Re: Urgent News Flash

From: madcentral@aol.com (MadCentral)

Date: Fri, 07 Jun 2002 17:44:47 +0000

>>In the interests of tracking down paedophiles and terrorists (or the next
fashionable vote winning criminal type) the government could apply the same
logic to opening everyones post and listening to phone calls, they could
even insist that everyone wears a microphone so they can listen to our
conversations.<<

An excuse for a rant!  Yippee. : )

Of course.  All the worst things that can happen are usually slipped past the
public by dressing them up as something that'll protect them from whatever
their current fears are.

What better way to implement Big Brother than to say "its to stop paedophiles".
 Who's going to protest?  Anybody who does will be accused of being a
sympathiser.

Why not implant tracking devices into everybody...?  I can see the government
spin on it now.
"No child will ever be abducted again"
"No criminal will ever escape the law"
"If you've got nothing to hide... why should it worry you?"

Its the same rhetoric they use for increasing surveillance cameras, sattellite
monitoring, general invasion of privacy on every level.

"Who needs privacy anyway?  Are you some sort of pervert?"  NO!  I just dont
want to have Tom, Dick and Harry recording me every time I scratch my butt.
Jeez.  I don't want my first kiss with my future wife to be a kodak moment for
anybody other than me.

"But if you're bike is stolen you'll know exactly who did it..."  Oh!  Good
point.  That's a fair trade-off for a polaroid life.

"You'll change your mind fast enough if your child ever goes missing."
Yeah, I'd probably change my views on the death penalty if my mum was murdered.
 I'd probably change my views on cloning if I needed a new lung.  I'd probably
change my views on religion if Christ turned up in a time machine and explained
what a good wheeze the special effects were in the crucifixion.

People seem to forget that human beings NEED privacy on a very basic level.
Its a human right as much as anything else.  Just because you aren't doing
anything wrong, doesn't necessarily mean you're going to want to be watched and
recorded everywhere you go.

Anybody who stands up for personal privacy is labelled a fanatic, or viewed
suspiciously.  "What has she got to hide then?"  People look at you like you're
crazy.  "It's only a few cameras, what's the big deal?  You watch too many
movies."

Its a few, and a few more, its one invasion of privacy and then another.  By
the time George Orwell is a prophet and not just an author its all too late.

The sad thing is, that sounds exactly like a PBM game intro...

Steve T.

References

Re: Urgent News Flash
"Militaryhumour" <clivedakers@ntlworld.com>
Fri, 07 Jun 2002 13:59:26 +0000

Referenced By

Re: Urgent News Flash
"Militaryhumour" <clivedakers@ntlworld.com>
Fri, 07 Jun 2002 13:59:26 +0000