[116661] in Cypherpunks
IP: Detroit: Subdivision cameras creepy, but Big Brother's
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Robert Hettinga)
Tue Aug 17 14:24:38 1999
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Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 13:33:06 -0400
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
From: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
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Reply-To: Robert Hettinga <rah@shipwright.com>
Again, it's not private supervision of *property* that's a problem.
It's government supervision of *citizenry* that's the problem. The
former is common sense. The latter is tyranny.
Of course, the "free" liberal media can't make that distinction.
That's because they're not actually free.
Cheers,
RAH
--- begin forwarded text
From: "Dan S" <ds1999@crosswinds.net>
To: "isml" <isml@onelist.com>
Subject: IP: Detroit: Subdivision cameras creepy, but Big Brother's
already watching
Date: Tue, 17 Aug 1999 12:08:25 -0400
Sender: owner-ignition-point@precision-d.com
Reply-To: "Dan S" <ds1999@crosswinds.net>
http://www.detnews.com/1999/metro/9908/17/08170038.htm
-
Subdivision cameras creepy, but Big Brother's already watching
By Laura Berman / The Detroit News
It's a brave new world, all right, and a few hundred people in two new
Macomb Township subdivisions are among the bravest.
Tina Young, for example.
She and her husband moved from Warren to a house in the Brittany Park
subdivision last December, drawn by the spacious homes, the promise of a
ready-made community, and a closed-circuit television system that will allow
them to watch the kids swimming in the pool or waiting for the school bus.
"We thought about the closed circuit TV system, and we think it's a positive
thing," says Young, 29. "It's one of the reasons we moved here."
But any new wrinkle in video-enabled life sets off warning bells in those of
us attuned, at least in principle, to the idea that surveillance is, uh,
creepy.
When George Orwell wrote 1984, he introduced the unnerving notion of Big
Brother watching you. Now, out on 22 Mile Road, there's a subdivision with
surveillance cameras, and a new vision of post-millennial parenthood: "Oh,
look, there's little Jason beating up his sister on channel three. Let's
bring him in for questioning."
It's not a big leap to see the happy new residents of Brittany Park as
unwitting Stepford husbands and wives, serenely unaware they've plunged into
the Twilight Zone as they grill steaks on the deck and flip their remote
controls.
Since Detroit News Staff Writer Mark Truby detailed the camera systems in
Brittany Park and another Macomb Township subdivision last week, the
developments have received national media attention.
As a society, we tend to approach technology the way dogs approach
strangers: sniffing warily and ready to dodge at the slightest hint of
danger.
Are the cameras in Brittany Park destroying privacy? Or are they like test
tube babies: a concept that inspired sensational headlines 15 years ago, and
has since become practically humdrum reproductive technology today?
As a 29-year-old mother of three, Young has a baby in diapers, a son heading
off to kindergarten, and a strong interest in convenience. If she can turn
on the television set and see that the pool is too crowded with teen-agers
for her toddling children, she can skip the pool and hang tight in the great
room of her Stratford model home.
"Otherwise, I've got to pack up the water wings, the snacks, the towels,
the sunscreen, dress everybody, walk to the pool -- and then decide to come
home," explains Young.
Besides, the cameras aren't trained on anyone's homes: They're posted in
only a few sites. Young says she'll appreciate being able to watch her son
get off the school bus on her TV set, rather than bundling up the baby and
heading into the snow and ice to meet him.
As a culture, we're attracted, perhaps fatally, to convenience. There was a
time when plastic bags lacked Ziplocs, telephones didn't take messages and
filled coffee mugs couldn't easily ride in the car.
Nearly every day, you and I make choices that almost imperceptibly whittle
away whatever slim veneer of privacy we still retain.
Before you decide that your world is far more private than the brave new
subdivision of Brittany Park, you may want to remember that the cameras are
whirring in the department store dressing room, the telephone names every
caller and your ATM card is watching you.
Laura Berman's column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday in the Metro
section. Reach her at (248) 647-7221 or lberman@detnews.com.
--
Dan S
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--- end forwarded text
-----------------
Robert A. Hettinga <mailto: rah@ibuc.com>
The Internet Bearer Underwriting Corporation <http://www.ibuc.com/>
44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
