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what is it with Americans and the inability to trust or rely on their government? Serious question, why do you automatically assume that every level of governme

what is it with Americans and the inability to trust or rely on their government? Serious question, why do you automatically assume that every level of government is out to get you?

rectang 5y ago
It goes back to the American Civil War and the opposition of the slave states to the federal government limiting slavery. You could argue that it goes back to the American Revolution and "no taxation without representation", but to a first order approximation the factions today who are most ideologically anti-government are the successors of the Confederacy.
q1w2 5y ago
Have you ever had an interaction with American police? You don't think the city police department will have a dedicated employee in that municipal ISP office that's checking which residents are connecting to TOR nodes?
- sarchertech 5y ago
  You don't think that information would leak if it was happening? There are no national security letters here, no FISA courts, all of this would come out in court. Gossip alone says there's no way any of that stays secret.
- stinkytaco 5y ago
  I don't. I work in municipal government and if anything the firewall is greater here than it is the private sector because we know all the rules. We handle citizen data in all sort of ways and the police don't get automatic access to it just because we share a boss. There are plenty of good reasons to question who handles your data and how in government, but assuming that they are in league with the police is not one of them.
  - SirSourdough 5y ago
    I'm sure it varies wildly by place. You've got places where the rules are taken very seriously and places where the police chief is the mayor and has access to all the national law enforcement DBs with basically no oversight. Given that policing is rife with various legal and ethical abuses in service of consolidating power and exerting control, it's hard for me to believe that there aren't places where police have deep access to government data on citizens.

what is it with Americans and the inability to trust or rely on their government? Serious question, why do you automatically assume that every level of government is out to get you?

rectang 5y ago

It goes back to the American Civil War and the opposition of the slave states to the federal government limiting slavery. You could argue that it goes back to the American Revolution and "no taxation without representation", but to a first order approximation the factions today who are most ideologically anti-government are the successors of the Confederacy.

q1w2 5y ago

Have you ever had an interaction with American police? You don't think the city police department will have a dedicated employee in that municipal ISP office that's checking which residents are connecting to TOR nodes?

sarchertech 5y ago
You don't think that information would leak if it was happening? There are no national security letters here, no FISA courts, all of this would come out in court. Gossip alone says there's no way any of that stays secret.
stinkytaco 5y ago
I don't. I work in municipal government and if anything the firewall is greater here than it is the private sector because we know all the rules. We handle citizen data in all sort of ways and the police don't get automatic access to it just because we share a boss. There are plenty of good reasons to question who handles your data and how in government, but assuming that they are in league with the police is not one of them.
- SirSourdough 5y ago
  I'm sure it varies wildly by place. You've got places where the rules are taken very seriously and places where the police chief is the mayor and has access to all the national law enforcement DBs with basically no oversight. Given that policing is rife with various legal and ethical abuses in service of consolidating power and exerting control, it's hard for me to believe that there aren't places where police have deep access to government data on citizens.