Has Orwell's '1984' Come 22 Years Later?

gabec asks: "This weekend my mother bought a grille lighter, something like this butane lighter. The self-scanner at Kroger's locked itself up and paged a clerk, who had to enter our drivers license numbers into her kiosk before we could continue. Last week my girlfriend bought four peaches. An alert came up stating that peaches were a restricted item and she had to identify herself before being able to purchase such a decidedly high quantity of the dangerous fruit. My video games spy on me, reporting the applications I run, the websites I visit, the accounts of the people I IM. My ISP is being strong-armed into a two-year archive of each action I take online under the guise of catching pedophiles, the companies I trust to free information are my enemies, the people looking out for me are being watched. As if that weren't enough, my own computer spies on me daily, my bank has been compromised, my phone is tapped--has been for years--and my phone company is A-OK with it. What's a guy that doesn't even consider himself paranoid to think of the current state of affairs?" The sad state of affairs is that Big Brother probably became a quiet part of our lives a lot earlier. The big question now is: how much worse can it get? Am I just accustomed to old ways? Does the new generation, born with these restrictions, feel the weight of these bonds and recoil from my fears as paranoia? What can I, a person with no political interests--a person that would really rather think that the people in office are there because they're looking out for us, our rights, and our freedoms and not because their short-sightedness is creating a police state--do to stem the tide?"

Comments

Chill out

[megaditto]

First of all, by Orwell's definition, the Brother has to control not only your present and future, but to also be able to change the past.

Q: When was the last time the Bush administration changed the past?
A: Never, so whatever we have here, it is not yet 1984.

Second, if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. Unless you download pornography or plan arson, why should you object to being monitored on the internet or at your store?

Third, biological/organic material is ideally suited for preserving and transporting infectious agents. Peaches are perfect for storing bacteria due to the availability of sugar, moisture, and organic acids.
If anything, eggs should also be added to the watch list as it is the only means for growing smallpox and influenza viruses available to the terrorists. In fact, eggs are currently used to manufacture vaccines against the said viruses.

Fourth, and I paraphrase the Administration spokesman here, I would rather the government collected my call records than my remains

Fifth, the Bluetooth and Wireless technology can be used to control remotely-piloted aereal drones used for terrorism, and must thus be treated as dual-use technology; all foreigners must be required to acquire a deemed exports license to own, operate, or examine the said technology. Manuals should be classified.

Sixth, none of you liberals objected when the Clintons were killing Foster, murdering teenagers with trains, flying in cocaine, and selling missile technology to China (which since then has implemented the sold Aegis, nuclear isotope, and manned-spaceflight technology).

And finally, why do you hate America so much!!!!!11

Re:Go Fig

[Planesdragon]

Its Big Brother, but its a distributed Big brother.

*sigh*

Big Brother was not a tryanny of observation, it was a tyranny of control.

Go back and read that (god-awful) book again. Note the (thorughly depressing and rather insipid) plotline. Pay special attention to the description of how Big Brother operates.

Re:What privacy?

[drooling-dog]

The key difference being, of course, that these corner grocers didn't enter your information into a central database that is accessible by who-knows-whom for purposes legitimate or not.

I've been looking for someone to offer the old "if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to worry about" argument so I could jump down their throats, but I'm pleased to say that you're the closest that anyone's come so far. I'm still reading, though...

Re:And for the second step...

[cryptical]

Glenn Greenwald? Master of sock puppetry and a certifiable net.kook.

http://instapundit.com/archives/031632.php
http://www.classicalvalues.com/archives/003902.htm l

Re:It may be too late...

[ranton]

Wow, looks like someone must have just taken a "social problems" class in college last spring.

Because everyone knows all the minimum wage jobs are the easy ones...

Actually yes, minimum wage jobs are the easy ones. Minimum wage jobs are either for lazy people or stupid people. No one, under any circumstance known to man, should be making minimum wage in America if they are motivated at all. I worked with illegal aliens when I worked at KFC in high school, and they made around $8-$9 an hour (and overtime). Some made more than that. They did a job that most Americans would hate (expecially for that pay), but they are not making nearly minimum wage

I dont care if your parents were homeless, you still have just as many opportunities as your average illegal alien. Find a program that helps homeless get a first job. If your area doesnt have one, walk 100 miles to an area that does. Do some hard work. I did roofing for one summer in college, and worked with a guy who actually got the job while he was homeless in a shelter. It paid $14 an hour under the table (about 50-60 hours a week, no overtime pay). That was about $750 a week, but it was the worst work I ever did (and I grew up on a farm). You could afford an apartment in 2 weeks.

The ONLY people making minimum wage are LAZY, STUPID, or in highschool. I have known many people who made minimum wage, have known illegal aliens and homeless people, and have NEVER seen an exception. But in this "politically correct" world, we cannot call anyone what they are anymore. They are disadvantaged, not lazy. They are uneducated, not stupid. Survival does not require a high school education. Someone who cannot survive in this society (and at least can speak a language, any language) cannot blame anyone except themselves.

I still think we should be doing more to help disadvantaged people work their way up in society. But anyone who is still making minimum wage today is beyond help, because they are the problem.
--

Re:Big "OH Brother"

[Darkman, Walkin Dude]

And so what? Why is it any of their business what you choose to put in your body?

Aww Jeez, not this shit again. Listen baby, with a lot of these substances, the first time you put them into your body may indeed be your choice. The second and subsequent times generally are not. This is the nature of narcotic, addictive substances. My first cigarette was handed to me by my older sister. Anyone spouting "ah kin put wut ah like in muh body" crap has never been addicted to anything, and never had to have friends, family and loved ones suffer with the side effects of that addiction. So yes, there are good and excellent reasons to make substance abuse illegal, however it has been mishandled by US authorities.

Re:that leaves 15 million people there pal..

[plasmacutter]

yeah.. those damn poor.. we should just exterminate them via incineration.. *end sarcastic rant*

Re:Big "OH Brother"

[Darkman, Walkin Dude]

Er, why are you trying to equate addictive narcotics that are produced, supplied, and distributed with the express intent of being addictive narcotics, with swimming pools? Are swimming pools designed to drown children? I mean, talk about comparing apples with oranges, you are comparing filing cabinets with a three ring circus.

Re:Big "OH Brother"

[Darkman, Walkin Dude]

Blah. Marketing. Look it up. Even you admit that they need help. What does that tell you?

Re:Big "OH Brother"

[Darkman, Walkin Dude]

Just because someone can mess up their life and yours in the process doesn't mean we should remove their ability to do it.

I stand corrected. You have convinced me sir, of the error of my ways, and I shall go forth from this day forward espousing the right of my fellow man to mess up my life.

Would you fuck off.