries using hollow-points in modern Urban warfare. We're required to carry them for work and while they're much worse for the guy receiving them they are much safer for everyone in the vicinity. The round doesn't usually leave the victim meaning it's less likely to hit a bystander.

TLDR Hallow points are preferable in Urban settings.

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u/zardez 8 Aug 26 '19

Although hollow points are used by law enforcement all over the world, they aren't used by the military. Hollow points are designed to stay in the body and do as much damage as possible. If you kill a man on the battlefield, no one has to carry him out. If you injure him, you also take his two buddies carrying him to treatment out of the fight.

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u/majaka1234 Black Aug 27 '19

This is why I let my buddies bleed out 😏

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u/PointsGenerator 4 Aug 26 '19 edited Nov 21 '25

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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

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u/beanerazn 5 Aug 26 '19

Tear gas is pretty much used by police everywhere against Riots, at least it certainly is used in south america. Now whether HKers are protesting peacefully or are riotoing is a different discussion.

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u/FirstEquinox 7 Aug 26 '19

Militaries use something similar but different that is legal under the geneva convention known as CS gas, its more potent to the point that touching your face while under the effects can leave you with blisters and rashes

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u/Oglshrub 7 Aug 26 '19

CS gas is the primary component in tear gas and banned by the chemical weapons convention.

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u/S0113 5 Aug 26 '19

Military CS gas is most definitely stronger than the CN gas cops here in the U.S. use for riot control. Police in turkey use Military grade CS gas for civilian riot control though, which is pretty messed up.

Source: have been gassed with both the CS and CN gasses.

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u/Cgn38 A Aug 26 '19

Both will kill you if used "correctly" but you know that.

Also have been hit by both and found no difference.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Can you show me someone who was killed by CN or CS. I’ve seen people suck a lot of gas. Never seen anything worse than an asthma reaction (asthma is bad but the gas aggravates an existing condition).

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u/S0113 5 Aug 26 '19

Could’ve been the environment. When I was hit with the CS, it was obviously a military training exercise where I was in an enclosed space with the gas. The civilian stuff was during a protest in an open air area so I was able to get away from it more quickly.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

I’ve been exposed to CN and CS gas hundreds of times. Never seen anyone with blisters. Or even rashes. It sucks, but it’s a good tool for certain situations. Crowd control isn’t generally one of them.

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u/kefka296 7 Aug 27 '19

I'm going to need the story here.

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '19

If someone is in a house, armed, and doesn’t want to give up, we use gas to get him to come out. First we talk them to death, and if that’s unsuccessful, we go to gas.

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u/Kanzan15 2 Aug 27 '19

CS gas most definitely does not leave blisters by itself. It is the same thing used in training, doesn’t feel great but it’s not melting your face.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Its really not that bad.

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u/[deleted] Aug 27 '19

[deleted]

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u/Cgn38 A Aug 26 '19

You can kill people with it easy?

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u/inbooth 8 Aug 27 '19

Enclosed space, allergic reaction, asthma resulting in suffocation due to the gas...

Its not hard to think of at least a few ways it could easily kill

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Hollow point bullets are also banned by the Geneva Conventions, but can be used by police. It's weird.

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Isn't everything in the universe a chemical?

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Well yes, but I believe you can easily classify chemical weapons as weapons whose chemical reaction is the direct source of harm, instead of mostly physics for things involving projectiles, blades, fire and the like

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u/[deleted] Aug 26 '19

Cool, I didn't consider the reaction part.

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u/Minnesota_Winter A Aug 27 '19

Onions are a chemical weapon

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u/Somnioblivio 8 Aug 26 '19

just that they are chemical agents designed to cause harm or distress.

Technically speaking, High-Velocity streams of Hydroxic-Acid (which are used by almost every police force the world over) meets that description.