In a study of 90 patients struck by "rubber bullets," 2 died, 18 were crippled, 44 were hospitalized and 26 were merely cured of believing in a benevolent Government.
One of the tricks employed in modern propaganda is to put a seemingly innocent word in front of a clearly ominous word in order to disarm it. Prime example: the "rubber bullets" now being fired at those resisting the construction of the North Dakota Access Pipeline.
Let's break this down. We associate rubber with toys, balls, bands, erasers, condoms, and say, headphone cables. Just about zero percent association with harm, death, or threat thereof. We associate bullets just about 100 percent with harm, death, or threat thereof. Split the difference and you'll see what this phrase does to deceive the public about the threat of "less-lethal" rounds (once called nonlethal until an awkward amount of people died).
The effect for most folks is the perception that rubber bullets are probably kind of like paintballs: obnoxious but not like, evil. In fact, they are most often solid steel spheres or hollow metal cylinders, with a covering of rubber. Like most things these days, only the surface is referred to.
The perception of potential harm goes down in direct proportion to how much empathy one feels with those being shot at, and the media machine serves well to minimize this through spin and silence.
They can't get away with openly labeling the Water Protectors as "ornery Injuns keeping 'Merican oil hostage," as much as they'd love to do that and please their owners, so they do what they always do in these situations: they play dumb.
These days protests are not spoken of at all until there is video of violence (often provoked by police or other agents provacateur) that can be spun into a narrative that justifies the inevitable bringing down of the hammer.
It should be noted that while the police-turned-terrorists who strike from within armored tanks are employing everything from these rounds to high pressure hoses in freezing weather, sonic cannons and grenades that have maimed at least one protector, language itself is fast becoming the ultimate weapon in the struggle between sane sovereignty and psychic slavery. Realize now that all journalism has an agenda and look for yourself. Discern the truth, decode the spells, divest from the lies, and learn to duck, because they bought a lot of bullets.