this post was submitted on 15 Aug 2026
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How can we make people see that these problems were happening before anyone had heard of Flock? Flock is just amplifying the worst things about American policing.
Flock isn't even the first system of surveillance cameras and ALPR cameras, they're just the first with national-scale panopticon ambitions.
There is this recurring theme of comments I keep seeing. "If you think this is bad, well it's nothing new, you should know what's been going on the whole time!".
The reaction they should have is “I’m glad this is finally getting attention!”
That's not my attitude at all.
The basic "they really are spying on you" issue at the heart of the Flock scandal has bubbled up before, abuses have come to light before, there was alarm and pushback before, and then nothing in particular changed before, and the surveillance came to be accepted as the status quo before.
I don't want this go the same way. How can we connect this version to a bigger picture of freedom and liberty, instead of letting the news story run its course, letting it fade away, as has happened every other time?
I see it more as "This is a symptom of greater problems, we need to attack the root cause and not just react to the surface level stuff that's most obvious"
Why not both?
Sure attack the real cause. That's the real work, the hard work, it takes time but is the only lasting solution.
But let's not make it EASY for them! Take out the Flock cameras everywhere every time they're spotted, and fight new installations before they happen. Make it clear that public opinion is against them, that they're anti-safety implements that erode civil society and abolishing them should be the first step in reclaiming the basic rights of humanity, such as privacy and bodily autonomy.
also profiling protestors too.
What’s your point?
I’d even go a step further and say that only because of Flock’s good auditing, those cases were revealed. Which means at the same time, that in the past, police officers were doing the same, just hidden.
Kinda like a “don’t shoot the messenger” situation.
That shows that we don't need more surveillance of the general population, just of cops and those that hold office.
Surveillance was never the issue. Crime rate is high because people have no education, no jobs with fair salary, no future. Especially if you have a health condition, chances are that your life will be better inside a prison because of the included healthcare.
Fucked up situation. And it will take decades of recovery.