Analysis Of Little Brother By Cory Doctorow
Robert Peel once said, “The police are the public and the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full time attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interests of community welfare and existence”. This means that everyone is responsible for the safety of themselves as well as the general population. Even though the police are in roles of power, they are also regular people to, meaning they aren’t above the law. In the book “Little Brother” by Cory Doctorow, the protagonist, Marcus Yallow, must find ways to keep himself hidden from the Department of Homeland Security. He must do this as well as still be able to lead countermeasures to prove that what the DHS is doing is wrong.
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After giving out copies of the ParanoidXbox around the city, Marcus comes to realize that he is being followed. He “Wasn’t going to run, though. [He] knew [he] couldn't outrun fate” (38). This means that even though Marcus had the option of running, he knew it was a only a matter of time before what he did would catch up to him. Once Marcus was in the vehicle with them, he found out why he was there, “To ensure [Marcus’s] safety and the general public safety” (39). He was viewed as a threat to the population’s safety and in turn “[He had] been momentarily detained” (39). This “momentary detention” is actually legal. Unlike a full-blown arrest, which requires probable cause, detentions only require reasonable suspicion (Probable Cause). This reasonable suspicion can come from any number of facts that may cause a person to think something is wrong, but it is more than a simple hunch. The police in the book used Marcus’s Fast Pass log, in which they claim he has “Been riding to a lot of strange places at a lot of funny hours” (39) to base their suspicion on. This doesn’t seem like a logical way to find people who may be a threat. One would think that a terrorist might want to make a pattern so they don’t stick out, rather than do something randomly. One instance of a seemingly questionable detention that lead to an arrest, is in the Cunha v. Superior Court case. Kenneth Cunha was arrested for heroin possession, but the events that lead to the arrest are what leads to a possible grey-area. After walking through a place where the arresting officer had made 30-40 narcotics arrests prior, the officer watched Cunha and his associate walk into the nearby park and behind the chainlink fence. Even though there was nothing abnormal about the way they were acting, he continued to watch them walk on. His view was obscured, but the officer watched a deal go down. For him, that was
After giving out copies of the ParanoidXbox around the city, Marcus comes to realize that he is being followed. He “Wasn’t going to run, though. [He] knew [he] couldn't outrun fate” (38). This means that even though Marcus had the option of running, he knew it was a only a matter of time before what he did would catch up to him. Once Marcus was in the vehicle with them, he found out why he was there, “To ensure [Marcus’s] safety and the general public safety” (39). He was viewed as a threat to the population’s safety and in turn “[He had] been momentarily detained” (39). This “momentary detention” is actually legal. Unlike a full-blown arrest, which requires probable cause, detentions only require reasonable suspicion (Probable Cause). This reasonable suspicion can come from any number of facts that may cause a person to think something is wrong, but it is more than a simple hunch. The police in the book used Marcus’s Fast Pass log, in which they claim he has “Been riding to a lot of strange places at a lot of funny hours” (39) to base their suspicion on. This doesn’t seem like a logical way to find people who may be a threat. One would think that a terrorist might want to make a pattern so they don’t stick out, rather than do something randomly. One instance of a seemingly questionable detention that lead to an arrest, is in the Cunha v. Superior Court case. Kenneth Cunha was arrested for heroin possession, but the events that lead to the arrest are what leads to a possible grey-area. After walking through a place where the arresting officer had made 30-40 narcotics arrests prior, the officer watched Cunha and his associate walk into the nearby park and behind the chainlink fence. Even though there was nothing abnormal about the way they were acting, he continued to watch them walk on. His view was obscured, but the officer watched a deal go down. For him, that was