Pull apart this cuckoo's nest we're building
Henry Porter at Guardian Unlimited - a plea to give Nurse Mildred Ratchet the lobotomy she so sorely deserves. [skype]
Warhol was a prophet of the surveillance age. In Salford, they now have traffic wardens (called parking attendants in the newspeak of the times ) with cameras fitted to their heads. These sons of Warhol will not just film parking violations but, empowered by one of New Labour's bossy innovations, they will also capture those who litter or allow their dogs to defecate in the wrong place. Armed with the evidence, they will issue fixed penalty notices to offenders.
And a jolly good thing too, you may say. I cannot agree. If some podgy uniformed stalker with a camera lens sticking out of his hat starts filming me any time soon I will not be answerable for my actions, and it is my fervent hope that the people of Salford will treat these street-spies with all the rude contempt they deserve. For it seems to me that the infringement of rights represented by filming without permission far outweighs any crime I or my dog may commit. In short, we are losing more than we gain. And that loss runs right through our once brave, bloody-minded, individualist culture, which is now watched, nagged, chivvied and fussed over by a political establishment whose guiding spirit is Nurse Ratched.