Baraka_Guru

Wow. Did you know that in Britain, there's one of these cameras for every 14 people? What are your thoughts on this? Do you think this benefits public safety? I've heard that while it has helped in some situations, it's proved totally useless in others.

Other than public safety, do you think this is something governments use to ensure we remain subject to them? This reminds me of the panopticon, the prison designed in such a way that prisoners cannot know if or when they are being watched. They simply know it is a possibility at all times.


Are our governments doing the same to its "free" citizens? In the information/computer age, this goes beyond CCTV cameras. We tend to leave an electronic trail of just about everything we do nowadays. Can this be used against us?

Oh, George. You were so right!

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"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. [...] In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer."

—"Politics and the English Language," George Orwell

"Humankind cannot bear very much reality."

—"Burnt Norton," Four Quartets, T. S. Eliot

SaltPork

That is irony. Other than that, I have no comment on the matter.

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It was like that when I got here....I swear.

Charlatan

Foucault's idea of the panopticon is a powerful metaphor.

I am not entirely convinced, as I once was, that it makes the leap into everyday life.

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“I like paying taxes. With them I buy civilization.” - Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes

hagatha

I like the camera idea. If you're not doing something illegal you have nothing to worry about. Infact, I would love one so I can see who the asshole is who keeps putting out 12 bags of garbage in front of my house 2 days before pickup.

Baraka_Guru

The cameras are just one aspect of what I am referring to here. Are you not concerned about someone knowing everything you do? Your shopping habits, your library history, everything you do online, etc.

They know where I live. They know where I work. They know how I get to work everyday; they know how I get home. Now, in a free and stable society, this isn't such a big deal... but what if things aren't so free or stable... what if those in power aren't what they seem? Can this information be used against us? To prevent us from exercising certain rights and freedoms?

We know someone is watching almost everything we do. Yes, there are exceptions, but generally speaking, people know just about everything. There is even a record of evidence for all of us. Think about it.

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"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. [...] In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer."

—"Politics and the English Language," George Orwell

"Humankind cannot bear very much reality."

—"Burnt Norton," Four Quartets, T. S. Eliot

Cynthetiq

I'm more scared of the little brothers bringing it to the big brothers...

pervasive cellphone cameras, internet to bring it on... and then people get arrested. kids beating up other kids and posting on youtube. flashers being photographed on subways and submitted to newpapers.

that is the irony to me.

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, Indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Independent, either you're an asshole or you're not.

Baraka_Guru

This is a good point. I never thought of that. Kinda compounds the problem, doesn't it? It's like there's a growing army of agents who are willing to help build the panopticon. Reminds me of websites like these:

http://hollabacknyc.blogspot.com/
http://gawker.com/stalker/

I'm sure there are countless others. But, essentially, the idea is that with the prevalence of camera phones out there now (I think the feature is now pretty much standard) means that at any time one could be photographed in any area, both private and public. The potential is always there. And, in the case of gawker.com, the amount of access to the Internet lends to nearly real-time collective stalking.

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"The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. [...] In our age there is no such thing as 'keeping out of politics.' All issues are political issues, and politics itself is a mass of lies, evasions, folly, hatred, and schizophrenia. When the general atmosphere is bad, language must suffer."

—"Politics and the English Language," George Orwell

"Humankind cannot bear very much reality."

—"Burnt Norton," Four Quartets, T. S. Eliot

Willravel

I wonder if we've all misunderstood Orwell and he was actually trying to glorify Big Brother....amazing.

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ɯǝɥʇ ǝʌlos uɐɔ ǝʍ ʇɐɥʇ ǝɔuɐɹouƃı ɥƃnoɹɥʇ ʇou sı ʇı 'sɯǝlqoɹd ǝʇɐǝɹɔ uɐɔ ǝƃpǝlʍouʞ ɟı