American officials are apoplectic about alleged mystery drones flying over the United States. Last Thursday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to President Joe Biden, expressing "growing concern" about the drones and seeking federal help "to fully understand what is behind this activity." After beginning in New Jersey, drone hysteria is spreading like wildfire. The widespread anxiety ... about living beneath potentially malign mystery drones is striking, given America's proclivity for employing drones to spy on people across the world without their consent " and, in many cases, kill them. "After decades of the U.S. government flying armed military drones over cities and villages around the world, Americans are finally seeing how uncomfortable it is to have unknown aircraft buzzing overhead," said Erik Sperling of Just Foreign Policy, an advocacy group. "Even when drones are not killing people, it shouldn't be hard to imagine that having an unknown aircraft hovering above your head is not something most people are comfortable with." Populations subjected to constant drone activity report "exaggerated startle responses, fleeing indoors and hiding when seeing or hearing drones, fainting, poor appetite, psychosomatic symptoms, insomnia, and startled awakening at night with hallucinations about drones," according to a 2017 study. The psychological toll exists even when the perceived threat is merely aerial surveillance from on high.
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