Topic: 1984 much?

[beo]

so, is this shit going to far? first time i saw the first one, all i could think about was what the most fitting graffiti i could scrawl across it.

[idolminds]

Wow, those ads are horrible. But those last 2....welcome to Chicago. They have police cameras up all over the place. Another reason I hate going into the city.

[beo]

i think i heard a statistic saying that there are more security cameras in the UK than in the rest of the world combined. it's not so much stuff like that (ok, well it kind of is), but in this case more the fact that the government feels the need to tell us "we're watching you".

[Quemaqua]

Yeah, that's creepy as hell.  Especially that last one.  What the fuck?  Who could possibly think that was a good idea?

[Xessive]

Wow, I look at that last one and the first thing that springs to mind is V For Vendetta.. then 1984.

I think civilians, worldwide not just in the UK, are beginning to surrender too much liberty in the name of security.

[shock]

V for Vendetta and Children of Men are what struck me when I saw those.

Fucking creepy.

People are so scared nowadays.  So fucking scared.  RELAX.  If it is your time.. it's your time.  Don't get me wrong, if I happen to see someone setting up a bomb on a train, I think I'd do something about it.  But I'll be damned if I'm looking for it every time I get on there.  Life's too short to live in fear.

[ScaryTooth]

I kind of agree. But at the same time. You're in public, anyone can see you, so whats the difference if some cameras can too? I don't mind if you can see me on camera at a mall or something, but that is where I draw the line. When shit like this starts to impede on my privacy, that is when I get pissed.   

[Xessive]

In public space it kinda makes sense. But how much more before monitoring citizens moves into invasion of privacy?

The idea is best summerizd by Foucault's "Eye of Power" it's all bout the idea (rather than the reality) that we are being watched. If a watchtower stands amid a group of people, whether or not they can actually see anyone in it at all, the assumption is that they are watched.

I believe in moderation. We can't give up security or liberty absolutely, we have to find a middleground and maintain it.

[scottws]

Yeah, that's creepy as hell.  Especially that last one.  What the fuck?  Who could possibly think that was a good idea?

Reminds me of some of those WWII and especially 50's U.S. propaganda posters.

[Xessive]

I know thw ones you're talking about but this was the first thing that popped into my mind:

[gpw11]

i think i heard a statistic saying that there are more security cameras in the UK than in the rest of the world combined. it's not so much stuff like that (ok, well it kind of is), but in this case more the fact that the government feels the need to tell us "we're watching you".

Yeah, i've heard something along the same lines.  The vast majority of them are privately owned (apparently) by security firms hired out by stores and shit but still.....that's fucked.

[Quemaqua]

Coming to a North America near you.

[Pugnate]

Yeah, i've heard something along the same lines.  The vast majority of them are privately owned (apparently) by security firms hired out by stores and shit but still.....that's fucked.

It is just supposed to act as a deterrent. It is supposed to scare the extremists into thinking that they could possibly be under watch.

With UK under near constant threat, maybe it isn't such a bad idea -- if it works.