In defence of Big Brother: I want more snooping, not less (U.K.)

The Telegraph (U.K.) ^ | April 5, 2012 | Dan Hodges

[Stoat]

 I want to live in a surveillance state. Big Brother, come cast your watchful eye over me and mine. I love you, bro.

Seriously, when I saw the outcry over Government plans to gain access to telephone, email and internet, my initial reaction was: “You mean they can’t do that already?”

I assumed, somewhat stupidly, that everything we said, typed or viewed was routinely monitored, and then filtered by some giant, super-secret computer tucked away in a heavily guarded subterranean basement of GCHQ: “Hodges has just said he wants to shoot another Liverpool player, sir.” “Oh, he’s always saying that, Jones. Ignore him.”

I don’t want less surveillance, I want more of the stuff. My idea of the perfect society is one where every street corner has a CCTV camera, everyone has a nice shiny ID card tucked in their wallet and no extremist can even think of logging onto a dodgy website without an SAS squad abseiling swiftly through their window.

For one thing, I have a relatively benign view of the state. There are some things it does much better than others, and I realise it’s high time it learnt to cut its coat to suit its cloth. But on balance I view the state as a force for good, rather than some giant, menacing monolith, and that’s especially true when it comes to stopping myself, my family and my friends getting blown up by crazed terrorists.

[Stoat]

Dan Hodges

Dan Hodges is a Blairite cuckoo in the Miliband nest. He has worked for the Labour Party, the GMB trade union and managed numerous independent political campaigns. He writes about Labour with tribal loyalty and without reservation.

 

 

 

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Don't be too quick to dismiss Mr. Hodges' editorial as being a joke or a tongue-in-cheek bit of amusement....there are millions - on both sides of The Pond -  who truly believe this sort of thing but are usually not honest or articulate enough to actually open up so plainly in a manner such as this.

For these Big Bruv-loving weaklings the solution to all problems and evils in the world is more and more Government and a more and more intrusive State.  Terrorism?  Rather than focus on those most likely to commit terrorist acts, destroy the quality of life and crush the freedoms of everyone....we have to maintain 'fairness', after all.

Before you lambast the UK as being uniformly this way, however, take a look through the reader comments at the Telegraph site.  You'll find MANY thoughtful people...easily a strong majority....who are of a completely opposed opinion.  Here's a fairly random example:

 

leapingcat

15 minutes ago

Dear Mr Dan Hodges, I have not read such a barmy load of old tosh for simply ages... 
If our cretinous Governments of recent history had not imported millions of angry muslims and had not invaded various islamic countries then we would not have a terrorist condition to be protected against.

I am very sorry to say it, but the period when we could consider our elected representatives as benign and working for the common good no longer exist.

The European Union is intent on creating a soft communist socialist Greater  United States of Europe and we really have a great deal to fear from that.

Mr Dan Hodges, basically. You are a Fool...!

 

 

[Stoat]

“Thought you might be interested” ping :-)

[sinsofsolarempirefan]

I can understand an article like this appearing in the Guardian, by WTF is this idiot doing writing this toss the Telegraph of all papers?

[darkangel82]

Cuckoo, indeed. the ramblings of a truly crazy person.

[Clock King]

Like I said, some people WANT to be slaves. It absolves them of any personal responsibility, because the never matured beyond the level of a teenager.

[Clock King]

Like I said, some people WANT to be slaves. It absolves them of any personal responsibility, because the never matured beyond the level of a teenager.

[july4thfreedomfoundation]

Dan Hodges = loser. And a loser who is afraid of his own shadow.

[Dr. Sivana]

I give him credit for thinking through to the logical conclusions of his premises. It’s kind of like Orwell, without the Newspeak.

[Dr. Sivana]

I will also add that he should be forced to sit through the movie “Brazil” ... maybe twice.

[peeps36]

I am disgusted by people who trust the government completely. They don’t think the government is capable of wrongdoing or corruption. There are far too many of these fools on both sides of the Atlantic. That is why we have power hungry governments that are out of control.

[a fool in paradise]

Cameras on street corners don’t prevent crime. It just lets the po-po observe from a safe distance and have “evidence” to use to prosecute someone with MAYBE later.

Bruises on victims make a better case.

Remember when Fat Mayor Rino in NYC said the Times Square bomber was a rich fat white guy upset over Obamacare? Houston used those cameras to justify hundreds of “national security” cameras around town.

They don’t work for &^$%. Surrender your freedoms, serf.

[Freedom_Is_Not_Free]

Rule Britannia, Britannia rule the waves!
Britons never, ever, ever shall be slaves.

Well, OK maybe if Britain has more of this kind of idiot running around. Then, slavery in 3...2...1...

[Vanders9]

Possibly the editors at the Telegraph were attempting to elicit the kind of responses they have got!

[Vanders9]

People like being in prison.

[KeyLargo]

Illegal surveillance takes a serious toll on victims Health professionals say being monitored can lead to a range of stress-related ailments By Jung Hwan-bong, staff writer　 Accounts of the fear and anxiety suffered by victims are surfacing in the wake of revelations of large-scale surveillance of civilians by state organizations. Speaking in a recent media interview, television personality Kim Je-dong described his feelings after being monitored by saying he “always shakes a bit going up on stage” and “can’t get a good night’s sleep.” Psychiatrists and psychologists agreed that surveillance victims would have difficulty functioning normally due to stress. Seoul Neuropsychiatry Clinic director Seo Cheon-seok said, “It’s frightening enough to have a stalker following you around, but when it’s a powerful state organization doing it under assumed legality, it creates tremendous stress.” Seo said long-term surveillance leads to depression and an increased likelihood of stress-related ailments, including gastritis, stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. “It’s horrifying to even imagine someone continuously peering into your life,” Seo said. Read at: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/527104.html