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Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

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Re: Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

#41
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get what you say about personal privacy. But with extreme power, there's not much that's legitimately private. Consider what people must reveal to get the highest security ratings, for example.

On the other hand, with enough power privacy is replaced by immunity. The importance of privacy is heavily distorted by one's level of vulnerability to state or social coercion. As an example - it's not clear whether J. Edgar Hoover was gay, but it's quite clear that he threatened and even blackmailed people who raised the question too publicly. Meanwhile, employees lower in the national security apparat were surveil…

I disagree with "with enough power privacy is replaced by immunity". With few exceptions, the truly powerful now have both privacy and immunity. Both, because of their power. But I'm not talking about current systems.

I believe that the powerful ought to have neither privacy nor immunity. That ought to be the trade-off for having substantive power. There's the old adage about power coming with responsibility. So I'm rather expanding on the basis for responsibility.

Re: Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

#42
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right. Also, my wife and I have a little game of sharing about public restrooms that we encounter. Generally, the men's rooms are far more trashed than the women's rooms. But how many establishments have surveillance cameras in their men's rooms? Not many, I suspect.

Doesn't anyone want to spy on my junk?!

Mostly, I'd think that they'd want to nail the guys who break toilets and urinals. I mean, how to they do that? Those things are solid porcelain, no? Hammers? But maybe they're more fragile than they used to be.

Re: Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

#43

If you enjoyed this, you might also enjoy the book "No Place to Hide" by Robert O'Harrow (2004!), which explores the surveillance state at the intersection of private coronations. Many of the ideas and topics discussed in the book, at the time sounding more like conspiracy theories, have come true. https://www.amazon.com/Place-Hide-Robert-OHarrow-Jr/dp/07432...

A non-amzazon link to the poster's excellent recommendation

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/70078.No_Place_to_Hide

[edit: punctuation]

Re: Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

#44
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The things worth hiding might not be the same things in 20 years. It's not illegal to be a Jew right now but look back a few years and see what could happen when there are registers of peoples beliefs.

But people only seek to hide what's worth hiding today, which defeats the purpose.

Except for the people who talk about taking away the ability to spy completely - they're not just trying to hide what's worth hiding today.

In the 1960s if you advocated for racial equality and interracial marriage, you were a social radical, a destabilizer, an insurgent in the popular culture. You were an offensive deviant, actively promoting the destruction of the race, opposed to the church, to the law, to the government, everything. Would social acceptance of racial equality even have been possible to develop without the government and status quo NOT being able to know their undoing was festering right under their noses?

We should never be so sure we're right that we destroy the mere possibility of change.

Re: Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

#45
post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the universe had somehow formed to create humans who shared a single consciousness, sure that would work. But as long as we are individuals, we need the space to have a self .

Individuality is an illusion. We're all one. I plan to make it known.

If we were, it already would be, obviously.

Re: Nothing to Hide – a documentary about surveillance and you [video]

#47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tons of mens restrooms don't have doors or walls around shitters specifically so no one fucks or does drugs in them.

Where do you live? I've never seen men's rooms that didn't have walls and doors for each stall. I hope you aren't in prison.

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