Zebulon
Member
- Joined
- Jul 25, 2005
- Messages
- 59
- Reaction score
- 0
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Independent
It's finally happened, and now I don't know what to do.
I was looking up some facts about the Maher Arar case (Google it, it's scary), when I came across Amnesty Internationals site. On it, it talks about how the government can use the threat of deportation and torture to quell any types of uprisings against US policy. Read it here. There's also a link down the bottom where you can send an email to the President, telling him that you don't believe this practice is right. I was going to do it.
And then I stopped.
I started thinking about having my name on a list.
I used to laugh those types of ideas off as stupid. Who would care about me, right? I'm no threat to anyone or anything. I can mouth off all day and noone would care at all. It's stupid to be worried about that type of thing.
But I still didn't send that e-mail, now did I...
The more I thought about it, the more worried I got. Not in the "They're out to get me" sense, but in the "I'm actually worried that my freedom of speech could be used against me" kind of way. I never thought of freedon of speech as a weapon to be used against me before. It's scary.
"Let them say whatever they want! Flaunt it as a basic freedom!! Then, when they dig themselves in nice and deep as a terrorist loving, anti-American, non-correct-thinking scumbag, we nail em."
Again, I type those words and I cringe. Soon I'll be wearing a tinfoil hat to keep our the mind-control rays, right? But still...
They can track our book usage by our library cards. They just voted to extend that for the next 10 years. They can do roving wire taps without the normal due process involved in getting them. The FBI has files on Greenpeace and Amnesty International. They can pick you up and transport you to foreign soil for torture. They can hold you in Cuba without a trial.
So I don't click that button, and I worry. I worry about my future, my kids, my job, my mortgage application. I worry about my country.
Someone please explain to me why I'm being paranoid and crazy. PLEASE.
I was looking up some facts about the Maher Arar case (Google it, it's scary), when I came across Amnesty Internationals site. On it, it talks about how the government can use the threat of deportation and torture to quell any types of uprisings against US policy. Read it here. There's also a link down the bottom where you can send an email to the President, telling him that you don't believe this practice is right. I was going to do it.
And then I stopped.
I started thinking about having my name on a list.
I used to laugh those types of ideas off as stupid. Who would care about me, right? I'm no threat to anyone or anything. I can mouth off all day and noone would care at all. It's stupid to be worried about that type of thing.
But I still didn't send that e-mail, now did I...
The more I thought about it, the more worried I got. Not in the "They're out to get me" sense, but in the "I'm actually worried that my freedom of speech could be used against me" kind of way. I never thought of freedon of speech as a weapon to be used against me before. It's scary.
"Let them say whatever they want! Flaunt it as a basic freedom!! Then, when they dig themselves in nice and deep as a terrorist loving, anti-American, non-correct-thinking scumbag, we nail em."
Again, I type those words and I cringe. Soon I'll be wearing a tinfoil hat to keep our the mind-control rays, right? But still...
They can track our book usage by our library cards. They just voted to extend that for the next 10 years. They can do roving wire taps without the normal due process involved in getting them. The FBI has files on Greenpeace and Amnesty International. They can pick you up and transport you to foreign soil for torture. They can hold you in Cuba without a trial.
So I don't click that button, and I worry. I worry about my future, my kids, my job, my mortgage application. I worry about my country.
Someone please explain to me why I'm being paranoid and crazy. PLEASE.