On Monday 10 Sep 2007 10:05 am, Venky wrote: > Forgive me for a couple of naive questions - but just to clarify > things - are you actually okay with the government recording the > keystrokes of every person using a cyber cafe, and more > importantly, do you buy the argument that national security is > inherently more important than individual privacy? > > For argument's sake, I will accept your position that your bank > is just as likely to misuse your personal information as the > police are.
Thank you for understanding my point. I see your question as being in two parts which I will answer separately >"are you actually okay with the government recording the > keystrokes of every person" No. I am not okay with this. By no means. But if the government chooses to impose this on me - I will fight it on my terms rather than fighting the government where it hold the cards. More on that below. >"are you actually okay with the government recording the > keystrokes of every person using a cyber cafe" I don't care if they do. I assume I am being watched in a cybercafe. I see the world as being a balance between what is acceptable to me and what is not. I will not oppose anything that is acceptable to me or doesn't bother me, while I will oppose what is not acceptable to me. However, I will not willy nilly enter a battle that I cannot win. I would rather preserve my fight to us in a situation where I have the power to make a difference. Living is this world is living in the middle of a power game in which those who have power over you will exert that power, and you will exert power where you can. If you want to subvert or oppose the power of someone more powerful than you are, your game has to be a subtle one in which you can get whatever you can under circumstances that ensure that you win. Blindly railing against authority and the power of the government and police is the most common and least effective way of making a difference. The weakest part of such an argument is that the police/government may have a point that wins a PR battle for them. And life teaches me that even the biggest bastards have friends and supporters. When the entity that imposes power over you is powerful, consider cooperation to see if there are chinks you can exploit. You then join the establishment in a sense, and are either able to fight it from within, or use your new found power on others. Short of these two there are very few alternatives to choose from - other than ranting or railing. shiv
