The Internet has been in an uproar over 25 recent FBI/Department of Justice “Communities Against Terrorism” flyers, which are supposed to encourage citizens to report suspicious activity. The “Internet Cafe” flyer has a long list of suspicious activities, including being “overly concerned about privacy,” shielding your IP address, and looking at transportation maps. Equally as terrifying, the flyer also says it’s suspicious to “download or transfer files with ‘how-to’ content, such as […] information about timers, electronics, or remote transmitters/receivers.”
Sure, the flyer has a standard disclaimer, acknowledging that “some of the activities, taken individually, could be innocent.” But painting all how-to electronics information with the broad, damning brush of “suspicious activity” is exactly the kind of fear-mongering hogwash that keeps people from opening up their devices.
Fear causes people to lash out against things they don’t understand, such as electronics and chemistry—and the people who do understand can get caught in the crossfire.
The disappearance of childhood chemistry sets provides a sobering model for the future of electronics tinkering. In some states, you now need a criminal background check to purchase chemicals that were given to children at Christmas just a few decades ago.
The same sort of fear seems to be governing public response to electronics knowledge: a few years ago, MIT student Star Simpson was arrested for wearing a DIY light-up sweatshirt when she went to pick up a friend at an airport. Not only wasn’t it a bomb, it wasn’t intended to look like a bomb or to scare anyone—she made the shirt to show off her electronics skills for a career day at school. Yet she was charged with “possessing a hoax device.” After a huge media frenzy and a baffling legal battle, the charges were finally dropped a year later (she “only” had to do 50 hours of community service and issue a public apology).
Yes, you need to know how to solder to build a bomb. Yes, knowledge of chemistry can help you create all kinds of horrifying weapons. But at what point does the government regulating that knowledge become censorship?
What kind of discoveries are we missing out on because kids of this generation didn’t have a chance to experiment with real chemistry sets or tinker with electronics? What brilliant woodworkers have never touched a saw because schools no longer offer shop class? Why are we limiting learning in the name of safety? Isn’t society hurt more by stifling knowledge than it is by making that information theoretically available to terrorists?
If we make it a crime to learn about electronics, then the only people opening up their devices will be criminals.
You can help show the world that electronics aren’t something to fear. Make electronics repair mainstream: join repair collectives, wear electronics t-shirts, and tell your friends all about the beautiful insides of the devices you take apart.
I it so funny how the Government can let people believe that some things become from terrorist or you are a terrorist for knowing certain things. But they will never recognized when they do terrorism by listen people’s conversation through the phones or spying on peoples emails.
When I was a child I grew up thinking how amazing it would be to travel to the United States, see all the wonderful places and the mammoth cities, skyscrapers, Disneyland, super mega sized malls, trade shows, wide open spaces, mountain ranges, deserts, experience a rich and diverse culture and hold American money in my little hand. Now all I see is a land taken over by paranoia, a Government so obstructive that the ideals that made the rest of the western world admire, look up to, and respect America, are being ripped away. That paranoia and knee jerk reacting is contagious, and now we see the same fears and over reactions becoming a part of our culture who like so many others has been influenced by America “the new Rome”. The country I saw as the pinnacle of western civilisation is now something else. It contains a poison that is spreading, the poison of paranoia and over reaction with control of the many being given to the few. I see, many morning the days of old that have all but gone except in the memories of those who saw those times first hand. Democracy and the shining light that was America through the eyes of a young boy, is now from the eyes of a middle aged man, seen as corrupted and stolen from the people who live there and the rest of us. I think we have all lost part of the same dream. It is sad.
This is so funny.
I loved those chemical sets, they were awesome!
And electronic kits are used all the time for building RC helicopters etc and also some fun gadgets…
Sure, it is easy to look and download stuff for terrorist activity.
On the other hand, you seriously SERIOUSLY think they will plan a terrorist activity for a few months or years, then decide that ok, they are going to need a book at a library, or to check online.
No, they have other connections who can tell them. I don’t think they need the internet or libraries to tell them how to build bombs etc.
That is just stupid.
Oh my God. I always thought we already had peaked stupidity. On the other hand is this evidence, water on my mills, that society is to be made stupid, because a stupid society is easier to control. It is therefore the individuals responsibility to educate him or herself. And now there comes the good part in finding arguments: If knowledge is considered dangerous, well then FBI itself is considered a terroristic organization because they have knowledge, too – or don’t they?
WOW… just WOW. Anyone knows if there’s some online petition I can sign against this bullshit?
@Petetech888 Fortunately, there is a country with most, if not all, of the positive things you mention (cities with skyscrapers, malls, wide open spaces, mountain ranges, lakes, and a diverse culture): Canada. :-)
@ Rich Teer
As a life long resident of BC, Canada, I can’t say that we enjoy freedom from this security paranoia. We’ve been overtaxed and pay more for daily necessities. The roads are pretty poor in BC, they come every 5 years or so to repave them. BC government is a joke, poor management. There are some upsides, but the above mentioned sticks out like a sore thumb.
@Bob
Like most Westerners in Canada, A person really has to explain everything to them.
First;
there is more to Canada than the West.
Second;
You’re the ones who voted for a conservative government. The exact US pocketed Government who is money crazed and WANTS to be the USA incarnate. Which government is trying to bring in a warrentless citizen monitoring programm? That very same one that you Westerners voted for, because all you think about is money. (note, not all westerners in Canada are terrible money hungry people, incredibly ignorant and racist, just most of them.)
Third; your taxes are lower than the poorest provinces in the country.
Fourth; Roads have nothing to do with privacy.
How sad that the talentless parasites that now run America have decided that the very dabblers and tinkerers that built the country in the first place are potential criminals. Do they not understand that these are the very people who allowed them to fill their homes with desirable gadgets, and supply the power to make them work?
I find it so sad that all the hard and dangerous work done by the pioneers that built your amazing country is being destroyed by the greedy manipulative vermin that now “run” it.
@64 I realize you can either bitch about it constantly and stay ignorant or plug yourself into society, become part of the governing body and change the existing stupidity.
I also fear, you may not get there without becoming corrupted like all the other slobs there now. Terrible choice but never give up.
This is the ULTIMATE FixIt motto.
我是一个中国人，在我的国家从未有过这种情况，这不是因为我的国家开放，而是中国的法律实在。。。
Through this overly zealous paranoia we are allowing the terrorists who hate the West to win. I am sorry, but my country is becoming an embarrassment with this behavior.
They took my Chemistry set away the third time the garage blew up. Moms have some AMAZING chemistry set “additional chemicals” under the kitchen sink, like Parson’s Household Ammonia.
My woodburning set iron only came with a 24″ power cord, so the drape fire wasn’t really my fault. It was a horrible soldering iron, anyway, no iron-clad tip…cheap.
Got my ham license in 1957. I was 11. Got my CB license because you had to be 18 to qualify. My mother was terrified I was going to get drafted at 11. Was that so terrible? Been a government-controlled radio operator ever since….even 50KW AM stations.
Govt didn’t seem to mind me working for Navy all those years fixing their junk….(c;]
Knowledge is power and power isn’t supposed to be in our hands. Creativity improves lives, and that’s not supposed to happen. Inventing, fixing and adapting your own stuff makes you independent, and that’s really dangerous.
Where would the poor, poor corporations get their much needed dimes if we started doing things on our own?
Only the corporations can have knowledge, only the corporations can invent (and patent, and profit). Trust them. After all, at least in the U.S.A., corporations are *people* too!!!
º_º
OMG – I thought this flyer was a joke – I didn’t realize that this is something that is really going on in this country. This is very scary!!!!
having grown up in the good old USSR in the 50s & 60s, i can tell you that access to chemicals and radio parts was limited by their availability in the stores, i.e. they were not there. however, if you could find them elsewhere and use them for experiments or building radios or whatever else, you were pretty much left alone. the powers that be were not concerned all that much with bomb making by the kids. or adults. they did track the “people of interest” though. the attitude was defined by the fact that the borders were secure and access to the country was controlled. (do not think for a second that i liked the place – that is a separate topic)
the US, OTOH, is wide open, to both people and goods, and the security people do not have rational options to keep up the safety. the result is these fliers and less and less freedom.