Sometimes things just don’t work. That’s what seems to have happened with my column over at Civil Beat this week (“Hawaii Monitor: Edward Snowden Leaks Parallel 1971 Heist of FBI Files“).
When I saw the first description of the new book about the 1971 break-in at a small FBI office in Pennsylvania during the height of the Vietnam War, I was hooked. I remember when the burglary took place, and watched the investigations of illegal spying (and more) unfold over much of the next decade. I immediately ordered the Kindle edition of the book. But my column about it doesn’t appear to have gotten any traction. It failed to draw a single comment either on Civil Beat’s website or Facebook page.
Last week’s column managed more of a response (“Hawaii Monitor: It Is Time to Plan an Orderly Retreat From the Beach“).
If you would like to read the columns but have used up your free views at Civil Beat, use these links: 1971 Heist of FBI Files, and Retreat from the Beach.
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Actually it was a good comparison, Ian. I watched Amy Goodman interview participants of the break in this morning on Democracy Now. The question, I think, is why are citizens so complacent about the violation of their rights and privacy guaranteed by the Constitution, when they are so obviously being violated by elected and appointed Government? Are citizens just not smart enough? To brain washed? To recognize the service, the integrity involved in Snowdens actions to inform the public of our governments horrible discretions? Thanks for trying!
I suspect most people are suffering from Snowden saturation and don’t know want to hear more than is already being forced on them by the MSM, much less use their free time to read about its historical analogue in alternative outlets.
That doesn’t make them bad, ignorant, or stupid people or citizens. Just tired ones.
I first saw story from a yahoo page link to a Washington Post video – thought that short video well done.
Thank you, Ian, for sharing the news about the parallels between the earlier exposures of the FBI’s domestic spying and Ed Snowden’s more recent revelations showing the USG’s Internal Security agencies have maintained the same agenda, albeit with much more sophisticated and capable technology.
Ohio asserts many in the public are “tired” of the Snowden story and Patty suggests those who are tired, are failing in their civic duties. I kinda agree with both of them.
I think what “tires” some readers is the fatigue caused by cognitive dissonance. Rightwingers, who have grown fond of pretending they are a reincarnation of the Revolutionary Sons of Liberty, complete with tri-cornered hats and their modern “muskets,” are caught in a conflict. They don’t like Snowden’s actual defense of Liberty, as it conflicts with their unresolved authoritarian instincts of respect for police power. They would rather denounce Obamacare as tyranny than to have to deal with the fact military contractors like Booz Allen and the Carlyle Group are collecting data on our every electronic communistic action and tracking our every move through archived GPS records.
Liberals, who were happiest when they could denounce the Bush-Cheney-Ashcroft-Wolfowitz – Admiral Poindexter Neo-con cabal, are less comfortable following the story now that it has become obvious the Obama-Biden-Kerry-Clinton gang is continuing the Total Information Awareness domestic spying they rallied against a decade earlier.
Damn that Snowden for forcing them to confront the uncomfortable truths which not only conflict with their preferred narratives, but reveal violations of our rights we all swore we would never tolerate when we read Orwell’s 1984 in intermediate school.
As Jack Nicholson so famously told us: “You want the Truth? You CAN’T HANDLE the Truth!”
So we look for flaws in Snowden’s character or behavior we can use to attack the messenger rather than deal with it and face up to our earlier pledges that we would not tolerate such sweeping intrusive monitoring of our secrets. We ARE cowards. We ARE complacent sheep. In a different context, we probably WOULD be the “good Germans” who looked the other way.
“What is To Be Done? My brain aches. I don’t want to think about it. I am tired. Let me go back to sleep.”
Thanks, Kolea, for your excellent perspective.
I did not mean to write “electronic communistic action.” I tried to write “electronic communication.” My computer thinks it can spell better than I do. Most times, it is right.
But electronic communistic action has a nice ring to it.
Now now, guys. Let’s not give the “Obama is a socialist” crowd any ideas. 😉