Big Brother is watching
Monday, February 25th, 2008
We are not generally speaking regarded as a particularly murder-prone society, except that violent knife and gun crime is now a feature of contemporary British society. However the convictions last week of two murderers has provoked considerable public interest. The young Ipswich prostitutes met their deaths because of their drug dependency, also another feature of our contemporary national life.
The point of real enduring interest is how public opinion has not reacted favourably to a considerable expansion of the DNA database. I suspect that two years ago the public view would have been different in the same circumstances. The way sensitive personal information has been lost, mislaid or misused has begun to change public perceptions. Personally I really do hope so. Big Brother Government is no longer viewed in benign terms.
Unnecessary intrusion, often simply for marketing purposes, now infects the private sector. I have just ordered something over the telephone: requests for an email address, daytime telephone number, date of birth etc were asked for on a voluntary basis. I declined. Information like this is now freely being shared. Of course it is not the same thing as seeking one’s DNA, but we go along with this culture of ever greater intrusion at our peril.
Poor old Gordon. He is not exactly good at taking criticism. He has been criticised at the very limited travel abroad, apart from to the United States, that he has undertaken. So he went off to India, of course thereby escaping any local questions here about rising interest rates, inflation, and his economic record.