Zero Powers wrote:
> >From: "Michael S. Lorrey" <retroman@turbont.net>
>
> >Zero Powers wrote:
>
> > > For the record, I am not anxiously looking forward to *that* level of
> > > surveillance. It may or may not become ubiquitous. But if it does, me
> > > thinks the best defense will be to live a life that you would not be
> >ashamed
> > > to have broadcast to the world.
> >
> >Ah, the call for uniformity and conformance to 'accepted' society.
>
> Not at all. If it is a call to anything, it is a call to integrity, to
> living the same life in private as you live in public. This is certainly
> not a call to conformance to anything except your own professed world view.
> It is not even (necessarily) a call to legality. If you are opposed to the
> law of the land, you are free to engage in civil disobedience, so long as
> (like the civil rights activists of the '60's) you are willing to "lay it on
> the line" for your convictions. But, on the other hand, if you want to wear
> the mask of Johnny Civic-Law-Abiding-Citizen in public and yet do whatever
> deviant thing you want in private, you need to vote a vociferous "no" for
> transparency.
There is absolutely nothing inconsistent with being a perfectly law abiding
citizen and maintaining a private life. There are many personal habits which are
quite legal but which are really nobody's business to know. Would you like the
world to know that you pick your nose and eat it? That you scratch your ass and
smell your fingers? How would you like the world to call you Booger for the
rest of your life? How quickly will you stop doing that thing you find so
enjoyable then? Still think ubiquitous surveillance won't cause conformity? How
would you like the world to be able to weigh in on what they think about the way
you raise your kids? How would you like everyone your kids grows up with to know
that they wet the bed? How many pedophiles are going to stalk your kids by
spying on them with a waspcam? You can't reply "we'll catch them, and that will
deter them from doing so". That is an incredibly stupid and naive reply, because
if you know anything about such people it is that they don't care about getting
caught, they just HAVE to satisfy their urges.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Thu Jul 27 2000 - 14:12:11 MDT