Judge Andrew Napolitano likes to say that the camera is the new gun. He is more right than even he may know. Cameras in the hands of ordinary citizens are something that most bureaucrats and public officials have a deathly fear of.
Government officials and law enforcement officers are more terrified of the average citizens armed with cameras than they are of an entire constitutional militia armed with guns. One who is inclined to thoughtful reflection might wonder why this should be.
Image via WikipediaGovernment (and yes that includes your local goverment and it's officials as well B-town!), by its very nature, is a violent organization. They need to use force, intimidation and coercion in order to exist. They have, in fact, claimed a monopoly on the use of force. If you were to try to try to do the same things these people do everyday you’d be arrested in a heartbeat. To those of you who are reading this and think that police brutality and corrupt government officials are "big city" problems that do not effect us here in "small town" Bloomington, I say let us not forget the tragic case of James Borden Sr. who was murdered by two Monroe County jailers on Nov. 6 of 2004, or the disappearance of a barn full of marijuana under county sheriff control, or the time police bloodied up local activist Mike Andrews during a bicycle protest in downtown Bloomington just to name a few of the higher profile cases.Government agents and police officers are far more frightened of video cameras than they are of guns. They know how to handle guns. Common folks threatening violence against statist criminals may find it difficult to succeed in their efforts. The only thing the state knows is violence. It only knows enforcement. It wouldn’t surprise me to find many of the tax bottom feeders chomping at the bit to get a chance to exercise that which they know best. Common folk armed only with cameras, however, that’s another story. The statist criminals are going to find it very difficult to beat such efforts, as all options should eventually lead to their demise.
Image via WikipediaCameras are something these people have been using against the general public for years. We have red light cameras, speeding cameras, public security cameras, all kinds of cameras in different areas set up to make sure we don’t break a myriad of victimless laws they’ve created for revenue generation. When anyone complains about it, about the lack of privacy or violating rights, their standard reply is “if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” Well, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Why are they so afraid of cameras if they’re doing nothing wrong? Why would they have laws against operating video in courtrooms and other venues where they supposedly work for us? If they are doing nothing wrong, what do they have to hide? Think about that the next time you hear about mindless police automatons asking legitimate protestors and political activists to put away their cameras on public property. Don’t believe the security excuse. The only security they’re worried about is their own. They do have secrets to keep and things to hide, and they don’t want the general public to find out, mostly because they are doing something wrong, and likely they know it.
The camera can expose all this. It can provide proof of wrongdoing. It can provide a tool to help hold accountable those who break their own rules, and the rules they expect the common folk to obey. Most of all, it can help change the way people think about our government servants and how they behave. It can help create an overwhelming righteous indignation toward arrogant government agents who feel they are better than the common man and above the law. The camera may, in effect, be a weapon far superior to the gun, for it is a weapon that helps win the hearts and minds without causing significant blowback.
Image via WikipediaCameras are something these people have been using against the general public for years. We have red light cameras, speeding cameras, public security cameras, all kinds of cameras in different areas set up to make sure we don’t break a myriad of victimless laws they’ve created for revenue generation. When anyone complains about it, about the lack of privacy or violating rights, their standard reply is “if you’re not doing anything wrong, you have nothing to worry about.” Well, what’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Why are they so afraid of cameras if they’re doing nothing wrong? Why would they have laws against operating video in courtrooms and other venues where they supposedly work for us? If they are doing nothing wrong, what do they have to hide? Think about that the next time you hear about mindless police automatons asking legitimate protestors and political activists to put away their cameras on public property. Don’t believe the security excuse. The only security they’re worried about is their own. They do have secrets to keep and things to hide, and they don’t want the general public to find out, mostly because they are doing something wrong, and likely they know it.The camera can expose all this. It can provide proof of wrongdoing. It can provide a tool to help hold accountable those who break their own rules, and the rules they expect the common folk to obey. Most of all, it can help change the way people think about our government servants and how they behave. It can help create an overwhelming righteous indignation toward arrogant government agents who feel they are better than the common man and above the law. The camera may, in effect, be a weapon far superior to the gun, for it is a weapon that helps win the hearts and minds without causing significant blowback.
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