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What about the chilling effect? People change their behaviors when they know they're being watched. It goes completely against the spirit of the US Constitution

• Spooky23 11y ago
  I disagree with the surveillance society, but I can't control that policy. So I choose to focus on what I can control.
  • deleted 11y ago
    [deleted]
  • will_pseudonym 11y ago
    I absolutely agree with "focus on what you can do." I think that we can also engage in the conversation as a community and network, which of course you are doing. The main thing that stuck out to me about your post was "low risk to me." I have studied risk extensively, and I would like to point out that generally, risks are classified with ratings of both frequency and severity. I would categorize the NSA spying as moderate-high risk (to you) due to their extremely high frequency. Yes, the severity to you will be relatively moderate (chilling effect, etc), but the cumulative, unrelenting effect it has is incredible. As I'm thinking about this more, it's not even a true "risk," because risk always entails uncertainty. You are certainly being affected by it. The true risk of the spying program is that somehow you are hung by your own words, which has an extremely high severity (prison aka slavery). I hope that this rings true to you. Rereading what I've written, it seems like I could be projecting a lot of my own feelings and experiences onto you, but this stuff is just so universal in its effects. Thanks for discussing this! Have a great day.