Left and right criticized federal surveillance for opposite reasons

Evidence

The unusual involvement of ideological adversaries in this set of issues suggests the extent to which at least certain New World Order concerns appear to cut across the traditional left-right divide. Nevertheless, the left and right had different ideas about what was dangerous about federal antiviolence activities. In general, those on the left emphasized activities that might have a chilling effect on political speech and protest, such as intelligence gathering and the creation of lists identifying allegedly dangerous persons. Those on the right, by contrast, became obsessively concerned with the risk of their own incarceration, creating in the process the concentration-camp legend. — Michael Barkun, A Culture of Conspiracy, 374

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: The right weaponized legitimate surveillance fears that liberals abandoned — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 384; The libs’ sneer about conspiracy theorists misses that their surveillance grievances are real — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror…, 268

Broader Connections

• The right weaponized legitimate surveillance fears that liberals abandoned #expands (0.85) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 384
• The libs’ sneer about conspiracy theorists misses that their surveillance grievances are real #expands (0.80) — Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, 268