What actually happened?
David Mery, from London, was in a London train station one day. That day, Mery was walking down the steps and avoiding all eye contact. He wore glasses, as you can see above, due to an eye infection that week. Mery was at the station to meet up with his girlfriend and while he was waiting for his train, he sat down and checked his phone. Then, he took an article about wikipedia out from his jacket. As Mery's train was arriving he was surrounded by the police. They handcuffed him and told him they were doing this because of the safety of the the Terrorism Act. They told him they stopped him because on the CCTV system the police suspected suspicious behavior. Also, they said he was arrested because he did not look at the police men when he entered the gate. Police then said they arrested him because they believed his jacket was "too warm" and that his bad was unusually bulky. The final reason they handcuffed Mery was because he looked at his phone and took a piece of paper out of his jacket.
The previous day, was the coldest day in July in over 20 years. Mery's bag consisted of a laptop. His eye infection was the reason that he did not make contact and could it be possible that the guy was just having a bad day? Mery was then considered a terrorist for 8 years and after he was proven innocent, the government still kept his information in their files such as interviews and background information. Mery was innocent and they had no right to keep these files.
What does this have to do with anything?
The question has been rised, Why should I be concerned if the NSA is spying on me? I don't have anything to hide or it does not bother me would be a common answer to this question. Sounds like a reasonable answer if you do not have anything to hide but in this instance neither did David Mery. The man's life was ruined and he did not even do anything.
The average American commits three felonies a day whether they realize that it's a crime or not. Prohibiting the NSA to spy on you gives them a reason to find these mistakes that you have done. Someone who knows everything about you can destroy you and that is exactly what they did to Mery. They set him up. A society where a government can pick out an innocent individual to crush is more dangerous than a terrorist in the middle east.
What Can I do about it?
In this type of environment it doesn't seem like there is a whole lot that you can do. As of recently, a bill to prohibit these types of actions was vetoed and this bill is what is going to change all of this. The way to change all of this is to participate in this act and not let this go any further. That is why I am strongly encouraging you to email your representatives as I have and tell them what you believe in. Email your representatives
Stand up for what is right and make a difference.
