The Five Stages of NSA Surveillance Grief
If the recent leaks about the US government's surveillance of
all worldwide electronic communications have left you upset or confused, then
you may be experiencing one of the five stages of NSA surveillance grief.
Much like the
Five Stages of
Grieving over death, the Five Stages of NSA Surveillance Grief shows the
natural phases that individuals go through after learning that the US
government has had complete access to all their electronic communications for
many years.
1. Denial
Despite the articles about
ECHELON network published since
at least 1999, many individuals have convinced themselves that there is no way
the US government could even
have computer servers large enough to hold all
of this information.
Individuals are commonly in denial that this really is possible.
"You mean the government can read all my emails and no one in the
media has told us until now? Where were the New York Times or the Washington
Post, leading the charge for freedom, exposing the government for
surveillance on its citizens that far exceeds anything George Orwell or Richard
Nixon could ever dream of?"
Others have believed that their clever Facebook usernames or
avatars in other online environments would be enough to fool any snoopers and
so preserve their online anonymity. Still others have maintained a touching
belief in US Constitutional safeguards, despite the loss of so many other civil
liberties since 9/11.
However, since the Snowden revelations (however tame they
seem to some), it's hard to stay in the denial phase. Yes, Virginia: the NSA
really does know everything that you do online.
2. Anger
After learning that the government has been logging your every
email, text message and phone call, just in case, some individuals grow angry and
say things like "This is unjust!" or "This is illegal."
Others say: "I'm moving to Canada." Then they
realize Canada is equally under NSA surveillance, so there's really nowhere
they can go to enjoy secure electronic communications. They must live out the rest
of the days like a rat in a maze, while the US government and friendly telecommunications
corporations watch their every move. Some people are actually infuriated by
this, as they once enjoyed the delicious illusion that their communications were
sacrosanct.
More entrepreneurial-minded people even vow to take steps in
order empower themselves. Some consider starting their own Big Data company
to get in on the action. After all, if you can't beat them, join them. Once you
have collected enough personal data about other consumers, you will be a player
in the corporate surveillance game, with all rights and benefits accruing to
you, and none of the responsibility.
Unfortunately, for many people starting a Big Data company to
compete with Facebook or Google is beyond their means.
So others make ludicrous vows, such as that they won't use the
Internet anymore, until they realize that they have been wasting their entire
lives on the internet for years now, and they have very little life outside it.
3. Bargaining
The anger phase often gives
way to the bargaining phase, as the newly enlightened individual realizes that
he must compromise with the "new" situation.
Some people resolve
to be more discreet with their Facebook postings (e.g., don't post anything in
favor of the Occupy movement as this is an obvious red flag).
Others realize that
they should not bring their mobile phone (which tracks their every move) along with
them if they intend to do anything illegal (e.g., play poker at a friends'
house and not declare their winnings on their tax return), or do anything simply
compromising (e.g., visit their mistress without their wife's approval).
Bargaining is a
healthy stage, as the newly awake individual is blindly groping his way toward
acceptance of the Orwellian superstate.
4. Depression
Unfortunately, after
the bargaining phase, many people regress into depression. For many it is sad
for them to learn that their supposed Constitutional right to be "secure
in their persons and their papers" was just a big lie to keep them
participating in a system that forces them to work fifty weeks per year, and
stay connected (via their smart phone naturally) with their employer most during
nights, weekends and holidays as well.
Many people treat
their depression with anti-depressant medication, which often helps move them
to the next phase: acceptance.
5. Acceptance
Most people simply come to accept that there's not a damn
thing they can do about it. If all electronic communications are caught in a
government dragnet, their best option is just lay low, keep their mouths shut,
and pray that they are not on some government watch list for daring to
criticize the U.S.'s 2003 unilateral invasion of Iraq, for example.
Coincidentally, this is exactly the behavior that the
government is looking for, showing the effectiveness of the system, and how the
Acceptance phase is Win/Win for both individuals and the government alike.
Some people try to show their patriotism by claiming that
they have always accepted government surveillance and even want it go farther.
Why not put government cameras in our homes? You don't have anything to hide,
do you? You don't mind if smart TV's keep on an eye on you to make sure you're
not a terrorist, do you? If you do mind, then perhaps you are a
terrorist.
For some people the worst part of the Acceptance phase is accepting
that some wormy conspiracy theorist they know has been right about this for
years, and will probably say I Told You So, at the first chance. That's the
absolute worst part, far worse than the government knowing that you really like
videos about Chinese women with really large buttocks.
For many, the good news is that they have nothing to hide
after all. Unless you have cheated on your spouse, cheated on your taxes, or
disagreed with any US government policies in last twelve years, then the
government's knowledge of your every digital move is little cause for alarm. It's
not like they have enough drones to attack everyone, so people who keep
quiet will stay low on the government's priority list.
Conclusion
Realizing that the NSA basically knows everywhere you have
gone (or at least your mobile phone has gone), and everyone you have called,
texted, emailed, or messaged for years, can be disturbing at first.
However, just as people learn to accept the inevitably of
death, so can people learn to live with the inevitability that using modern electronic
communications infrastructure is more like broadcasting yourself to the world
than sending a privileged communiqué sealed with diplomatic immunity.
We hope that you can join countless others and move to the
acceptance phase. Anger and denial are temporary phases that most people can
learn to outgrow.
