Prism. Boundless Informant. And who knows what else.
Before I continue,
I'd like to state that yes,
it is indeed motherfucking ironic that I'm posting on a site that actually contributes to the problem.
But fuck it.
I still need to express myself.
And regular pen and paper just won't do.
Maybe that's part of the problem, eh?
We're just so used to uploading
our thoughts and pictures and other types of personal information to the internet.
It's become a normal thing.
And of course,
whenever there's something precious,
whenever there's something to exploit for financial gain or power,
you can bet your ass that is exactly what is going to happen.
I've read hundreds of comments on the issue.
One thing that truly amazed me was
that there were actually people online
who were thinking along these lines:
"If you've done nothing wrong, what's there to hide?"
Yep. This type of people still exist!
I mean of course there are going to be people who think like that.
Just like there will always be those who believe Jesus was White,
and that the Easter Bunny is a friend of his.
But damn, man.
When you actually encounter one of these geniuses...
it's kind of like your brain got hit with a stun grenade.
Your jaw drops.
Oh yes.
That kind of stupidity STILL exists.
Well if you happen to be one of them,
let me say this:
Forget about the fact that THAT is one the things
most authoritarian governments say to justify the invasion of your privacy,
and it's not far behind the "It's for your own security!" justification
for taking away your rights - free speech comes to mind.
No. Forget about all that.
Let me put it in a way that is in the ballpark of what you might understand.
Once they know everything about you,
they OWN your ass.
When that happens,
you're going to be one of the 'in-betweens'.
You'll be one of those who remember that there was a time
when you could express yourself.
And you might even recall how that freedom slowly eroded.
Hell, you might even remember specific moments when it happened.
And that might make you a threat.
You see, the generations that come after you
are going to see absolutely nothing wrong with it.
They would've been trained.
Just like Soviet citizens accepted what life was like,
so will they.
They would have known nothing else.
That makes them less of a threat... than you.
You dare to express (unapproved) discontent?
Hope you like prison food.
Maybe an exaggeration at this stage.
But how do you think totalitarian regimes get started?
By first getting support from people like you, you dumb fuck.
Lately I've let others do the arguing for me.
And over time,
I lost the capability to argue.
Actually felt myself losing the ability to articulate my thoughts,
like it was fine sand,
slowly slipping through my fingers.
I would do a search for those who argued against a particular viewpoint
I disagreed with.
Then, once I found the ones that seem to match the amorphous
objections in my head,
I would just use their arguments.
Sure, I agreed with them.
But by relying solely on others,
I was losing the capacity for critical thinking.
I would see comments on stories and articles
that to me exhibited severe ignorance (and a lack of functioning brain cells),
and somehow,
the fear of being thought of like that actually almost stopped me
from expressing an opinion on something.
And that scared the shit out of me.
I will express my opinion.
And I will be open to debate,
and to the opinions of others.
Sometimes people will agree with me.
Sometimes they won't.
And sometimes I will make mistakes.
But it should never, ever stop me from expressing my thoughts.
This has been a much longer post than I'd expected.
And what's an even bigger surprise,
is that I feel compelled to write even more.
But I'm tired.
Tired, but a little satisfied.
This is the first step in a long, long series of steps that will need to be taken,
before I become once again comfortable in my own skin,
before I once again am able to clearly put into words
what I am thinking.
Being able to express yourself is critical.
I shall not take it for granted.
Well enough of that
