> This program sounds like a huge, irresponsible waste of public resources. However I don’t exactly see how merely being observed in public amounts to the dysto

> This program sounds like a huge, irresponsible waste of public resources. However I don’t exactly see how merely being observed in public amounts to the dystopian surveillance state this article seems to imply. It's the same argument against "I have nothing to hide." Consider two people, both objectively innocent. One is surveilled, one is not. The surveilled person, merely by coming to the attention of the government, is at risk of mistakes, misjudgment, quota satisfaction, resume building, budget justification, extortion by criminal government employees bad personal life and resulting sour disposition of the watcher, etc. Just because they became noticed. The unsurveilled person is safe. In firearms training, you learn not to point a gun at something unless you intend to destroy it. You should also not point a government at someone unless they have at least shown some reason beyond existence that it's worth potentially destroying their well being.