Brain on Fire » Blog feed Tim McCormack says words

Open surveillance to the public

Automated disclaimer: This post was written more than 15 years ago and I may not have looked at it since.

Older posts may not align with who I am today and how I would think or write, and may have been written in reaction to a cultural context that no longer applies. Some of my high school or college posts are just embarrassing. However, I have left them public because I believe in keeping old web pages alive—and it's interesting to see how I've changed.

My local paper, the Daily Progress, ran a story today about a proposal to install 30 security cameras may produce institutionalization of the public.

  • Watching someone through a security camera immediately imbues the subject with an air of dangerousness and crime. (Next time you see footage of CCTV on the Downtown Mall. I think there's a wrong way is wrong, and suggest a scheme that could lead to a right way. I'll explain why the wrong way is wrong, and suggest a scheme that could lead to a right (or better) way.

    Level the playing field">Level the playing field

    Imagine that proposal to install 30 security cameras may produce institutionalization of the public.

  • This increasing mutual distrust between civilians and authorities leads to oppositional behaviors among the civilians.
  • The Mall-cams, citizens 1) invest time in the spirit of what I have suggested.

    This is by no means a finished proposal. I want to hear your thoughts as well.

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