27 ms·

And we can't dismiss the majority's viewpoint as "apathy" just because we don't agree with it or find it appalling. It's not constructive to do so. We're better

by joonix 13y ago

And we can't dismiss the majority's viewpoint as "apathy" just because we don't agree with it or find it appalling. It's not constructive to do so. We're better off having a discussion of why people think this type of surveillance is good. They'll probably say "reduces crime/terrorism," and we can counter with "that's questionable, but even so, your rights and liberties are violated." Most would probably shrug, but that doesn't necessary imply apathy.

bostonpete 13y ago
> why people think this type of surveillance is good There's a difference believing that this type of surveillance is good and believing that Snowden should be prosecuted for leaking in the way that he did.
- mpyne 13y ago
  If anything I believe it would go the other way around; there are people who feel the surveillance is bad and still feel Snowden should be held to the same law that the rest of us are bound to.
Perceval 13y ago
> "that's questionable, but even so, your rights and liberties are violated." A more pointed example might be: indiscriminate surveillance can be used by corrupt officials for political persecution of their domestic political enemies. Look no further than the recent IRS scandal to see the willingness and ability of people in positions of power using the levers of power against political opponents, even when the stakes are low or petty. The NSA database of information represents an unbelievable trove of opportunity for the very real prospect of the arbitrary abuse of political power, both by people within the U.S. government and by anyone who manages to illicitly gain access to that information (e.g. foreign hackers—and there's some evidence that Chinese hacking attempts on Google were aimed at the interface Google set up to provide information to the government).

27 ms·

And we can't dismiss the majority's viewpoint as "apathy" just because we don't agree with it or find it appalling. It's not constructive to do so. We're better

by joonix 13y ago

bostonpete 13y ago
> why people think this type of surveillance is good There's a difference believing that this type of surveillance is good and believing that Snowden should be prosecuted for leaking in the way that he did.
- mpyne 13y ago
  If anything I believe it would go the other way around; there are people who feel the surveillance is bad and still feel Snowden should be held to the same law that the rest of us are bound to.
Perceval 13y ago
> "that's questionable, but even so, your rights and liberties are violated." A more pointed example might be: indiscriminate surveillance can be used by corrupt officials for political persecution of their domestic political enemies. Look no further than the recent IRS scandal to see the willingness and ability of people in positions of power using the levers of power against political opponents, even when the stakes are low or petty. The NSA database of information represents an unbelievable trove of opportunity for the very real prospect of the arbitrary abuse of political power, both by people within the U.S. government and by anyone who manages to illicitly gain access to that information (e.g. foreign hackers—and there's some evidence that Chinese hacking attempts on Google were aimed at the interface Google set up to provide information to the government).