In Sunday’s New York Times, reporter Daniel Victor ran an embarrassing expose on….The Elf on the Shelf. Really. Here’s the headline: “In a Tiny, Jolly Spy for Santa, Watchdogs Spot Big Brother.”
Behind the silliness, however, was a liberal bias. The Biden administration was characterized by a liberal bias. The New York TimesIt is suddenly regaining liberal virtues such as privacy and free speech, which it has denigrated for many years while trying to take down Donald Trump. They’ve also rediscovered the word “spy.”
It’s right there in the headline. Recall that this is the same newspaper that denied the FBI ever employed “spies” or “spied” on Donald Trump’s campaign in the investigation that led to Russiagate.:
His adorableness is evident as a spy.
A popular Christmas tradition that many families love is the Elf on the Shelf. It’s a phenomenon that has been growing rapidly based on the 2004 book written by Carol Aebersold, and Chanda bell. The elf hides in a different spot in the home each day in the weeks before Christmas, reporting children’s good behavior and misbehavior back to Santa Claus….
The elf is not real, according to privacy organisations.
However, they found him disturbing. Even more pervasive, he is dangerous. They are afraid that the long-haired elf will teach children wrong lessons. He/she may also acclimate them to constant surveillance from a police force, and make them passively submit to the control of an invisible authority.
Trump’s defenders are angry that the FBI is being accused of spying. Times invariably stuck up for its favorite domestic surveillance organization, using every tortured euphemism in its arsenal to avoid the natural word “spy,” if such a narrative threatened to make Trump appear sympathetic.
One favorite euphemism was “cloaked investigator.” After being so precise with the term “spy” when it might help Trump, the paper is back to throwing the word around as everyday vernacular, even encompassing inanimate elf dolls.
However, those who are concerned about surveillance in everyday life find something more sinister with the elf.. The eyes see more than the cute blue eyes that are so dilated and bright. They can also see another presence, one they wouldn’t invite to their home.
Victor even quoted an ACLU policy analyst, who said “it’s worth thinking about the messages it’s giving to children about surveillance by authorities.”
Again ironic, considering how deeply The Times has supported Big Tech in its suppression of conservative “misinformation” on social media: “Caitriona Fitzgerald, deputy director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a public interest research group, said children need private spaces to grow up with a sense of autonomy and independence.”
Irony still further, The Times and other liberal outlets favor children being masked in school all day, so does faceless obedience contribute to “a sense of autonomy and independence?”
“The elf was a subject that at least some privacy organizations, which typically focus on the deadly serious consequences of overstepping governments and the creeping reach of technology companies, had a bit of fun discussing,” added Victor.
If by “fun” you mean “cringeworthy,” then yes, they had “fun”:
Calli Schroeder, the global privacy counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, responded to a reporter’s questions about the elf with lyrics, to be sung to the tune of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
It begins: “You better watch out / Look up on the shelf / Don’t accept spies just because they are elves / Santa’s spy is watching your kids.”
Yikes.
The privacy-loving are still here. Times desires access to private conversations online.
This post was last modified on December 28, 2021 8:53 am
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