Big Brother Is Watching
A senior at the University of Massachusetts doing a research paper on communism filled out a form requesting a copy of Mao Tse-tung’s Little Red Book from the university’s interlibrary loan program. What he got for his trouble was a little lesson in how a police state works. According to The Daily Standard of New Bedford, the student was visited shortly afterward by two agents from the Department of Homeland Security, who told him that the compendium of quotes and speeches by Chairman Mao is on the government’s “watch list.” Also, the fact that the kid had travelled a lot apparently raised a few eyebrows, too. Another nice touch: The student declined to give his name to the paper, or even to be interviewed, fearing repercussions. So the machinery of coercion is working pretty well. Nice little country we got going here. — Tony Long
-[from Furthermore, on Wired.com]
Even Republicans — normal ones, not the Bush cabal — can’t like where this is going. Please, someone, tell me this isn’t something the majority of Americans support? That this doesn’t make anyone feel “safer”? That it’s just a bad dream and I’ll wake up in real America….
6 responses so far ↓
1 techreader // Dec 23, 2005 at 8:34 pm
Fortunately, this appears to be a hoax.
http://www.ala.org/aaslkcTemplate.cfm?Section=storytellingfest&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=111834
However, as SF author Jerry Pournelle sometimes notes, things have gotten bad enough that this story is not AUTOMATICALLY unbelievable.
2 techreader // Dec 24, 2005 at 11:41 am
Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, http://instapundit.com/ reports that the author of the hoax has admitted to it. Reynolds also remarks, as above, that it is originally believed. Is this a sign of the nature of the times, or a sign that people are more gullible than they have been?
3 Christopher // Dec 27, 2005 at 7:28 pm
So, I hate to say it but this story turns out to be false. The kid made it all up: he recanted and admitted to fabricating it over the weekend:
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/12-05/12-24-05/a01lo719.htm
4 regina lynn // Dec 31, 2005 at 6:44 pm
I’m SO GLAD this is a hoax … but I’m with Glenn and Jerry … like ‘toothing, this was not too far out to be believed …. And ‘toothing actually came true, after the reports about the “false” activity …
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