That is the lamest arguement I have ever seen. I am quite certain that there were also many voices such as yours expressing doubt about the fight for independence from England. They said you will never succeed at it but we did. The problem is people divided are easy to control. People will get tired eventually and shit will go down. Despite the naysayers.

@Ceaselessmind

That's rude.

How about the flash strike that was called a few years ago. It was organised on Facebook.

On the day of the strike the Police had already turned up prior. They knew because they followed Facebook.

You tell me why every US citizen is being spied on - constantly... I'm looking forward to your answer.

And I have no idea what you're talking about regarding independence from England.

@Ellatynemouth you would not have an idea about it. As for being rude... all I can say is truth is not all fluff and pillows. Police are working not for us but the corporate interest. Dismanteling this is paramount. Vote locally and support local progressives who value privacy and human dignity instead of corporate money. You know... a thing called principle... people have been douped into the two party system and voting for the lesser of two evils. I am a no frills guy. I do not give a shit if I offend anyone. I put the truth out and it is up to people to digest it however they will.

@Ceaselessmind

So the police are working for corporate interests. I suppose that's a bit of an answer.

I still don't buy it. I agree about corporate interests. But the level of intrusion goes beyond that.

I maintain my stance. The surveillance state exists to monitor working class dissent.

@Ellatynemouth case and point. Standing Rock water protectors were on their own reservations defending their lands against the Tar Sans pipeline. The sherriff came out and defended the oil company and removed people from their own lands, reservations, so that the pipeline could plow through their land. They served the will of the big oil company not the law of the land. Interesting thing about indian reservations is that they are Federally protected. These are basically treaties that were drawn up setting aside these lands for the native peoples. It is not to be disturbed or infringed upon by an outside source supposedly. Yet the Sherriff was more than happy to use military surplus equipment to remove unarmed water protectors so that the oil company could violate the terms of a federally established reservation. Surviellence was used on both sides but the police were working for the oil company not for the government in this case.

@Ceaselessmind

I agree with you on that. Totally.

I still believe the main purpose of the surveillance state is to monitor working class dissent, but it hasn't been put into use yet. I'm thinking about the long term. Things like future unrest, general strikes etc.

Should a large group of workers decide to take strike action in the future, I can imagine they will be monitored fully. I can also envisage their power being cut off in their homes (smart meters have a third party back door) and other things like bank cards being suspended, so that people can't use their card at an ATM to withdraw cash.

Potentially, the state has a lot of power. A recent scandal in the UK reminds me of this.

During the election for the leader of the Labour Party a few years ago, the right wing within the Labour Party employed staff to trawl through Labour Party members' Facebook accounts.

They were looking for any excuse to prevent people from voting for Jeremy Corbyn. It was an unprecedented meddling to subvert the democratic process. Jeremy Corbyn still got elected despite thousands being blocked from voting.

@Ellatynemouth I totally understand your point of veiw with the state using it for pitential uprisings but that is not all that they do. Hillary Clinton had no chance to win in the primaries so she had the DNC to rig it and purge voters and closed precincts in many states. All this to hamper Sanders who was very popular and well liked. His rallies and all were much bigger than hers. But she had people troll through fb groups and communications all in an attempt to sabatouge his campaign. The people that supported him walked out of the DNC and left them high and dry. All because of the blatant disregard for the peoples voices. The deep state has a lot of reasons to keep people like Bernie out of office. This was a good example of that. So we got stuck with Cheeto in Cheif who is basically destroying everything good that has been done to promote humanity and commerce. However, the people do not have to go through social media to get a movement started. The old fashion way still works and can be deployed if necessary. The people are starting to wake up to the big red white & blue dildo that the government keeps shoving up their asses. I am not hopeless in humanity but things are about to get very dark for a while and it may be the end of the US as we know it or knew it. What emerges is yet to be seen but I do not see things getting better in the short term as I believe that the clause in the constitution that we the people have the right and obligation to fight and resist tyranny and government oppression. It may well come down to just that!

@Ceaselessmind

Yes. I agree.

I do worry that things are going to get dark, as you say. This exposes the true psychopathy of our ruling class. They really don't mind that people suffer and die, so long as they maintain their power and wealth.

I do think the public is in denial regarding the level of surveillance. It is being used for commercial uses mostly, at the moment. (It never seems to stop terrorist attacks, however.)

I wouldn't be surprised if my own online presence has created a file on me somewhere - 'left wing trouble maker'.

I don't click on them. I work around them.