Where are the protests against the Surveillance State? | Hacker News Reader

Where are the protests against the Surveillance State?

10 pointspatmcguire7 comments

The front page of HN is dominated by the US government's violation of basic civil liberties, but I've yet to see anything physical.

I've never been to a protest - I've been content to hack away up until now - but this is too much. Is there anyone organizing a demonstration? If not... how could this not be something worth taking to the streets for.

View on HN

Their is a certain psychological threshold around what will evoke protesting. Abstract concepts like these are hard for average people to grasp or care about relative to more immediate and direct concepts like "war". Unlike "war" their are no emotionally intense images to accomodate cyber spying. On the flip side I think people probably intuitively accept this is part of the world we live in now. This isn't just the government spying on people, this is people from all walks of life spying on one another as part of 21st century "culture", from marketing to state security. It's like the book 1984.I'm not even sure how the public could hold anyone accountable for any of it within the current assumptions we're living by. You could impeach politicians, but that's not going to do anything. The intelligence community has a blank check and the corporations have the rights of individuals devoid of the social constructs of real-life people. Or more to the point, they're superseded by the survival mechanisms of the collective within a company. Some of those mechanisms are good, some not-so-good. Anyway, I don't have an answer beyond that but felt like typing it.

I've been wondering the same thing. It's easy to make this story go away fast for most people by doing what they've already done—placating statements suggesting the programs are good and necessary and not infringing upon anyone's rights. Ongoing protests would continue to show that people are displeased and make it harder for the story to disappear like it always has before. So why isn't someone organizing them?

Because complaining on the Internet is way easier than doing something proactive. Less dangerous, too.

When do we meet outside Feinstein's office? Let's do it.

Aisle 9.

Right next to the military-industrial complex mix.

It's not the sixties anymore. You can waste precious time and resources protesting or you can raise funds, buy a politician or two, and make some real fucking changes like an adult.

Cynicism is safe, but it's happening now. I not now, when would you object? I feel like this is the bright red line.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com