 NOVA_GuyObamaCare Kills AmericansPremium
join:2002-03-05 | reply to Crysin
Re: 911? said by Crysin:I know i'm going to get flamed for asking, but why is it you care so much that your government is tracking you? Because I care about my privacy, even though I may have nothing to hide. And because, philosophically, I believe that our government must be kept on the shortest leash possible and given only enough limited power to perform its most essential functions.
Since security is an essential function, I support our government having the ability to monitor people. But since this ability-- like all things-- is subject to abuse and misuse, I believe that its use should be strictly monitored and audited.
I am not opposed to the technology, per se. I am opposed to having a system that blindly trusts that the technology will not be abused.
Law enforcement officers are people too, which means they're subject to making mistakes, being emotional, and going on power and ego trips. If close tabs were not kept on the ability to monitor GPS cell phone locators, I could easily see an officer or two who thinks his wife/significant other is cheating on him abusing the system to track their movements. Those types of actions not only hurt the targeted victim; they hurt law enforcement, as public trust in their ability to protect decreases. (I am a firm believer that the protect part of "protect and serve" includes protecting everyone's rights.)
said by Crysin:Sure it may not be right, but you seem outright paranoid about it. Perhaps there are reasons for being paranoid about government abusing its power. Waco and Ruby Ridge come to mind as two extreme examples of said abuse. The Rodney King beating comes to mind as another.
While there is admittedly a big difference between beating/killing innocent civilians and merely tracking them, I would still argue that there are a number of people in government who routinely abuse their power. Providing them with another tool that makes it even easier is not something I'm in favor of.
said by Crysin:If the FBI is going to track you, they're not going to go just randomly choose, they're going to be tracking people with high level interest, not the average joe on the street. I would certainly hope so. But I do not share your blind faith that this is (or will always be) the case. We give our government a considerable amount of power over our lives. This power should come with significant accountability, a very short leash, and harsh penalties for abuse. Unfortunately in today's world the accountability, short leash, and still penalty portion of my opinion does not appear to be reality.
said by Crysin:Also remember you choosing to by the product that Sprint or whoever is offering, by you choosing that product, i think it's unfair to complain about what they do with their product, that they service, that you chose to buy. I've chosen to purchase a product provided by Sprint, which means I've chosen to buy their service. This service does not include the right to disseminate private, personal information about customers at will-- which is essentially what is being done.
I suppose you would be opposed to releasing customer credit card and Social Security number information to the general public by Sprint. I also suppose you would be opposed to releasing your private cell phone number to the public by Sprint. (I know I would be.) Other private, personal information-- such as GPS tracking information that show where I am and where I've been-- should remain confidential as well.
A system needs to be put in place to ensure that it does, by monitoring and recording requests for information, and tracking when and how such requests are fulfilled. Ideally, data from the monitoring system (about who is requesting what information) should be accessible to the public. This would appear to be the most direct method of ensuring that abuse of the GPS tracking data system does not occur.
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To all liberals: I am NOT one of your parents, so get the heck out of my wallet. It's time for you to grow up and take some personal responsibility for taking care of yourselves, which means not relying on the government to give it all to you. |
