As one of David Brauer�s publications warned us in late 2003, the Target-sponsored downtown surveillance system went �live� in early January 2004. Most of the cameras are relatively discreet, corner-stoplight versions of those installed in motor-traffic intersections, complete with signal lights: if I didn�t know otherwise, I might think the surveillance equipment was an elaborate signal system for light rail. Following is my one-month report:
Since the installation of the system, I have not gone downtown without making an attempt to conceal my appearance. I don�t think the screen-watchers are particularly interested in me (I�m boringly law-abiding), I�m just trying to protect my public anonymity to the best of my ability. In fact, after some deliberation, I eventually changed the bus route I take to work so as to avoid downtown on a daily basis. My walk to the bus stop is a little farther, but because I don�t have to transfer, total travel time is actually less. My new bus route borders a �bad� neighborhood, but the remote threat of crime is far less harmful to my mental health than having to deal daily with concrete proof of corporate rule. (There is an allegory here to the national situation, but considering that this is a local-issues list, I won�t elaborate.) Nicollet Mall was never the Champs-Elys�es, but since the installation of the surveillance system, I wonder how much spontaneity will eventually be lost from our downtown lives. Anyone who has written in a journal at a sidewalk cafe�, kissed a lover on Nicollet Mall, or gone openly into a gay bar in the past may be reluctant to do so now. Although we may not be individually Targeted, we are being officially watched, and knowing we are watched ultimately has an effect, however subtle, on human behavior. There has been previous discussion and debate on this list about consumer boycotts, with some contributors supporting them and others refusing to be �inconvenienced� by them. The unfortunate fact is that, in early 21st-century America, we have more power as consumers than as voters. Until we can replace the majority of Minneapolis elected officials who are lost in Target�s deep pockets, boycotting is our most potent form of peaceful protest. If you are concerned about corporate rule and civil liberties, please boycott Target, Marshall Field�s, and Mervyn�s, and let Target corporation executives know why. If anyone on the list wants to boycott but can�t imagine life without Target, please send me an e-mail ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) for advice: I haven't been a customer of the Target corporation since the corporate-center controversy, and it�s helped me become a more conscious (and conscientious) consumer. Roberta M. Beach Minneapolis Ward 7, Precinct 5 �That so many Americans are willing to live under such conditions. . .speaks volumes for how willingly people have given up their democratic rights, and how acceptable autocratic rule really is to large numbers of Americans.� --Bettina Drew, from �Crossing the Expendable Landscape� (1998) REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
