Worst company I've seen

[bill_schubert]

Fahrenheit 451 was, to most people, a book about how sacred books were.  I always took that for granted.  To me it was a book about the tyranny and the manipulation of crowds (the government urged people to open their doors and look for the criminal Guy Montag).  Growing up in the post WWII world I've always been very aware of manipulated crowds.  

Now there is a company, Citizen, that does so openly and in a way to make money.  A lot of money.  The company is, essentially, an app on your phone that urges you to bolo for one criminal or another.  Like 451 they raise the alarm and stimulate the reptile chase nerve that resides in us all.  Here is a link to the story I found.  Before Trump I'd have said it will quickly pass.  Now I'm not so sure.  Qanon has made the country ripe for the pickings of a new age piper.   

That the company has the same name as a book on the subject of The Reign of Terror in 18th century France where the crowds got just a little out of control is, I'm sure, totally lost on the founder.   But the parallel is apt.  The Terror was populism taken to extreme (glad we don't have anything like that going on).

Something will happen to this company.  It will most likely die in the courts one way or another.  But were I a black Guy Montag I'd be terrified.  Or an asian one.  Or a jew. 

Not to be a chicken little but we're damn near required to carry guns on the streets of Texas.  So far this idiocy of Citizen is apparently contained in LA but it is available on your phone.  Combining this app with open carry and we could have our own Terror.  Good luck.

Comments

[maju01.livejournal.com]

We're living in scary times. I try to just stay in my bubble (and I know I'm privileged to be able to do so).

[susandennis]

i'd never heard of this. lovely.

[texasts.livejournal.com]

Fucking Texas Lege. We've got real issues and what are they doing? This kind of bullshit. And Lt. Dan wants to call a special session because his *nonsense* pet bills didn't make the cut. I am so sick of these A-HOLES.

But this so called "Constitutional" carry thing is fucking nuts! The cops sure as hell are against it. I was talking to a cop the other day on FB about it. He said, "We just assume you are (basically everyone) carrying." I was like, "Yeah, I know. I know more about this than I want to."

And I fucking hate cops.

[bill-schubert.livejournal.com]

Any discussion about gun rights or carry or whatever that is not based on the repeal of the 2nd amendment is a waste of time. That is the only sane route, to make gun ownership a privilege rather than a right. Not going to happen in my lifetime so I don't even participate in a discussion and have nothing to do with people who walk around with guns other than when they are hunting. I had a guy working for me who came into the shop with a gun on a belt holster. I damn near fired him on the spot. My better angels grabbed me but he never had it in my shop again. He left it in his car. Meaning he would not even leave it at home. Idiocy. It was a 9MM and we had a child care facility next door. The odds of him hitting a kid through two walls was probably higher than his hitting someone who was trying to rob us. Or whatever he thought we needed protection from.

But now we've got a chase app and a state full of gun idiots.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

One of my autistic nephew's caregivers, a woman in her 50s and a Glen Beck fan, used to carry a pistol to work in my sister's house. Her room was across the hall from my nephew's and she would leave it on the nightstand. Ross is low functioning. At any time, he could have grabbed the gun and accidentally killed himself or a caregiver. My sister put a stop to it right away. This woman was very unstable and prone to violent rants. Fortunately, my sister fired her a year ago. I loathed her.

[mrdreamjeans.livejournal.com]

What a bad idea for a company!

Citizen in Texas would indeed be a very dangerous thing. Yet, another reason I may not return to Texas for a visit any time soon.