Flock Cameras Coming Down Fast in Idaho

I blame COVID for the opposition to Flock cameras. Shortly after 9-11, the government passed security measures, and basically, nobody blinked. Those are still in place, with a huge data collection industry behind them. Out of sight, out of mind. You can see traffic cameras. If you haven’t given them much thought until recent abuses came to light, it’s because there’s not much local media left to report on what happens at City Hall. A couple of years ago, what was left of the local paper whined that nobody had told the staff that the Chief of Police had retired. If a reporter had been at the public meeting when it was announced, it would’ve been news. But the paper doesn’t cover local government, because there’s only a skeleton crew on duty. Things are no better in broadcasting.

The Cameras have Been Up for Years in Some Spots

Eventually, the news does become public knowledge, but cameras are now ubiquitous. I gather most people aren’t opposed, but they don’t make much noise, and opposition grows when the abuses start seeing the light of day. It’s too much of a temptation. When I was a college student, a guy once told me a local cop looked up a woman for him after he supplied a license plate number. Apparently, the local policeman didn’t think twice about supplying the information to friends. Training is better today, but people remain curious beings.

People's Trust is Fading Away After Too Many Lies

How do I see the relationship to COVID? People trusted the government a lot more 25 years ago, but after the debacle of 2020, not so much. Anthony Fauci invoking the Fifth Amendment may have benefited Tony, but even some of his fellow traveling liberals admitted it was a bad look. While what was left of the news media was mostly a mouthpiece for elites and government during the so-called pandemic, the lies and psychological operations being run by people in power eventually broke down.

By the way, a friend near Pocatello told me that several cameras were vandalized over Labor Day Weekend.  I don't recommend crime as a political tool.