The Left is all agog about Flock cameras, depicting them as silent intruders into our privacy. According to them, we citizens have precious few rights remaining, and with new surveillance technologies seemingly rolling off the shelf every day, unless we roll back these intrusions, we’re doomed to lives of constant monitoring by the state.
There’s plenty of dumbness in this argument. The Left argues that we cannot maintain our privacy if there are cameras everywhere, capturing our images and our license plates. Young liberals seem particularly annoyed by this threat. It’s rather odd, when you think about it, since they are the generation that lives online. They entrust all of their privacy to social media, willingly sacrificing their anonymity in order to amass likes and followers. So which is it? Do privacy advocates really want to be left alone, or do they yearn for the numbers that the biggest influencers pile up? Because, after all, you can’t have both.
I get a kick out of these ACLU types who are always screaming about privacy. They’re right to call attention to the erosion of our privacy, but I would argue whatever remains of our privacy is more theoretical than actual. I would add that if you’re leading an innocent life, and not breaking the law, you have nothing to fear from surveillance. In fact, you should welcome it.
That Flock and other cameras can help solve and prevent crime is indisputable. Every day we read about another perp who was busted after a surveillance camera revealed his identity to police. Lord knows our cops need all the help they can get in tackling crime. If a camera happens to catch you going through a red light in your car, I very much doubt that the police would use that as a pretext to arrest you. But even if they did, why did you choose to drive through a red light? That was wrong, and you knew it when you did it. Don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time, goes the old saying.
It comes down to your attitude toward police and public safety. If you’re convinced all cops are bastards—a very widespread view in Oakland—then nothing they do or don’t do will ever satisfy you. You want cops defunded, you don’t want them at your Gay Pride Parades, you don’t want them patrolling and protecting your public schools, you don’t want them out there on the streets. On the other hand, if you understand that policing is a basic human function without which a safe, orderly society is impossible, it makes you feel more secure knowing that the police have new, incredibly effective tools with which to protect us. At least, that’s how I feel.
The last week was physically tough on me, and things are not going to get appreciably better. However, I’m still alive, relatively healthy, curious, motivated to help my city flourish, and more dedicated than ever to fighting against the things that are destroying my country. I know it drives some of my readers crazy when I criticize Trump and MAGA, but really, people, how come all of you aren’t demanding his immediate impeachment and imprisonment? You see what’s happening as clearly as I do. Trump is moving in on the November election, like a ferret eying a potential kill. At the same time, we have the wokes who will never, ever give up their fight to establish a fascist leftwing dictatorship in America. Clowns to the left of me, fools to the right, and here I am, just a man with a blog, in the peaceful twilight of his life, seeing the light and trying to live in the light. It’s hard, but unless you’re out there fighting for what you believe, what’s the purpose of living?
Have a wonderful weekend.
Steve Heimoff