AtheneWins' Response to Edward Snowden and NSA Wiretaps

Community Tech Policy & News
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I was scowering the murky depths of the Internet trying to find out what the general consensus was on the recent events with Edward Snowden and the NSA. The majority of opinions gravitated towards three schools of thought:

1) This is an outrage!

2) I have nothing to hide

3) Whatever, who has access to this information.

It was not until I stumbled across this video that a completely different viewpoint was presented to me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpS1aJTV6Ws

It's a 15-minute video which may be daunting for the average YouTube audience. However, for us who are conditioned to 40+ minute videos via The Tek, this shouldn't be an issue.

To quickly summarize, he explains the phenomenon of the hive-mind and how subtle changes to our 'small' worlds render some of us in complete opposition to authority (the government). He presents an example where a certain unpopular executive decision was made despite the opposition of the people and how several years later it benefited the people. He concludes the video by explaining there are far more important things in the world that we should apply our passionate discontent to.

I have to say that his video made me take a step back from the situation and think about the bigger picture. There are millions of injustices occuring everyday all over the world, and they may be far more pressing than our privacy.

With that said however, I still don't want the government spying on me.

What are your thoughts?

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no more privacy = eventual authoritarian regime (or dictatorship)

followed by oppressing the people, followed by uprising with lots of death and gore followed by a different equally repressive regime/dictator. This usually repeats itself until something like tech or an external faction breaks that cycle.

Privacy is a cornerstone of a free society without it, there can't be democracy. (Surveilance makes it too easy to neutralize criticism or civil disobediance) Democracies are the only forms of society that have ever been capable of addressing allot of pressing issues. All the other forms of societies usually end up with an elite that is busy with repressing the people and stealing all the wealth.

Information is power if you have none and the government has it all: you're screwed, the universe doesn't care, there is nothing that magically that is going to step in, unless you yourself fight for your interests & freedom

don't be a sheep, they usually get slaughtered when the owner gets hungry

You aren't just loosing your privacy, once that is gone you'll always have that nagging Feeling sitting in your neck, whether you should express your political opinion or demonstrate for a cause worrying about possible consequences for yourself -> that's the reason the Soviet Union was so evil.

I would think really hard before i would risk that.