Scarface
The State vs Scarface
Al “Scarface” Capone was an infamous mob boss during the Prohibition Era. He ran protection rackets, extorting the public under the guise of it being for their own safety and protection. Despite all this, he was romanticized as a modern-day Robin Hood.
However, after the Valentine’s Day Massacre, popular opinion swiftly turned against him. The courts found it impossible to prosecute him directly for his crimes, for he had threatened the jury to remain silent.
The courts eventually found him guilty of a completely unrelated crime, tax evasion, and sentenced him to 11 years of prison in Alcatraz.
This was not cleverness.
This was corruption.
Last week, the details of the PRISM mass-surveillance program were leaked. But my main concern is not privacy, or even transparency.
The overbearing reach of the law means we’ve all already committed some felony. (lying on a tax form, pirating that music album, smoking that joint in college, etc) But with access to our emails and private messages, the government now has all the evidence they need, to put any of us in jail.
Should you dare defy the government, they can simply pull up their databases, find some dirt on you, and prosecute you to the fullest extent. They put the CEO of Qwest in jail for six years, after he refused NSA demands to wiretap his customers. They drove Aaron Swartz to suicide, after his activist work with PACER,WikiLeaks, and Strongbox.
The old catchphrase, “if you have nothing to fear, you have nothing to hide,” implies only criminals need privacy.
According to our government, we’re all criminals now.
The State is Scarface
The NSA was an infamous governmental agency during the Post-9/11 Era. They violated all common senses of privacy, spying on the public under the guise of it being for their own safety and protection. Despite all this, their methods were rationalized as necessary to stop terrorism.
However, after the leak of the PRISM program, popular opinion swiftly turned against them. The public found it impossible to uncover the exact truth, because they had issued gag orders on the companies they were spying upon, to remain silent.
…
Including our government, we’re all criminals now.
Inspired By
Why Privacy Matters Even If You Have Nothing To Hide
An argument that privacy is not just about hiding bad things, it’s about how governments will mishandle and misinterpret your personal data.
Why Didn’t Tech Company Leaders Blow The Whistle?
“…and the CEO’s still serving a 6-year federal prison sentence for quietly refusing an NSA demand to massively wiretap his customers.”
You Commit Three Felonies A Day
How the Feds target the innocent, using the legal system that’s meant to protect us, against us.
