Denim & Flip Flops

FBI says paying cash for coffee is a sign of terrorist intent

Icecube sez, “Earlier this month, a flier was released by the FBI saying that TOR users might be terrorists. It seems that there is another article that was recently published that says that if you see someone paying for a cup of coffee in cash, they too could be a terrorist. I wonder how much longer it’ll be before drinking a cup of water at home could be considered suspicious as well.”

Using cash for small purchases like a cup of coffee, gum and other items is a good indication that a person is trying to pass for normal without leaving the kind of paper trail created using a debit or credit card for small purchases.

The most recent update asks coffee shop owners, baristas and other customer-service specialists to be on the lookout for the enemy who walks among us (who evidently has been reanimated from the graves of the 1950s Red Scare era of blacklisting and Communist-baiting or the KGB’s constant witch hunt for capitalist sympathizers or people who resent being witch-hunted for their political beliefs).

This bothers me so much. It sounds a lot like a scene in Cory Doctorow’s book Little Brother. He happens to be the author of the post, so I’m sure it’s no coincidence. I am well aware of what our government is capable of doing, and how much about all our lives they know. Being reminded of it makes me shudder.