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DEL.ICIO.USBig Brother endorses these playthings
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two years ago in this column, I lamented the fact that toy manufacturers were cashing in on society’s headlong rush toward constant and ubiquitous surveillance.
I highlighted a Lego construction set that included, as part of a police 18-wheeler, a surveillance and monitoring unit. I also noted a plastic “play set,” manufactured and marketed by Playmobil, depicting a police officer wanding a civilian figure as pretend belongings go through a pretend X-ray machine. This trend toward “play” search and surveillance has continued, and now includes a functioning toy metal detector.
Wizard Industries Inc. recently heralded the latest children’s toy — as an “educational aid” — designed expressly to make surveillance security “fun.” The company’s press release announcing its “Scan-It Toy X-Ray Machine” reveals much about the direction in which our society is moving.
The company takes great pains to explain that the functioning kiddie metal-detecting machine is not the product of some impersonal research department but rather the product of the imaginative mind of a “mother of three” — Kathy Arena. It seems Arena was going though what apparently was a not-so-happy divorce several years ago that required her and her children to pass through security checkpoints at the courthouse. We learn that they were “intimidated” by the courthouse security.
The fear of the courthouse security scanner apparently rested heavy on Rena’s psyche after the divorce. This intrepid divorcee decided the best way to meet the challenge presented by the distress was to invent a toy to teach other children that transiting a security checkpoint can be fun. Untold numbers of children yet unborn could easily avoid similar trauma by having their parents or guardians shell out $59.95 for a toy metal-detecting machine, and then practice the drill of being subjected to government searches in the comfortable surroundings of their own playroom.
Apparently Arena is quite a philosopher. The description of her epiphany from trembling at the sight of a security checkpoint to embracing such intrusive devices, notes that she realized that knowledge dispels ignorance, which in turn reduces fear. Thus, in a flash of brilliance that would make Plato sit up and take notice, Arena concluded that fear of having the government invade one’s personal privacy was simply the result of ignorance. Arena and Wizard Industries may be on to something here that could make them rich, and at the same time tear down the wall of fear and distrust that has infected our view of certain ongoing government activities. The Wizard-Arena team could develop and market a whole series of post-9/11 toys:
A miniature waterboarding play set, designed to teach kids that pouring water down someone’s nose while he’s strapped to a table is not “torture,” but actually fun.
Decks of playing cards to teach youngsters how to recognize “enemy combatants” and deny them their civil liberties, a process that also can be loads of fun.
Make-believe surveillance devices to intercept and record phone calls and e-mail messages for no reason at all, just like their government does.
Pretend national identification cards that must be shown if their playmates wish to visit their homes for sleep-overs, just like their parents will have to show when the Real ID Act goes into full force and effect.
Self-sticking, fake radio frequency identification chips just like the ones the government is putting in passports and other items.
When I was a kid, my favorite toys were a football, a Davy Crockett coonskin cap, and a Red Ryder BB gun. How times have changed.
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By Bosch
March 5, 2008 9:54 AM | Link to this
I just spit coffee all over my keyboard when I read the waterboarding torture play set. Thanks Bob, you owe me a new keyboard.
Now, wait a minute Bob, times have changed, but only in the “enemies” our kids act out. I mean, I played army and cowboys and indians - the communist and the indians were the bad guys. You always have “bad guys.” Sometimes, we let the indians scalp the cowboys - we were a twisted bunch of neighborhood kids - my parents were liberals and sympathetic to native Americans and explain in long boring detail how we were actually responsible for genocide………you know, to a seven year old, that’s like listening to the Charlie Brown teacher (wah, wah, wah). I just wanted to go blow something up or shoot a bad guy with the stick I had made into a gun (my parents wouldn’t let us have toy guns in the house - too violent - blah, blah, blah).
By Dusty
March 5, 2008 10:15 AM | Link to this
Well, I have to go along with Bosch this morning. My sons played SuperMan, had army sets, viewed Dracula movies, watched dinosaurs munch on people, admired SpiderMan and his webs and had crazy car races with their mini-cars. But not one has developed sharp fangs, spun off on webs, flown with a cape, been eaten by a dino or even entered a race track on car or horse. Could it be they were just “playing”?
I’m afraid Bob Barr has more worries than a stray with fleas. But I will give him one concession, a water torture board is TOO MUCH!!!
So thanks, Bob Barr, for enlighening us on the toy scene. It won’t be the toys that ruin our children. Not by a long shot.
By Copyleft
March 5, 2008 10:33 AM | Link to this
Ooooohh, NOW you’ve done it Mr. Barr. By sticking up for classical conservative values—such as respect for our freedoms and putting limits on governmental spying powers—you’ve angered the “modern Republican” crowd, who are enthusiastically in favor of shredding the Constitution “so Bush can keep us safe.”
They’ll make you turn in your Republican Decoder Ring for this one! Well done.
By SteveMartin
March 5, 2008 10:45 AM | Link to this
Thank you, Bob Barr. It should truly be a wakeup call to all freedom-loving Americans that U.S. industry thinks it is a cool idea to innouclate our children with a dangerous virus which says that loss of liberty, and cradle-to-grave surveillance is cool. We are already raising a nation of functional illiterates—especially with regard to civics. Stuff like this completes the cycle. We are going to be left with people who no longer can think for themselves, but also who can’t even remember a time when there was real freedom on this planet. Orwell would be so proud.
By Dusty
March 5, 2008 10:50 AM | Link to this
Copyleft@10:33
I’ll take the Republican Decoder ring anytime over the brass Democratic Nose ring. That’s the one they lead you with to anti-war rallies and white flag parades.
Shred the Constitution? That’s a joke. We won’t need a Constitution if you libs keep supporting the terrorists instead of Americans. You sound just like Chavez of Venezuela. Every evil is the fault of Bush. You can’t even appreciate the man who HAS kept you safe.
By Myers
March 5, 2008 11:20 AM | Link to this
Dusty, Did they civics at the school you attended? Just curious.
By Myers
March 5, 2008 11:40 AM | Link to this
That should have been: Dusty, Did they teach civics at the school you attended? Just curious.
By Wil
March 5, 2008 12:05 PM | Link to this
Just what we need—training our children and ourselves to be comfortable with the evolving police state and Big Brother.
By Bosch
March 5, 2008 1:03 PM | Link to this
Okay, Dusty and Copyleft can tell you, I am a hard-core, bleeding heart liberal, but, seriously, how would these toys be any different than some of the things we played with as children?
Didn’t any of you play Risk in college? That was about as close as I ever cared to be to the military. I mean, hell, the object of the game is to kill your friends/enemies and conquer the freaking world!
The “enemies” you imitate as a child have a direct correlation to the political enemies of the state (at the current time). During my childhood it was the big bad Russians who were going to blow us up with nuclear bombs, today it is the big bad terrorists.
As far as toys imitating security checkpoints? Why not? Security checkpoints, at least I hope so, will always be a part of our lives. Getting blown up by a bomb or dying of anthrax is not my idea of how I want to go. I want to die old and asleep in my nice warm bed.
I went through a security checkpoint once with my kids and got detained (I had metal plates in my shoes) - my kids were scared to death when the security officers escorted me to the side behind a plexi-glass window - my kids pressed their noses to the window, side by side with horrified looks on their faces because they just knew I was getting hauled off, but I didn’t. Kids need to get used to security checkpoints - they aren’t going anywhere.
Bob said himself, his favorite toys as a child were a BB gun and a Davy Crockett hat - gee, I wonder WHO he pretended to “shoot” with the BB gun when he would play with it?
By CharlieFoxtrot
March 5, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this
Maybe getting Neo and Trinity dolls to walk through the metal detector will teach the child that security is useless. Either that or scare them into never leaving the house and requesting metal detectors at home. ugh.
By Ron
March 5, 2008 4:07 PM | Link to this
They chip away Bob.They have to justify their existence.They are afraid their jobs may disappear.Security is the new job growth.A whole new department of Government that’s mind boggling in size.Everyone of the people there must have something to do.They’ll keep this up until one half of the people have the other half under close surveilance.One on one.
By Copyleft
March 6, 2008 8:31 AM | Link to this
Just a few months more, conservatives, and you can settle back into your comfortable government-hating slot again. Once the Republicans are out of power, you can hate everything the government says and does once more, piously proclaiming “We only care about Freedom, and that means Guvmint Is Evul!”
You’ll be much happier there. And we’ll be happier with smarter people back in charge where we belong.
By Glenn A.
March 6, 2008 9:31 AM | Link to this
Thanks Jill, my intentions are to let the people come to pay respects, and then let it go from Animal Rescue, to Animal Rescue; to help in their donations and adoptions, if available. I feel this is the least I could for her. She loved animals and adopted her little black lab; Ella from a pet rescue.
Thanks again glenn adams: vinny
intelligent dogs, beautiful eyes, Hello bloggers, Greta, All, If you haven’t done it already, go to http://www.glennindawson.blogspot.com to see photos of the Tribute that I built for Meredith Hope Emerson, on the Amicacola, Dawsonville, Ga 30534 Goshen Church Rd. at Afton Rd. Kinda of boring day, I had a blog with almost 2000 posts, on a “topix.net site”, and poof, like a puff of smoke, it Vanished, just like the Hilton Court records of 1982, in Dekalb County, GA. The new site that one of the bloggers started up is:
http://www.topix.com/forum/source/wxia/T266Q9BCOCLGIMK8M : PLEASE POST HERE/NEED HELP, GLENN ADAMS; Vinny
CENSORSHIP! The old site was wessidestory Safety Tips on the AT.
Guess, I got too passionate for them. If you post the word Ho or ho, it wil;l come back ** on any topix site.
I asked them what does Santa Say at Christmas? Ho, Ho Ho MERRY CHRISTMAS, it read: *, *, **, MERRY CHRISTMAS. Try it you will see….
The “My Cousin Vinny Sequel”, continues
By John
March 6, 2008 12:08 PM | Link to this
THanks Bob for pointing out how todays toys are teaching our kids to become numb to Big Brother’s unnecessary intrusions. It is also interesting to see self-styled “liberals” and neo-cons line up against one of the very freedoms they like to delude themselves that they are somehow protecting. I have considered myself somewhat left of center, but if being pro-surveillance is left, I guess I’m just an independent curmudgeon.
By Copyleft
March 6, 2008 12:45 PM | Link to this
No, the left is not pro-surveillance, John. That remains exclusively (modern) right-wing territory.
We don’t fear and hate the very idea of government, of course—that way lies insanity like libertarianism—but we don’t accept intrusions into our personal freedoms and privacy either. Training children to accept and submit government surveillance would be a bad idea…
IF that were actually happening.
By Jim's a Cherry Picker
March 6, 2008 1:07 PM | Link to this
Hi Bob,
Yep…times they are a-changing.
But Wizard’s just a company trying to make some dough in the free-market, huh?
Vive-la-Capitalism!
By Charles
March 6, 2008 1:59 PM | Link to this
From Copyleft:
We [leftists] don’t fear and hate >the very idea of government, of >course—that way lies insanity like >libertarianism—but we don’t accept >intrusions into our personal >freedoms and privacy either.
Of course leftists love government, but a lot of reasonable people do fear the government having a monopoly on power, and the ability to take one’s life, liberty, and property. Given the bloody trail of history and wars, it seems rather naive not to fear government.
You might want to actually read some about libertarianism. Most libertarians are not anarchists; they favor limited government. Slandering them is just a cheap way to avoid dealing with their arguments.
Finally, the idea that liberals don’t accept intrusions into their personal freedoms and privacy is laughable. Have you supplied the IRS with all your personal financial information yet? April 15 is rapidly approaching. ;-)
By Fred
March 6, 2008 2:52 PM | Link to this
I love the hypocrisy, Charles. In one breath, you sneer that “Of course leftists love government,” and in the next you announce that “slandering is a cheap way to avoid dealing with their arguments.”
Funny stuff! Keep it coming.
By AmericanConstitutionalist
March 6, 2008 4:24 PM | Link to this
Funny, yet (sadly) all too true. One missing “toy” is “play” bio-chips for implantation & a “play” FEMA camp unloading bus & train loads of thought criminals for re-education. Wake up America…we’re headed straight for “Oceania”!
http://infowars.com/cashless_society.htm#microchips
By hmmm
March 6, 2008 4:54 PM | Link to this
Copyleft - you mean us Conservatives sound just like you liberals right now, huh?
By Charles Dean
March 6, 2008 5:28 PM | Link to this
From Fred: “I love the hypocrisy, Charles. In one breath, you sneer that ‘Of course leftists love government,’ and in the next you announce that ‘slandering is a cheap way to avoid dealing with their arguments.’”
Thanks for your comments, Fred. Your premise seems to be that leftists aren’t fond of government, so it’s slander for me to say they are. That’s a very interesting claim. However, you provide no evidence for your argument, and there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Given their history, claiming that leftists don’t generally favor government involvement will take some heavy lifing on your part. You’ll have to do better than you’ve done so far. (And, no, listing a few exceptions to the rule will not suffice.)
Unlike Copyleft and you, I at least tried to present arguments and evidence for my points. If you disagree with my points, please attempt to do the same. You have offered no arguments or evidence so far.
BTW, that was not “sneering”; you’ll know when I sneer!
By Charles Dean
March 6, 2008 5:29 PM | Link to this
From Fred: “I love the hypocrisy, Charles. In one breath, you sneer that ‘Of course leftists love government,’ and in the next you announce that ‘slandering is a cheap way to avoid dealing with their arguments.’”
Thanks for your comments, Fred. Your premise seems to be that leftists aren’t fond of government, so it’s slander for me to say they are. That’s a very interesting claim. However, you provide no evidence for your argument, and there is plenty of evidence to the contrary.
Given their history, claiming that leftists don’t generally favor government involvement will take some heavy lifing on your part. You’ll have to do better than you’ve done so far. (And, no, listing a few exceptions to the rule will not suffice.)
Unlike Copyleft and you, I at least tried to present arguments and evidence for my points. If you disagree with my points, please attempt to do the same. You have offered no arguments or evidence so far.
BTW, that was not “sneering”; you’ll know when I sneer!