Manipulation by Madness!
The UK has long observed the tradition of social control through surveillance. In 1785 the English philosopher Jeremy Bentham came up with the concept of the Panopticon. The Panopticon refers to the theory wherein architecture could be designed to give those in control a complete (pan) view (optic) of those under control. A later philosopher, Michel Foucault, expanded Bentham’s theory to include more subtle forms of social manipulation.
Early prisons and educational lecture halls were designed to facilitate this theory. A literary example of the Panopticon is evident in George Orwell’s 1984, a book about a totalitarian government that controlled their population almost entirely through surveillance and censorship. Panoptical architecture is characterized in two ways. First, the structure is usually round, with those in control in the centre, having a complete view of those under control. Second, it is characterized by soft power.
Soft power is how modern societies are ruled and basically what the UK has been implementing.
If you were to drive up to a deserted red light or stop sign at 2am, would you still stop?
The large percent of your average law abiding fellow extraordinary citizens would answer yes, they would stop. But how much logic is actually behind stopping at a red light on a deserted road in the middle of the night? Social controls, however, have convinced us that this is not only expected, but encouraged. Unfailing discipline in following societal controls is expected- without rewards, while even the slightest deterrence from the social system is punished severely.
And now, in the era of unending preaching about democracy and freedom, Britain is carrying out the Panopticon on its own citizens. In Middlesbrough, a town in the North of England, loudspeakers have been installed in the closed circuit television surveillance cameras. These speakers allow a camera monitor to speak to people in the area of a security camera. This is what Orwell referred to as the telescreen, a modern panopticon- a wild theory of social manipulation and control—come true!
Don’t allow yourself to be ruled by social and societal panoptical pressures. You have a right to privacy and can achieve that by donning a guise. A hoodie that not only masks your features from the surveillance systems in the UK in protest, but a political statement that flips a big middle finger to Big Brother – chances are, they are going to see it. ‘I protest this abasement to human freedom!’ I would rather bow to logic and reason, than social controls aimed at conformity. So all I can say is, “Cover it up.”
Hoodie Day (May 26th)
“It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself–anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face…; was itself a punishable offense. There was even a word for it in Newspeak: facecrime…”
- George Orwell, 1984, Book 1, Chapter 5
Hoodies Banned in UK
Coastlands Mall has banned the wearing of hoodies within its premises since 2005. The Imperial College in London also banned the wearing of hoodies and Islamic veils under a wrath of protests. This is how democracy gives way to Totalitarianism. The logic of: criminals wear hoodies to obstruct their face; therefore people who wear hoodies are criminals, casts serious doubts on the educational system and the understanding of elementary analogies. This is especially hypocritical for a mall which sells hoodies that can not “fully” be worn on the grounds. This ban was actually supported by Tony Blair who publicly stated his support for the ban.
The definition of a Police or Totalitarian State is:
“A state in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population, especially by means of a secret police force which operates outside the boundaries normally imposed by a constitutional republic. A police state typically exhibits elements of totalitarianism and social control, and there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.”[1]
Is there something wrong with this? Have boundaries been imposed on the public by a force outside of a constitutional republic? Are cameras a means of social control through fear? More than 4 million cameras are watching London and that is from estimates over four years old.[2] Do you feel like you are being watched? Are you concerned about causing false suspicion due to a nervous tic or slight expression of anxiety in front of the “telescreen”? If don’t yet, you will as hoodie bans and public surveillance of social life continues to rise at the present rate.
So one may ask, how do I protect myself from this so called “facecrime?” The only answer is to cover it. Cover it whenever you leave your home, on the sidewalk, in class, in shopping centers, riding public transportation, and even in Church. Yes, Big Brother is even watching God now. Who is really in control? You are. So throw on a Whoodie and enjoy your right to do so while it lasts.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police_state
[2] http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/0206/p07s02-woeu.html
Whoodies Encouraging Crime?
Naturally after coming up with the idea for Whoodies I discussed it with several friends and colleagues. Whilst the idea was to create a garment that allowed the wearer privacy from the UK camera culture, clearly there is a lot of scope for misuse. One of my colleagues told me that I was “evil” and was absolutely certain that this would lead to a crime wave the like of which we have never seen. I can’t help but disagree.
If you want to cover your face there are any number of ways in which you can do so, without the expense of buying from us. A pair of stockings kept in a trouser pocket is pretty unobtrusive as is a balaclava kept in a bag or an inside jacket pocket. More simply a standard hooded sweatshirt and a handkerchief can hide everything but the eyes very effectively and so on.
Lets be honest, there will always be a criminal element, and some of them will undoubtedly wear Whoodies, or other masked hooded concepts simply because they own the garment and have decided to commit the crime. There may even be criminals who decide to buy our product in order to commit a crime but these elements in society will commit crimes regardless of whether or not we produce our garment. Does that mean that the rest of society should be denied the opportunity to hide their face if they so wish?
Big brother is upon us whether we like it or not, our cell phones can be tracked independently and down to a very short distance, security cameras cover ranges of miles at a time, and yet the majority of crimes remain unsolved. Here at Whoodie, we believe we have the right to privacy providing we are not breaking the law and from the stats I have seen even forgoing our rights to privacy is not solving the crime load.