The "Big Brother" episode of "Conspiracy Theory with Jesse Ventura" is the most dispiriting I've seen so far. Because, well, it's all true. Every claim the show makes is easily verified, by legitimate sources. Most of it is stuff you have probably read about in the newspapers. The rest is easy to look up with a quick bit of Googling.
Are grocery stores maintaining vast data mining troves of information based on your purchase, as recorded by your grocery store swipe card? Yes. Is there a new RFID-enhanced driver's license being offered for people traveling across the Canadian and Mexican borders, which can easily be scanned by anyone in range with the right equipment? Yes. Is the federal government providing funds for installing CCTV camera networks into cities and towns across America? Yes.
The PATRIOT Act, which was enacted in the wake of 9/11, gave the government unprecedented access to our private lives. (It also incidentally created a cash cow for any security-minded business that could finagle its way into a military clearance.)
The sad truth is that we live in a dystopian future. The real question is, so what? What's the action item? "Raising awareness" is all fine and good, I suppose, but at a certain point it becomes futile. (I feel the same way about "breast cancer awareness.") But short of a "Fight Club/blow up the credit network" scenario, I really don't know what we're supposed to do.
The only real debate here is what it means, and to what extent we're comfortable with this situation. I personally tend to side with Ventura on this, who leans towards freedom on the "security versus freedom" equation. (Admittedly Ventura may lean a little too far out there; he mentions in the episode that he refuses to carry a cell phone or buy a car with the OnStar system, so that "they" can't track his movements.)
The big question this meets with is, "So what?" Safeway has a record of every single purchase I have ever made with a Safeway card… so what? But if the information exists, it can be sold and abused. One guest on the show spins a hypothetical scenario where Safeway decides to sell their information to the health insurance companies. Next thing you know, your health insurance policy is being canceled because you buy too much junk food at the grocery store. Frankly, this scenario sounds pretty plausible to me.
As with most "Conspiracy Theory" episodes, this one goes off the rails about halfway through and starts bulldogging a somewhat random tangent. In this case it's InfraGard, which is a coalition of private businesses and corporations which have been essentially deputized by the FBI.
InfraGard is an FBI program which began in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombings. Officially described as "A collaboration for infrastructure protection," InfraGard is problematic enough that the ACLU has publicly announced its concerns with the program. InfraGard essentially turns private corporations into, in the ACLU's words, " surrogate eyes and ears for the FBI." In exchange, they are rewarded with earlier access to private information and security warnings, as well as with the power that comes from being part of an elect, yet officially-sanctioned, secret society.
You can't even really call InfraGard a "conspiracy," because the word connotes secrecy. InfaGard's mandate isn't a secret; it's right there on their website.
Are grocery stores maintaining vast data mining troves of information based on your purchase, as recorded by your grocery store swipe card? Yes. Is there a new RFID-enhanced driver's license being offered for people traveling across the Canadian and Mexican borders, which can easily be scanned by anyone in range with the right equipment? Yes. Is the federal government providing funds for installing CCTV camera networks into cities and towns across America? Yes.
The PATRIOT Act, which was enacted in the wake of 9/11, gave the government unprecedented access to our private lives. (It also incidentally created a cash cow for any security-minded business that could finagle its way into a military clearance.)
The sad truth is that we live in a dystopian future. The real question is, so what? What's the action item? "Raising awareness" is all fine and good, I suppose, but at a certain point it becomes futile. (I feel the same way about "breast cancer awareness.") But short of a "Fight Club/blow up the credit network" scenario, I really don't know what we're supposed to do.
The only real debate here is what it means, and to what extent we're comfortable with this situation. I personally tend to side with Ventura on this, who leans towards freedom on the "security versus freedom" equation. (Admittedly Ventura may lean a little too far out there; he mentions in the episode that he refuses to carry a cell phone or buy a car with the OnStar system, so that "they" can't track his movements.)
The big question this meets with is, "So what?" Safeway has a record of every single purchase I have ever made with a Safeway card… so what? But if the information exists, it can be sold and abused. One guest on the show spins a hypothetical scenario where Safeway decides to sell their information to the health insurance companies. Next thing you know, your health insurance policy is being canceled because you buy too much junk food at the grocery store. Frankly, this scenario sounds pretty plausible to me.
As with most "Conspiracy Theory" episodes, this one goes off the rails about halfway through and starts bulldogging a somewhat random tangent. In this case it's InfraGard, which is a coalition of private businesses and corporations which have been essentially deputized by the FBI.
InfraGard is an FBI program which began in the wake of the Oklahoma City bombings. Officially described as "A collaboration for infrastructure protection," InfraGard is problematic enough that the ACLU has publicly announced its concerns with the program. InfraGard essentially turns private corporations into, in the ACLU's words, " surrogate eyes and ears for the FBI." In exchange, they are rewarded with earlier access to private information and security warnings, as well as with the power that comes from being part of an elect, yet officially-sanctioned, secret society.
You can't even really call InfraGard a "conspiracy," because the word connotes secrecy. InfaGard's mandate isn't a secret; it's right there on their website.
Photo credit: Flickr/Cail Young