How Many Surveillance Cameras Can You Count On Your Most Common Routes?
This community is spread out all over the world, I just wondered how many cameras can you count along the route you take most, lets say, on your morning journey?
I can get almost into the main shopping/communtor drag before Im watched by camera, but have to pass at least one police box (think Dr Who-like kiosk, manned by a single policeman). I get asked for foreigner registration papers at least once a month, and not always by those who are entitled to ask for it, and I am the most innocuous looking gaijin female.
When I get to a train station, cameras are hard to avoid. You can still pay in cash for a ticket slip at a booth, and don thave to use your cell phone to beep through the turnstyles, nor a card registered to you, but once on the platform/ in the tunnels, there is no escape from the all-seeing eye.
I wondered what it was like where you live? Are American or British citizens watched less or more than us? Is the experience different for citizens to those who have emmigrated? I would say, if you dont head into Tokyo/Osaka/Kobe etc, and stay in the countryside, there are very few to no cameras.
Its a similar situation here in the UK, I currently live and work in rural areas, and there are very few cameras around. One CCTV camera in a town I work in that monitors a roundabout and the surrounding area - but other than that the only CCTV there really is around is in shops etc.
When I used to work in a city it was a very different situation - almost every road was lined with CCTV as are all the rail/bus stations etc. It has often been said that the UK are one, if not the, most watched nation.
I think that it depends on where you are in the country, but Americans are watched a lot more than they like to admit. Our government has cameras everywhere, especially in major cities. I found it quite interesting to go through cities like Boston when I tried to avoid every camera possible. Now I don't really try to avoid them, I have accepted them to a degree even though I note where they all are.
I would say that as a citizen, I have come to accept it for different reasons, and these different reasons also differ greatly on my surroundings.
For example, at College. I have accepted the large amount of 'Public Safety' officers on campus, as well as all of the cameras due to the environment. The Campus is a location that needs to have that kind of surveillance and Big Brother atmosphere due to the higher risk of theft, and the increased rate of people doing stupid things.
Acceptance of the cameras in major cities, I have only come to an acceptance because I know that at this point there is no getting rid of them. Unfortunately the way American society has evolved, we have this need to be able to know everything about everyone else, and just delude ourselves that we can't be backtraced. That said, I do not support cameras and all of the other tracking systems, so I tend to do what I can to try and avoid it whenever possible, or do as the Harlequins do and simply move too fast for them to follow me.
It doesn't really matter anyways, since the USA is probably going to collapse on itself in the near future anyways
Well, I have seen the Surveillance cameras used to prosecute the guy that raped one of my friends, so I do think that they help. As for the protests, they are around, but since not enough people care, and the media actually benefits from these cameras, they cannot really become heard.
If anyone else is in the USA, particularly if they are close to D.C. there is a protest going on the 23rd of July that is called the "People's State of the Union" and one of the things being protested is the prevalence of surveillence cameras in American society, as well as many other things, but I think that is one of the ones that is most prevalent to this community.
I wonder which countries are the least watched ones, Kia. Are people in the UK aware they are being so closely watched, or is it something which is totally accepted by the majority in your opinion?
I would say people Japanese cities accept it unquestionally as being in their best interest, even though I cannot imagine a generally more self governing people, or a safer environment as long as people are not involved with the yaks.
Im truely interested.