In the readings Mangu-Ward, Joh and Quarmby all explore controversial matters of privacy and the fourth amendment. Magu- Ward's central claim was the debate about surveillance cameras violating out privacy. Joh's central claim was the idea of collecting abandoned DNA and if it is a problem that needs to be addressed to protect our right to privacy. Quarmby's central claim was to explore the idea of a nation DNA identification card. All of the author's write about an issue that could be violating our right to privacy. By providing examples and facts, I think that I got a lot from the writings.
Mangu-Ward asks if people would not go into a fertility clinic, a gay bar, or even a psychiatrist office if they knew that they were being watched. I first thought that if I was going into any of these places and I knew someone was watching me, I would defiantly not go. Mangu-Ward said that most people would still go to these places if they knew they were being watched which was different than what I thought. Ward dug into the benefits of surveillance cameras and how they are good for security. He also dug into how some think that it is a violation of privacy. I personally think that cameras are good things because crime can be stopped and police officers are being observed. An officer said that he gets nervous knowing that big brother is watching over him. In New York, cameras are everywhere. Ward said that "New York already boasts three or four thousand cameras, mostly private, and the number will continue to grow. " (Mangu-Ward 12) Considering that New York is very dangerous, I think that this is a good thing and my prior beliefs were confirmed when I read Ward's writings.
Joh caught my attention with a story of an LA police officer solving a crime with a simple coffee cup. The person who they were investigating drank a cup of coffee and the officer used the saliva to match a murder case to the suspect. He was successful and I think that collection of abandoned DNA will help us solve more crimes. DNA can be used for more than just solving crimes. Joh found that "not only can DNA provide nearly unassailable evidence of identity, it may one day be used to identify and segregate those who possess a "crime gene."" (Joh 34) By identifying this gene early on, help can be sought in order to prevent this person from becoming an actual criminal. The bad part about abandoned DNA is that we don't know if our DNA has been taken or looked at which is scary, but that is where we need to trust our government and know that they are not abusing this power. Also our government needs to show us that we can trust them. I was influenced by the research and evidence. I have a better understanding of abandoned DNA now and my prior beliefs were that the police should be able to use abandoned DNA and they didn't change. If anything, they became stronger.
Quarmby's writings were shorter than the other two, but the idea of having a national identification card has been considered. It is said to not be violating our privacy rights, and could help the security of our country. It would be a nationwide system so that it would be the most effective. I would not be opposed to such a card because from the information and evidence shown, it is evident that the card would be used to keep out country safe. I had never heard of this idea so Quarmby informed of useful information.
Mangu-Ward's evidence was mostly from personal experience, which would make it primary research. This is because it's coming from the author. Joh uses personal experience along with references to secondary research. I think that this method was the most affective of the three. She has the facts and the experience, which is valuable. Quarmby used mostly secondary research using facts and references. I think that the diversity of the authors helped me have a better understanding of how I feel about privacy. I believe that there should be a balance with cameras, abandoned DNA, and even having an identification card. All of these things can benefit us if they are not taken advantage of, and the readings confirmed my beliefs.
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2 comments:
You have done a good job of unpacking each of the essays and figuring out what each author's central claim is. In response to the effectiveness of each essay, you wrote that Joh's essay was the most persuasive because it had facts and personal experience, and I strongly agree with you. I think noticing this can be helpful to us when we begin to choose our topic. We want to pick something that we can conduct research on as well as have a personal connection to.
...I feel you...I also agreed with your ending how all of those camera things and such would benefit us as long as we dont take advantage of it. You did a great job talking about all three stories, I like how you put som quotes and parts from the book and simply "expanded" them toward what you believe. Overall it was very informative. It is also true how you wrote at the end that...hold on let me check haha...how Mangu-Wards was all primary research. Then Joh's uses both primary and secondary research and finally Quarmby uses most secondary research..i never though of that "chaing thingy" going on haha...but yea I really enjoyed reading your blog...good job...happy face lolz
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