Kristen O’Connor
Blog Post #2
11/4
Although they are
distinctly different entities, the attitudes of both the ARA and NSA prove
similar. My realization of this similarity came about as soon as I read the
lines, “By reading this message you are denying its existence and implying
consent,” in SSTLS (Shteyngart 43).
In both No Place to Hide and our
class discussions, we have discussed the acknowledged presence of the NSA yet
also it’s presumed absence of in our own online activity. As Greenwald states,
“I seriously doubt
that the NSA is interested in me” is the sort of thing I’ve often heard… These
are people who have become convinced that they themselves are not going to be
personally targeted—because they are unthreatening and compliant—and therefore
either deny that it’s happening, do not care, or are willing to support it
outright” (195).
There is a general knowledge that
we are being watched yet we provide consent in our silence; we act as though it
isn’t happening. At first, I felt there was a difference between this message
and the one that our government is telling us in the world today. In SSTLS, this consent to surveillance is
mandated, but in our society, we aren’t forced to comply, we choose to ignore
it. But after further exploration, I realized that isn’t necessarily true.
Consent to being watched and consent to our data being collected, to an extent,
is mandated in our society, too. This is because there really is no other
option besides essentially abandoning technology, a major factor in our
culture. When we don’t consent and instead acknowledge the presence of the NSA,
it can result in being targeted like both Snowden and Greenwald.
One of the
greatest differences is one that we have discussed in class pretty regularly. The
NSA and the ARA appear to report to different authoritative figures. Clearly
the NSA relays their information to the U.S. government, but we don’t see much
of that in SSTLS. It appears that the
leaders of large, wealthy corporations, like Joshie, are the equivalent of the
President in terms of surveying power instead. This does not seem unusual, as
the broken dystopian world Shteyngart creates gives all power to high net worth
individuals and the top-dogs of capitalism.
Rather comparably,
however, these figures that gain the information of all those that surround
them, like President Obama and Joshie, are seemingly without boundaries. They
gain protection and privacy in all the ways that apparently inferior do not. In
No Place to Hide, Greenwald states, “The
ability to eavesdrop on people’s communications vests immense power in those
who do it. And unless such power is held in check by rigorous oversight and
accountability, it is almost certain to be abused” (4). The President, though
his collection of data from American people without warrant is illegal, has
never had to face serious repercussions and simply denies that surveillance is
happening. He is inevitably protected by his power. Joshie’s power is displayed
openly, as guards protect his office and can receive data of those near him:
“Two National Guardsman stood outside Joshie’s office. The emergency feed of my
apparat must have alerted them to my importance” (Shteyngart 256). With such
wealth and high-power status, Joshie can tap into Eunice’s apparat even when
America had basically gone black, and technological communication was near
inexistent. He, like our government officials, has the capability to access any
device in the world, under any conditions. I equated this with Greenwald’s
telling of the government’s ability to tap into any of our “modern-day” apparat
of phones, as well as media platforms (e.g. Skype, Microsoft, Facebook, etc.). Like
Shteyngart writes, “The truly powerful don’t need to be ranked” (320).
While I’m not
entirely sure that the Panopticon directly relates to my comparison here, we
have discussed it in relation to the NSA and ARA in class, so I figured I’d
provide my thoughts anyway. I think this concept somewhat relates to both the
NSA and ARA, but in significantly different ways. The ARA resembles the
Panopticon because they watch everyone in this dystopian America. They are,
essentially, at the center of the Panopticon, watching the individuals in their
cells. And, they actively and openly punishes those who do not comply, such as
the situation with the fat man on the plane, using missiles to kill an entire
ferry-boat full of people, and employing armed security forces to walk the
streets. However, they don’t seem to stop once compliance has begun—they
continue to watch and punish the American people in SSTLS.
The NSA resembles
the Panopticon in that, although it wasn’t their intention for Americans to
know about their invasion of privacy, we now realize that we may be watched and
limit our exploration online or on our technological devices, like Snowden
suggests. Still, there is no outright threat that makes us completely conform
in fear of punishment. However, the NSA will directly attack American people,
just not as openly as the ARA: “Among the information collected … at least one
of whim is a ‘U.S. person,’ are details of their online sex activities… The
agency discusses ways to exploit this information to destroy their reputations
and credibility” (Greenwald 187). So, I
don’t find it unreasonable to feel Shteyngart may have been trying to make a
connection here, albeit extreme and unlikely; after all, that’s what he does
throughout SSTLS’s entirety.
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