Suppression before uprising: how the system attempts to push societies away from the practice of protesting

globinfo freexchange

Six years ago we wrote that controlled information that reaches the media and reproduced by them, may include the overestimated capability of governments to monitor, for example, an extremely large number of phone conversations. Even if there is such a possibility, such huge amount of data is extremely difficult to be processed. However, the technology is evolving rapidly, and possibly will allow processing of large amount of data in very short time, in the near future. When technology will allow this, people will have already become familiar with the idea that any conversation can be investigated and processed any time.

Today, it seems that not only we reached that point, but the establishment apparatus seeks to 'train' us to accept an elevated form of suppression, through a rapidly growing surveillance technology.

A recent article published in NY Times proves that the establishment apparatus will seek to expand the suppression state in unprecedented levels. As more and more people - and especially the young generations - increasingly defy the current neoliberal status quo and even the modern capitalist order, the deep state is looking for ways to prevent any form of future resistance. 

The article essentially describes a chilling, upgraded Orwellian state, which will be able to track easily large numbers of protesters - all the way back to their locations and personal lives - through their cellphones. As the article reveals:

                    ... each phone is also emitting another beacon in the darkness — one that’s invisible to the human eye. This signal is captured and collected, sometimes many times per minute, not by a drone but by smartphone apps. The signal keeps broadcasting, long after the protesters turn off their camera lights, head to their homes and take off their masks. In the United States, and across the world, any protester who brings a phone to a public demonstration is tracked and that person’s presence at the event is duly recorded in commercial datasets. [...] “Without question it’s sinister,” said Todd Gitlin, professor of journalism at Columbia University and former president of Students for a Democratic Society, a prominent activist group in the 1960s. “It will chill certain constitutionally permitted expressions. If people know they’ll be tracked, it will certainly make them think twice before linking themselves to a movement.” 

You can consider the last phrase (highlighted red) as a warning shot against anyone who will think to join any movement against capitalist order, when things will get even more uglier for the majority in the close future.

Edward Snowden confirmed the information of the article through a tweet:

Even at protests, your phone is emitting a beacon, one that’s invisible to the human eye. This signal is captured and collected, sometimes many times per minute, and keeps broadcasting long after the protesters head to their homes and take off their masks. https://t.co/Oexxyfidqh

— Edward Snowden (@Snowden) December 22, 2019

 

The article suggests some legislative action against this Dystopian development, but would it really be effective? Just think that the US government managed to make the vast majority of the Americans accept the restriction of personal liberties under the pretext of the 'war on terror' in the post-9/11 era. Yet, now that all this 'war on terror' facade is collapsing - also by the recent revelations concerning the war in Afghanistan - we would expect from Western governments to return gradually to the pre-9/11 conditions. Instead, we observe the opposite.

It's almost ridiculous someone to believe that this can be stopped through a bill. When on the other side, the whole complex has gathered all the power. The tech giants, the deep state, the bought politicians and the propaganda machine are bound tightly, forming a powerful system. And this system will do whatever it takes to protect its privileges.

In an era where the young people realize that capitalism can't give any prospect, neither for them, or the planet, the dominant system feels a great threat. And therefore, it starts sending suitable messages to multiple receivers and potential 'disruptors', while at the same time unveils its deeply authoritarian nature. It deliberately demonstrates its brutality and unlawfulness against people like Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning. And then, it shows that it can track you any time if you dare even to protest against its crimes.

Suppression before uprising is happening right now, in our modern Orwellian world ...