Learning in the trenches
Talking about all this surveillance, it may appear I have a nastily suspicious and possibly even criminal mind. I feel there are three main causes for this 'New Me'.
First, my folks are overly idealistic. So darn straight, they never doubt people's word, nor speculate about hidden agendas or politics from people. (My mom's a little manipulative, but aren't all mothers?) They're more academic: they analyze things after the fact. (Believe me, none of us are 'material successes.')
Growing up, if I ever said anyone was doing wrong - lying, stealing, bullying me or others, or other stuff - my parents would ALWAYS defend the good in other people: innocent till proven guilty. So I learned to take people at their word. (I now call this blind idealism.)
I'm not saying my folks are saints, but they are pretty trusting and naive. I think it's got a lot to do with deeply-rooted cultural values combined with religious upbringing.
My parents are still like this today. They refused to believe I could be under any surveillance. It's taken three long years of persistent claims and obvious phenomena to get them to even entertain the possibility. My uncle has died, and I'm getting subtle death threats, yet my folks are still in denial. Great.
Security bodies, politicians, and most business types work in the opposite way: they think worst-case scenario first - guilty till proven innocent. Every single thing I do is questioned and seen in a negative light. Yet they are the ones carrying out harmful and illegal activities. Funny how things work.
[To people who've only known me these past few years, please note:
In discovering the world isn't such a pretty place, and that people politick (even people you trust - friends, relatives, etc), I've been trying to catch up on life skills I never had. I can deconstruct things in hindsight, but smooth politician I am not. Consequently, my parents continue to question my strange behaviour, tell me I have nothing to hide, and have been outright shocked by my furtiveness these past few years. I'll write more later about how my poor emotional state and experiencing reverse culture shock quickly escalated into my being threatened with investigation. And how this, in turn, has led to illegal surveillance and harassment.]
[Edit: See December 14 post, 'Disturbing the peace.']
Experiencing the world has been pivotal learning. But I was/am waaayy too open in searching for answers and seeking kindred spirits. Wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt, I've been lied to, used, cheated, bodily groped, and stolen from (even pickpocketed twice), many times over. It was probably too much all at once. I went from being a flower child at heart to seeing Big Brother in everything.
I try to keep an open mind - in spite of the surveillance and ongoing betrayals from people. But I've also come to realize that there are definitely some nasty folks around. I don't say that lightly. I truly believed even the most cruel or vile of people must have a spark of humanity. I tried to live by that creed. Foolish me.
My other major learning has been experiencing surveillance firsthand. Being continually haunted and hounded, I realized privacy and freedom are no longer my rights. I can relate to thriller movies in ways I never did before. Last year, watching Runaway Jury, I wept.
Hollywood films like Runaway Jury and Shark Tale offer subtle hints of a growing new world order. And if you think it's all dismissible glitter, remember this: Hollywood is the biggest marketing body and propaganda machine around. Read about its history of censorship, and also, what happened during the 'Red Scare' in the 40's and 50's.
The Front is an excellent film about the 'Hollywood Blacklist' - the U.S.'s most infamous period of censorship.
Net Lexicon's definition of blacklist gives a good example of how fear-mongering can reduce suspicions to sheer physicality.
From Raju Abju's internet article, "The Hollywood Blacklist":
Problem is, fifty years on, the situation is far more complicated. Post-World War II hopefulness and United Nations idealism have faded into a global ruthlessness.
Both the 'global village' and the all-encompassing power of electronic media that Marshall McLuhan predicted are now realities. Wars are being waged in the name of 'democracy'. Yet the approach is totally imperialistic. People's ethnic, cultural, and national identities are becoming blurred, while others may have been hiding theirs for years (mostly out of necessity). This spells C-H-A-O-S. Our basis for establishing trust is extremely superficial.
With the U.S. Republicans and George W. Bush's re-election, it may be difficult to question the real events around the World Trade Centre attacks. It also means post-911 security measures (Homeland Security) will continue to expand, leaving average citizens like putty in the government's hands.
Personal privacy and the right to dissent are fast disappearing. I'm not surprised people haven't yet noticed the loss of freedoms and democratic autonomy, and how this will affect us all.
It's pretty serious. As we all get sucked onto the internet and digital communications teat (mobile phones, satellites, faxes, PDAs, etc), Big Brother's ability to track and control people, nations, and so on, will be limitless.
Believe me, I'm not making these ideas up to bolster my own soapbox rants - I wish I were. I speak from my own experiences of what unchecked conservatism looks and feels like.
Am I going to cry about it? Or beg for help? No. Best I can do is offer suggestions. Stay tuned...
First, my folks are overly idealistic. So darn straight, they never doubt people's word, nor speculate about hidden agendas or politics from people. (My mom's a little manipulative, but aren't all mothers?) They're more academic: they analyze things after the fact. (Believe me, none of us are 'material successes.')
Growing up, if I ever said anyone was doing wrong - lying, stealing, bullying me or others, or other stuff - my parents would ALWAYS defend the good in other people: innocent till proven guilty. So I learned to take people at their word. (I now call this blind idealism.)
I'm not saying my folks are saints, but they are pretty trusting and naive. I think it's got a lot to do with deeply-rooted cultural values combined with religious upbringing.
My parents are still like this today. They refused to believe I could be under any surveillance. It's taken three long years of persistent claims and obvious phenomena to get them to even entertain the possibility. My uncle has died, and I'm getting subtle death threats, yet my folks are still in denial. Great.
Security bodies, politicians, and most business types work in the opposite way: they think worst-case scenario first - guilty till proven innocent. Every single thing I do is questioned and seen in a negative light. Yet they are the ones carrying out harmful and illegal activities. Funny how things work.
[To people who've only known me these past few years, please note:
In discovering the world isn't such a pretty place, and that people politick (even people you trust - friends, relatives, etc), I've been trying to catch up on life skills I never had. I can deconstruct things in hindsight, but smooth politician I am not. Consequently, my parents continue to question my strange behaviour, tell me I have nothing to hide, and have been outright shocked by my furtiveness these past few years. I'll write more later about how my poor emotional state and experiencing reverse culture shock quickly escalated into my being threatened with investigation. And how this, in turn, has led to illegal surveillance and harassment.]
[Edit: See December 14 post, 'Disturbing the peace.']
Experiencing the world has been pivotal learning. But I was/am waaayy too open in searching for answers and seeking kindred spirits. Wanting to give people the benefit of the doubt, I've been lied to, used, cheated, bodily groped, and stolen from (even pickpocketed twice), many times over. It was probably too much all at once. I went from being a flower child at heart to seeing Big Brother in everything.
I try to keep an open mind - in spite of the surveillance and ongoing betrayals from people. But I've also come to realize that there are definitely some nasty folks around. I don't say that lightly. I truly believed even the most cruel or vile of people must have a spark of humanity. I tried to live by that creed. Foolish me.
My other major learning has been experiencing surveillance firsthand. Being continually haunted and hounded, I realized privacy and freedom are no longer my rights. I can relate to thriller movies in ways I never did before. Last year, watching Runaway Jury, I wept.
Hollywood films like Runaway Jury and Shark Tale offer subtle hints of a growing new world order. And if you think it's all dismissible glitter, remember this: Hollywood is the biggest marketing body and propaganda machine around. Read about its history of censorship, and also, what happened during the 'Red Scare' in the 40's and 50's.
The Front is an excellent film about the 'Hollywood Blacklist' - the U.S.'s most infamous period of censorship.
Net Lexicon's definition of blacklist gives a good example of how fear-mongering can reduce suspicions to sheer physicality.
From Raju Abju's internet article, "The Hollywood Blacklist":
Fifty years later, it is certainly much harder to find someone who would not agree that it is un-American to penalize a person for his known or suspected thoughts and words rather than for his criminal deeds. If we have not become a more tolerant nation in that time, then at the least the demise of the Cold War has lowered the temperature in which such a basic issue of free speech could be discussed (Rosenfeld A27).
Problem is, fifty years on, the situation is far more complicated. Post-World War II hopefulness and United Nations idealism have faded into a global ruthlessness.
Both the 'global village' and the all-encompassing power of electronic media that Marshall McLuhan predicted are now realities. Wars are being waged in the name of 'democracy'. Yet the approach is totally imperialistic. People's ethnic, cultural, and national identities are becoming blurred, while others may have been hiding theirs for years (mostly out of necessity). This spells C-H-A-O-S. Our basis for establishing trust is extremely superficial.
With the U.S. Republicans and George W. Bush's re-election, it may be difficult to question the real events around the World Trade Centre attacks. It also means post-911 security measures (Homeland Security) will continue to expand, leaving average citizens like putty in the government's hands.
Personal privacy and the right to dissent are fast disappearing. I'm not surprised people haven't yet noticed the loss of freedoms and democratic autonomy, and how this will affect us all.
It's pretty serious. As we all get sucked onto the internet and digital communications teat (mobile phones, satellites, faxes, PDAs, etc), Big Brother's ability to track and control people, nations, and so on, will be limitless.
Believe me, I'm not making these ideas up to bolster my own soapbox rants - I wish I were. I speak from my own experiences of what unchecked conservatism looks and feels like.
Am I going to cry about it? Or beg for help? No. Best I can do is offer suggestions. Stay tuned...
posted by outside the box... at
1:52 PM
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