The Normalization of Mass Surveillance | Sep 16, 2014

In early September, following the release of a video showing NFL running back Ray Rice hitting his wife Janay Rice in an elevator, the Baltimore Ravens terminated Rice’s contract and the NFL suspended him indefinitely from the league.

This follows an event in April, when an audio recording of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling telling his girlfriend V. Stiviano not to bring black people to games was made public. Sterling was banned from the NBA and the league is currently working to finalize the sale of the team to a new owner.

The following month Solange Knowles, the younger sister of Beyonce Knowles, appeared in a surveillance video attacking her brother-in-law, rap impresario Jay Z, in an elevator following the Met Ball. The footage exploded onto both gossip and news sites and sparked a storm of conjecture about what happened that night.

You’ll see a pattern here. Continue reading “The Normalization of Mass Surveillance | Sep 16, 2014”