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It wasn't too long ago that the US had the HUAC committee, and ruined many people's reputations by digging up what they'd said in the past.
by monkeyspaw 13y ago
It wasn't too long ago that the US had the HUAC committee, and ruined many people's reputations by digging up what they'd said in the past.
- eupharis 13y agoUsing something said in the past to embarrass in the present is one thing. It is often justified, like with "mission accomplished" or the "the fundamentals of the economy are strong." Prosecuting for something that was legally done in the past is a whole different issue.
- monkeyspaw 13y agoGovernment sponsored embarrassment isn't the same as putting someone in jail, you are right. However, taking away someone's ability to make a living (see the Hollywood blacklist, etc.) is leverage that can be used to control behavior. The HUAC hearings were a big bad thing that was done. It wasn't as bad as slavery, for example, but it is something that happened very recently and I think we want to avoid.
- eupharis 13y ago/nod
- mpyne 13y agoI'm not saying you should not watch what the government knows about you. It is that you should also watch what everyone else knows about you. I always get confused in these threads because I cannot separate those who are worried about the privacy of their data from those who simply hate the government (or even the idea of government). If you're trying to deploy a cryptosystem that relies on popularity to be really useful, then you'll need to get "average Joe" to buy into it, and I suspect the best way to do that is to point out all of the possible Big Brothers out there, not just rabble-rabble about the gubbmint alone.