Justify All Surveillance

I stole this from Samizdata. It is the clearest, most articulate statement of the refusal of the Drummer and many others to be observed; whether in the name of "climate change", or "preventing crime", or "enabling access to services", or my personal favourite, "because it's about saving lives". Incidentally, how did "think of the children" become a leftist dog whistle, while "it's about saving lives" is still some kind of moral trump card?

Quote follows:

Tom Wright of wrightwing.net wrote the following as a comment but it is simply too splendid to languish in the comment section...

I have said this before and in other venues:

I will support public [CCTV] cameras only if they are first placed in those areas where the worst and most egregious crimes occur:

In every room and every hallway of every police station in every nation.

In every room and every hallway of every legislative body in every nation.

In every room and every hallway of every executive and judicial branch of every nation.

And, as a condition of employment, upon taking the oath of office, permanently bolted to the head of every elected official, every appointed official, and every official authorized to carry arms in the course of duty.

Turned on, broadcasting, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in a manner I, and every one else, can monitor and record.

Then I will support cameras on me.

Not since "Eric Hobsbawm is a mendacious Stalinist" (myself) have I heard anything I more completely agree with. Let those fuckers be watched.

Let us watch Lord Goldsmith's abuse of the constitution to save his mate from justice over cash for peerages. Let us watch the meetings at which the Charities Commission is henceforth going to close down all civic charities and bodies that work selflessly for some, or all, of the population which don't fulfil the basic criteria of modern, secular organisations (ie all Christian bodies). Let us watch Madeleine Bunting while she writes her columns for the Guardian about the surfeit of personal freedom in the west, just so we can see the way a twisted conscience lives with itself. Let us watch the policemen who say they will target people who are acquitted of traffic offences.

We might find it illuminating.