Oppression


The thought police are coming.

"First they came for the hackers.
 But I never did anything illegal with my computer, so I didn't speak up. 

 Then they came for the pornographers. 
 But I thought there was too much smut on the Internet anyway, so I didn't speak up. 

 Then they came for the anonymous remailers. 
 But a lot of nasty stuff gets sent from anon.penet.fi, so I didn't speak up.

 Then they came for the encryption users. 
 But I could never figure out how to work PGP, so I didn't speak up.

 Finally they came for me. 
 And by that time there was no one left to speak up."

(Alara Rogers, Aleph Press)

The thought police are coming,
they're coming to take me away.
It seems that Congress didn't like
the words I had to say.

They read my mail and scanned my files
and watched where I had been.
They crawled the web and peered within,
they said my speech was sin.

It all began with a simple request:
"Do you like sex as much as I?"
Big Brother smiled his knowing smile
and he began to spy.

They knew my every thought.
They knew my every desire.
It seems my crime from their point of view
was doing it over the wire.

You cannot fight a monster
that is more powerful than you.
So even if you want to
don't ask someone to screw.

The thought police are coming,
they're coming to take me away.
It seems that you were offended
by the words that I had said.

The thought police are coming,
they're coming to take me away.
The thought police are coming,
they're going to drag me away.

"First they came for the second amendment.
 But I said nothing because I wasn't a gun runner.

 Then they came for the fourth amendment.
 But I didn't object because I wasn't a drug dealer. 

 Then they came for the sixth amendment.
 But I kept quiet because I wasn't guilty.

 Then they came for the eighth amendment,
 But I was silent because I never thought I'd be sent to jail.

 Finally they came for the first amendment.
 And by then it was too late to say anything at all."

(Adapted from a Nancy Liebowitz button)

"First they came for the Jews.
 But I didn't speak up because I was not a Jew. 

 Then they came for the communists.
 But I didn't speak up because I was not a communist. 

 Then they came for the trade unionists.
 But I didn't speak up because I was not a trade unionist. 

 Then they came for the Catholics.
 But I didn't speak up because I was a Protestant. 

 Then they came for me.
 And by that time no one was left to speak up."

(Pastor Martin Niemoller)

Music: Ram


TWISTED HELICES || Ram Samudrala || ram@twisted-helices.com