I don't mind Big Brother watching me buy a Big Mac
Edinburgh Evening News/GRANT STOTT | September 16 2005
Comment: Maybe someone should point out to Mr. Stott that a government engaging in escalating criminal actions and becoming more and more secretive should not be watching us as if we're all criminals. That's not freedom. Would you let a pedophile watch your child 24/7?
Boot-licking quote of the year: "But I really don't think they'd be a bad thing. Think about the fun we could have at parties showing each others photos! It would be as much fun as we have at the airport when we all compare those dodgy passport snaps."
IT'S a sad state of affairs, but due to the society that we live in, our moves are being watched more and more.
Be it at work, where most of us have to sign contracts which state that our e-mails, internet access and computer systems can, and shall be, monitored as and when the employer sees fit, the proposed introduction of ID cards or outside where CCTV cameras are appearing on more streets, we just can't escape it.
At our work, we're all well aware that if you use e-mail or the internet for anything other than business use, chances are you'll get found out and could have some embarrassing questions to answer. Like, exactly what sort of music research can a certain presenter do on a website called www.hunnersofburds.com? It's for ornithologists, honest!
The ID pass debate is a very contentious one and, to be honest, one I don't have a problem with. Actually, that's a lie. I do have an issue with it. Where about in my wallet should I keep it? Should I put it beside my cashline card or gym membership? I think you'll probably be able to tell which one is used more often.
But I really don't think they'd be a bad thing. Think about the fun we could have at parties showing each others photos! It would be as much fun as we have at the airport when we all compare those dodgy passport snaps.
I read in the News earlier this week about the rise in cameras that have been set up in Edinburgh City Centre and was quite shocked at the level of necessary intrusion that is now upon us.
I tend to believe that they are there more for our individual safety as opposed to the council trying to see what you and I are up to.
I can assure you, if you were to tail my up-town antics, you'd have an enthralling trip round CD stores, gadget shops and an occasional stop off for a Big Mac. It's obvious these cameras are there to prevent crime and help convict offenders, which at the end of the day can only be a good thing.
Anytime we read anything about CCTV and ID cards they are inevitably followed by quotes from the great and the good of the human rights and civil liberties brigade.
They generally spout off about how ID cards shall infringe our rights to go about our business as human beings and cameras should not be watching us as we walk about the streets of our home city.
PERHAPS they have a point, but personally speaking, I think our rights are worth being infringed in this manner, if these measures are there to protect us and make it easier for us to go about as we wish.
I wonder how many of these do-gooders have found themselves walking up Lothian Road on a Saturday night/ Sunday morning and felt decidedly ill at ease. I know I have, and if anything were to happen to me, I'd be comforted to think that cameras might help catch anyone responsible or even prevent anything ugly happening in the first place.
I don't think there's much of an argument, when you think about it the choices we have are; stopping the cameras in the name of our human rights, or not being able to freely walk down our main thoroughfares at night.
Similarly with ID cards. Yeah, they could be a pain in the proverbial, having to show them at the most inopportune moments, but if you've not done anything wrong, then you shouldn't really have anything to worry about!
It's more a reflection on our society than anything else, and if we have the technology to fight it then surely we should use it.
Shops have used cameras for years to protect their businesses and it is now totally accepted and a way of life. And there aren't many big workplaces where you don't need ID to get in and out.
There is no doubt about it, we are most definitely living in an age of Big Brother. And sadly it's not just about Jade Goody's unbelievable and completely inexplicable rise to household name-dom!
Edinburgh Evening News/GRANT STOTT | September 16 2005
Comment: Maybe someone should point out to Mr. Stott that a government engaging in escalating criminal actions and becoming more and more secretive should not be watching us as if we're all criminals. That's not freedom. Would you let a pedophile watch your child 24/7?
Boot-licking quote of the year: "But I really don't think they'd be a bad thing. Think about the fun we could have at parties showing each others photos! It would be as much fun as we have at the airport when we all compare those dodgy passport snaps."
IT'S a sad state of affairs, but due to the society that we live in, our moves are being watched more and more.
Be it at work, where most of us have to sign contracts which state that our e-mails, internet access and computer systems can, and shall be, monitored as and when the employer sees fit, the proposed introduction of ID cards or outside where CCTV cameras are appearing on more streets, we just can't escape it.
At our work, we're all well aware that if you use e-mail or the internet for anything other than business use, chances are you'll get found out and could have some embarrassing questions to answer. Like, exactly what sort of music research can a certain presenter do on a website called www.hunnersofburds.com? It's for ornithologists, honest!
The ID pass debate is a very contentious one and, to be honest, one I don't have a problem with. Actually, that's a lie. I do have an issue with it. Where about in my wallet should I keep it? Should I put it beside my cashline card or gym membership? I think you'll probably be able to tell which one is used more often.
But I really don't think they'd be a bad thing. Think about the fun we could have at parties showing each others photos! It would be as much fun as we have at the airport when we all compare those dodgy passport snaps.
I read in the News earlier this week about the rise in cameras that have been set up in Edinburgh City Centre and was quite shocked at the level of necessary intrusion that is now upon us.
I tend to believe that they are there more for our individual safety as opposed to the council trying to see what you and I are up to.
I can assure you, if you were to tail my up-town antics, you'd have an enthralling trip round CD stores, gadget shops and an occasional stop off for a Big Mac. It's obvious these cameras are there to prevent crime and help convict offenders, which at the end of the day can only be a good thing.
Anytime we read anything about CCTV and ID cards they are inevitably followed by quotes from the great and the good of the human rights and civil liberties brigade.
They generally spout off about how ID cards shall infringe our rights to go about our business as human beings and cameras should not be watching us as we walk about the streets of our home city.
PERHAPS they have a point, but personally speaking, I think our rights are worth being infringed in this manner, if these measures are there to protect us and make it easier for us to go about as we wish.
I wonder how many of these do-gooders have found themselves walking up Lothian Road on a Saturday night/ Sunday morning and felt decidedly ill at ease. I know I have, and if anything were to happen to me, I'd be comforted to think that cameras might help catch anyone responsible or even prevent anything ugly happening in the first place.
I don't think there's much of an argument, when you think about it the choices we have are; stopping the cameras in the name of our human rights, or not being able to freely walk down our main thoroughfares at night.
Similarly with ID cards. Yeah, they could be a pain in the proverbial, having to show them at the most inopportune moments, but if you've not done anything wrong, then you shouldn't really have anything to worry about!
It's more a reflection on our society than anything else, and if we have the technology to fight it then surely we should use it.
Shops have used cameras for years to protect their businesses and it is now totally accepted and a way of life. And there aren't many big workplaces where you don't need ID to get in and out.
There is no doubt about it, we are most definitely living in an age of Big Brother. And sadly it's not just about Jade Goody's unbelievable and completely inexplicable rise to household name-dom!