ben moretti on Sun, 3 Feb 2002 12:32:01 +0100 (CET)


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[Nettime-bold] Re: <nettime> all hail the Citizen Corps



On Friday, February 1, 2002, at 01:45  AM, Bill Spornitz wrote:

> Citizen Corps would recruit and train retired doctors and health care
> workers for emergencies and enlist truckers, letter carriers, ship
> captains and others in reporting suspicious activity to the
> authorities.



'Are you guilty?' said Winston.

'Of course I'm guilty!' cried Parsons with a servile glance at
the telescreen. 'You don't think the Party would arrest an innocent
man, do you?' His frog-like face grew calmer, and even took on
a slightly sanctimonious expression. 'Thoughtcrime is a dreadful
thing, old man,' he said sententiously. 'It's insidious. It can
get hold of you without your even knowing it. Do you know how
it got hold of me? In my sleep! Yes, that's a fact. There I was,
working away, trying to do my bit -- never knew I had any bad
stuff in my mind at all. And then I started talking in my sleep.
Do you know what they heard me saying?'

He sank his voice, like someone who is obliged for medical reasons
to utter an obscenity.

"Down with Big Brother!" Yes, I said that! Said it over and over
again, it seems. Between you and me, old man, I'm glad they got
me before it went any further. Do you know what I'm going to say
to them when I go up before the tribunal? "Thank you," I'm going
to say, "thank you for saving me before it was too late."

'Who denounced you?' said Winston.

'It was my little daughter,' said Parsons with a sort of doleful
pride. 'She listened at the keyhole. Heard what I was saying,
and nipped off to the patrols the very next day. Pretty smart
for a nipper of seven, eh? I don't bear her any grudge for it.
In fact I'm proud of her. It shows I brought her up in the right
spirit, anyway.'

Orwell, G (1949). "1984", Part 3, Chapter 1

http://www.mondopolitico.com/library/1984/1984_c19.htm

--
ben moretti
mailto:bmoretti@chariot.net.au
http://www.chariot.net.au/~bmoretti

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