2013-01-08
Original: 2013-01-08 on Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal
Transcript
Panel 1:
Surveillance drone (green caption): HELLO CITIZEN. I'LL BE MONITORING YOU ON YOUR WALK TODAY! ENJOY YOUR SAFETY.
Panel 2:
Man: WHAT? THAT'S A VIOLATION OF MY PRIVACY.
Surveillance drone (green caption): IF YOU'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE
Panel 3:
Man: EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE AND USUALLY NO ONE CARES. BY SURVEILLING EVERYONE, YOU CATCH THE BENIGN BREACHES OF LAW AND TABOO. IF THE PUBLIC ARE ALL GUILTY, THE EXECUTIVE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT CAN SELECTIVELY ENFORCE LAWS, ESSENTIALLY GIVING THEM BOTH JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE POWER, WHICH DEFEATS THE WHOLE POINT OF SEPARATION OF POWERS.
Panel 4:
Surveillance drone (green caption): SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE!
Man: YES.
Panel 5:
Man: I'VE BEEN RECORDING THIS CONVERSATION.
Surveillance drone (green caption): THAT'S A VIOLATION OF MY PRIVACY!
Votey:
Close-up of a man with orange/red hair and stubble, scowling as he looks down at the phone or recording device he holds up near his face.
Surveillance drone (green caption): HELLO CITIZEN. I'LL BE MONITORING YOU ON YOUR WALK TODAY! ENJOY YOUR SAFETY.
Panel 2:
Man: WHAT? THAT'S A VIOLATION OF MY PRIVACY.
Surveillance drone (green caption): IF YOU'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG, YOU HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE
Panel 3:
Man: EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE AND USUALLY NO ONE CARES. BY SURVEILLING EVERYONE, YOU CATCH THE BENIGN BREACHES OF LAW AND TABOO. IF THE PUBLIC ARE ALL GUILTY, THE EXECUTIVE PART OF THE GOVERNMENT CAN SELECTIVELY ENFORCE LAWS, ESSENTIALLY GIVING THEM BOTH JUDICIAL AND LEGISLATIVE POWER, WHICH DEFEATS THE WHOLE POINT OF SEPARATION OF POWERS.
Panel 4:
Surveillance drone (green caption): SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO HIDE!
Man: YES.
Panel 5:
Man: I'VE BEEN RECORDING THIS CONVERSATION.
Surveillance drone (green caption): THAT'S A VIOLATION OF MY PRIVACY!
Votey:
Close-up of a man with orange/red hair and stubble, scowling as he looks down at the phone or recording device he holds up near his face.
Alt text
A five-panel SMBC comic about surveillance and privacy. Panel 1: A small flying camera drone (a domed robot with hovering jets) announces in a green speech caption, "Hello citizen. I'll be monitoring you on your walk today! Enjoy your safety." Panel 2: A man in a yellow shirt protests, "What? That's a violation of my privacy." The drone replies, "If you've done nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide." Panel 3: The man delivers a long rebuttal: everyone has something to hide and usually no one cares; by surveilling everyone you catch benign breaches of law and taboo; if the public are all guilty, the executive can selectively enforce laws, giving it both judicial and legislative power, defeating the separation of powers. Panel 4: The drone, missing the point, says, "So you're saying you have something to hide!" The man flatly answers, "Yes." Panel 5: The man, now holding a phone, says, "I've been recording this conversation," and the drone indignantly objects, "That's a violation of my privacy!" — hypocritically claiming the privacy it just denied him. Votey: A close-up of an orange-haired, stubbled man scowling down at the recording device in his hands.
Transcribed by Claude Opus 4.8.