From: "Timothy C. May" <tcmay@got.net>
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 1996 11:23:00 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: Child Protective Services and Political Views
In-Reply-To: <199611111626.IAA31552@crypt>
Message-ID: <v03007800aeae79b8d736@[207.167.93.63]>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


At 8:20 AM -0800 11/12/96, Vince Callaway wrote:
>>
>> Are there other measures which parents could take while their children are
>> young to get them off to a good start, privacy-wise?
>
>Every couple of months I one of my kids brings home a form from school
>asking everything from how many kids in the family, how much money do I
>make, do we own our home and other things that have nothing to do with
>educating my children.
>
>At first I just pitched them, but then they started getting on my kids for
>not returning them.  When they did that I went to the school and demanded
>to see a background history and credit report on every school employee who
>came in contact with my child.  They refused sighting privacy etc...  I
>told them I had the same rights and to stop hasseling me with their little
>forms.

Interesting comments. I don't have children, let alone children in school,
but I sure as hell would not answer such questions. I count myself lucky
that when I was in the public school system there were no such questions,
at least I never heard of any.

I wonder to what extent children are asked questions about their home life,
or about the things their parents do, without the parents even being in the
loop? If not now, soon. For example, children may be asked to fill out
questionaires on whether they've been spanked, whether alcohol and smoking
is present, whether guns are in the house, and so on.

(This is part of the generally totalitarian mindset which is pervasive in
the public school system. Last year I paid over $8000 in *property* taxes,
ostensibly largely for public schools (and of course I paid a whole lot
more in various other taxes). I have no children, as I said. And yet the
public schools wanted a cut of gambling revenues, which they got (kind of
gives a "does not compute" when the schools moralize about the dangers of
gambling, expel kids for being in card or dice games, and so on, all the
while being the main beneficiary of what Heinlein called a tax on
stupidity). Further, the schools brainwash the kids into cajoling their
parents to donate time, computers, labor for fixups, and even cash.)

Sadly, it is quite possible that by sufficiently obstreprous about such
things, the school counsellors could initiate investigations by Child
Protective Services, on vague grounds that the "home environment" is not
sufficiently nurturing (= politically correct). Here in the People's
Republic of California, they have nearly unchallenged authority to remove
children from homes on their own say so, with the parental-units then
forced to hire lawyers and mount a court challenge.

(Needless to say, meeting the CPS Gestapo agents with the display of a
gun--which would be the normal reaction Americans should have to kidnappers
of their children--would result in one's immediate arrest and the immediate
seizure of the children.)

Opinions may be changing. I get a lot of double takes and then smiles and
laughter when I wear my "D.A.R.E." t-shirt. "D.A.R.E. stands for "Drug
Abuse Resistance Education," and is a nationwide program run jointly by the
police departments and schools, in which children are taught the "reefer
madness" dangers of drugs, alchohol, etc., and are given instructions on
who to call if they suspect their parents are illegally using drugs. This
"junior narc" program has resulted in the breakup of many families, as
parents were hauled away to jail and kids were put in foster homes because
the little Pavel Morozovs narced out their parents.

So, why do I get double takes and smiles? Because my shirt, bought from
someone advertising it in alt.drugs, says:

"D.A.R.E." [in large red letters]

"I turned in my parents
and all I got was this
lousy t-shirt."

(Interestingly, I wore this t-shirt to a pool party last summer. A couple
I've known for many years has a 14-year-old son. The mother sternly
lectured me on the poor message I was sending to her son, and said I was
not to talk to the kid about my views on drug legalization, etc. I bit my
tongue, avoiding saying "Fuck off," but could not restrain myself from
saying, "I'll talk to whoever I want. It's up to you to control who your
son talks to." Rude? Perhaps. But the mindset of brainwashed zombies is
what creates this police state mentality. Who knows, it may even be a
technical crime ("contributing to the delinquency of a minor"?) to even
discuss basic libertarian ideas with a minor. And as I said, Child
Protective Services could quite possibly seize a child whose parents were
sufficiently vocal about their beliefs.)


Perhaps someday we'll see the "C.A.R.E." program--Crypto Abuse Resistance
Education.

"Now children, if you see someone you think is using illegal computer
programs, or someone who is talking in a way that we have told you to watch
out for, here are some phone numbers you can call. Your daddy and mommy may
just need to be re-educated, just like we are re-educating you here in this
People's Public School."

--Tim May



"The government announcement is disastrous," said Jim Bidzos,.."We warned IBM
that the National Security Agency would try to twist their technology."
[NYT, 1996-10-02]
We got computers, we're tapping phone lines, I know that that ain't allowed.
---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:---------:----
Timothy C. May              | Crypto Anarchy: encryption, digital money,
tcmay@got.net  408-728-0152 | anonymous networks, digital pseudonyms, zero
W.A.S.T.E.: Corralitos, CA  | knowledge, reputations, information markets,
Higher Power: 2^1,257,787-1 | black markets, collapse of governments.
"National borders aren't even speed bumps on the information superhighway."