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This should serve as a reminder to everyone to donate/support EFF and ACLU, as two of the very few organizations that watches for our rights. It is also a remi

This should serve as a reminder to everyone to donate/support EFF and ACLU, as two of the very few organizations that watches for our rights. It is also a reminder that as we get more numb to issues like this, it gets worse. It is probably time to call your representatives and raise your voice.

iovrthoughtthis 9y ago
Doesn't matter how much you push the button at the crossing it shows the green light when it was programmed to, regardless of you. If you want to cross you either need to wait until the appropriate time as dictated or you need to risk your well being and cross the road.
- will_hughes 9y ago
  Wrong thread? Also, it may be true where you are, but it's not universally true. I know the cycle and timing of the lights near my home, and I keep getting frustrated by people who don't press the button and now I need to press it, and wait an extra cycle.
saguro 9y ago
Because calling paid-for representatives has such a strong record of success over the last decade of human rights erosion. Talking to your representative is roughly as useful in curbing these things, as doing nothing at all. What's the real solution?
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago
  > Talking to your representative is roughly as useful in curbing these things, as doing nothing at all Have you ever called your representatives?
  - saguro 9y ago
    www.google.com/search?q=i+contacted+my+representative+site%3Areddit.com Knock yourself out. Spoiler alert: almost everyone reports getting a cookie-cutter email or scripted response about why the rep will stay the course. They clearly have an established strategy of how to handle the 'contact your rep' crowd and channel their efforts to /dev/null.
    - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
      > almost everyone reports getting a cookie-cutter email or scripted response about why the rep will stay the course Who is “almost everyone”? Any personal experience? Mine involves getting a personal e-mail from my state Assemblyman, being patched in to the senior legislative aide to my U.S. Congresswoman who spoke to me at length about the issue, getting follow-up by e-mail to calls after the points I raised were discussed with my U.S. Senator, and being reached out to by my state Senator’s office for input on a draft bill. I also know that for my tech-savvy Manhattan Congressional district I am usually one of a small handful voters regularly calling in about digital privacy. I’m fine with voters being busy or lazy. But don’t brag about it.
      - saguro 9y ago
        You're suggesting that your n=1 anecdote weighs more than those thousands of reddit stories? Or that my position is invalid because instead of engaging in another n=1 anecdote I aggregated the outcome of many? For your one story, you can click the top few links of that search to see detailed accounts and full documented histories from representatives who are clearly systemically stonewalling this kind of activism. And judging by those counts, they are the majority.
        cinquemb 9y ago
        I suspect that they're suggesting that your apparent disillusionment with the call your representatives process, whom have over time, enabled in part what we see before us today == being busy or lazy and that you are bragging about being busy or lazy, as if change could only happen by picking up phone and sending emails telling another how upset you are or that even if you did do the aforementioned and were received favorably by such representatives, you would be placated and faith in the process overall will be restored even without the actual change you seek even occurring. Onlookers are to make of that what they will.
- zeth__ 9y ago
  And doing nothing will be so much better.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- tehlike 9y ago
  The real solution is changing lobbying, but i am not educated enough about us politics to tell how. Also supporting EFF & ACLU and their efforts to use the laws seems to be somewhat effective. It also comes back to the individual convenience vs collective action. If everybody obeys the orders of border agents, police, etc without exercising their rights because they have nothing to hide, this gets easier by the day. This is not about hiding something, this is about harrasment of an individual's privacy.
- polotics 9y ago
  Emigrate. Trust me, it works wonders.
- thrillgore 9y ago
  We're really getting to the point where violence may be the path of least resistance here. I thought i'd never say that!
- gamblor956 9y ago
  Going to have to downvote you here since I've found that calling my representatives has been extremely effective. Calling your rep, or meeting them in person, are the two most effective ways to communicate your concerns. Because people who take the time to call or meet in person are also the type of people who take the time to vote, and in the end that's what really matters.

iovrthoughtthis 9y ago

Doesn't matter how much you push the button at the crossing it shows the green light when it was programmed to, regardless of you. If you want to cross you either need to wait until the appropriate time as dictated or you need to risk your well being and cross the road.

will_hughes 9y ago
Wrong thread? Also, it may be true where you are, but it's not universally true. I know the cycle and timing of the lights near my home, and I keep getting frustrated by people who don't press the button and now I need to press it, and wait an extra cycle.

saguro 9y ago

Because calling paid-for representatives has such a strong record of success over the last decade of human rights erosion. Talking to your representative is roughly as useful in curbing these things, as doing nothing at all. What's the real solution?

JumpCrisscross 9y ago
> Talking to your representative is roughly as useful in curbing these things, as doing nothing at all Have you ever called your representatives?
- saguro 9y ago
  www.google.com/search?q=i+contacted+my+representative+site%3Areddit.com Knock yourself out. Spoiler alert: almost everyone reports getting a cookie-cutter email or scripted response about why the rep will stay the course. They clearly have an established strategy of how to handle the 'contact your rep' crowd and channel their efforts to /dev/null.
  - JumpCrisscross 9y ago
    > almost everyone reports getting a cookie-cutter email or scripted response about why the rep will stay the course Who is “almost everyone”? Any personal experience? Mine involves getting a personal e-mail from my state Assemblyman, being patched in to the senior legislative aide to my U.S. Congresswoman who spoke to me at length about the issue, getting follow-up by e-mail to calls after the points I raised were discussed with my U.S. Senator, and being reached out to by my state Senator’s office for input on a draft bill. I also know that for my tech-savvy Manhattan Congressional district I am usually one of a small handful voters regularly calling in about digital privacy. I’m fine with voters being busy or lazy. But don’t brag about it.
    - saguro 9y ago
      You're suggesting that your n=1 anecdote weighs more than those thousands of reddit stories? Or that my position is invalid because instead of engaging in another n=1 anecdote I aggregated the outcome of many? For your one story, you can click the top few links of that search to see detailed accounts and full documented histories from representatives who are clearly systemically stonewalling this kind of activism. And judging by those counts, they are the majority.
      - cinquemb 9y ago
        I suspect that they're suggesting that your apparent disillusionment with the call your representatives process, whom have over time, enabled in part what we see before us today == being busy or lazy and that you are bragging about being busy or lazy, as if change could only happen by picking up phone and sending emails telling another how upset you are or that even if you did do the aforementioned and were received favorably by such representatives, you would be placated and faith in the process overall will be restored even without the actual change you seek even occurring. Onlookers are to make of that what they will.
zeth__ 9y ago
And doing nothing will be so much better.
deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
tehlike 9y ago
The real solution is changing lobbying, but i am not educated enough about us politics to tell how. Also supporting EFF & ACLU and their efforts to use the laws seems to be somewhat effective. It also comes back to the individual convenience vs collective action. If everybody obeys the orders of border agents, police, etc without exercising their rights because they have nothing to hide, this gets easier by the day. This is not about hiding something, this is about harrasment of an individual's privacy.
polotics 9y ago
Emigrate. Trust me, it works wonders.
thrillgore 9y ago
We're really getting to the point where violence may be the path of least resistance here. I thought i'd never say that!
gamblor956 9y ago
Going to have to downvote you here since I've found that calling my representatives has been extremely effective. Calling your rep, or meeting them in person, are the two most effective ways to communicate your concerns. Because people who take the time to call or meet in person are also the type of people who take the time to vote, and in the end that's what really matters.