Case, thanks for the info and links. I knew that census data was used to inter the American's of Japanese decent during WW2, but I had not known about the other two instances of abuse.
-- Matt Johnson On Wed, Aug 21, 2013 at 6:43 PM, Case Black <casebl...@gmail.com> wrote: > It's instructive to look at the history of America's original surveillance > program, its 223 year old US Census program. > > There are rigorous laws against government abuse of census data[1][2] going > back over 200 years. In addition, during each 10-year census period there > are earnest advertising campaigns of shameless dis-information assuring > American citizens that their census data will remain absolutely confidential > and out of reach of all other US Government agencies[3] (worth looking > specifically at the 2000 ad campaign image referenced here). > > Actual history is quite different. At least three times in US history, US > Census data has been abused on a massive scale for direct military or police > action against US citizens. Each time it was justified by pointing to > extraordinary events that "demanded" its use. > > In 1864, after General Sherman took Atlanta and destroyed the city of > Atlanta, he ordered US Census records for the states he intended to campaign > through on his famed "March to the Sea" to sent by train to his headquarters > outside Atlanta. His operational planners sifted through the census records > to determine where the richest farms and largest storehouses were located to > plan the routing of their Savannah Campaign[4]. > > Eighty years later in 1942, US Census records were used to identify the > residential addresses of all Americans that had declared Japanese (as well > as German and Italian) ancestory on their 1940 Census forms. The information > was used by FBI and local law enforcement for the round up and placement of > over 140,000 people into detention camps of which over 120,000 were US > citizens[5][6]. > > And sixty years later in 2002 came the most recent abuse of US Census data > when the Census Bureau handed over information that had been collected about > Arab-Americans during the 2000 Census to the FBI and Homeland Security[7]. > > ----------- > > What is clear is that as long as the capabilities to amass data exists, > there will be repeated abuses of that data. Furthermore, that abuse will > almost always be in the form of repressive military and police actions > against that nation's own citizens without regard to laws, constitutions or > "intentions"[8]. We have far more to fear than the terrorists... > > ----------- > > [1] > http://www.census.gov/privacy/data_protection/title_13_-_protection_of_confidential_information.html > [2] > http://voices.washingtonpost.com/federal-eye/2010/03/justice_dept_census_confidenti.html > [3] > http://files.coloribus.com/files/adsarchive/part_214/2141255/file/census-2000-hispanic-campaign-no-small-75969.jpg > > [4] > http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/shermans-march-sea > > [5] JR Minkel (March 30, 2007). Confirmed: The U.S. Census Bureau Gave Up > Names of Japanese-Americans in WW II. Scientific American > [6] Haya El Nasser (March 30, 2007). "Papers show Census role in WWII > camps". USA Today > > [7] http://epic.org/privacy/census/foia/ > [8] http://www.toad.com/gnu/census.html > > > > > -- > Liberationtech is a public list whose archives are searchable on Google. > Violations of list guidelines will get you moderated: > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech. Unsubscribe, > change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at > compa...@stanford.edu. -- Liberationtech is a public list whose archives are searchable on Google. Violations of list guidelines will get you moderated: https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech. Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu.
