The Bum-Bot

In Atlanta, Georgia, there was a neighborhood, where it was nice and safe during the day, however homeless people, drug dealers, prostitutes and other people that citizens don't feel safe around walk the streets at night. This was a major concern for Atlanta citizens, until the "Bum-Bot" was created. Rufus Terrill, an Atlanta bar owner, thought that he had the solution to the problem by creating the Bum-Bot; a robot that scares homeless people and people involved in illegal activities from the neighborhood. How does the robot do this? By spraying people with water from a water cannon the robot is equipped with. (Terrill wanted the robot to have a taser, but police wouldn't allow it.) He controls the robot with remote, and has even wired a walkie-talkie to a home alarm speaker so that he can speak warnings to people through the robot. When I first heard of the "Bum-Bot story", I thought to myself, This sounds like something out of The Simpsons. I could picture the character Moe, the local bar owner in Springfield thinking of this exact scheme himself, just for publicity and fame. The Bum-Bot's purpose was much like that. A sign in front of Terrill's bar reads "Home of the Bum-Bot." He's even started selling "Bum-Bot beer." When I heard that, I was fed up. How could the police let some local Bar-Owner spray people with water? I also thought it deeply disturbing and unfair that he actually sprays homeless people with water, not just suspected criminals. When I checked on Comcast.net to hear their interpretation of the whole robot story, Fox News was practically celebrating Terrill and his Bum-Bot, saying things like, "Is this guy a genius or what?" and one reporter also mentioned that by spraying loitering homeless people with water, it was both frightening them and cleaning them at the same time. Cleaning them?! I will never ever hear FOX's opinion on anything ever again, I thought to myself. Do you think that the Bum-Bot is just a publicity stunt, or a good way to prevent crime?