#Killcap in Berlin
"This act is concrete sabotage against the system of surveillance and control." – CAMOVER Mission Statement
It started in Germany, where activists in black bloc garb hit the streets of Berlin at nightfall to tear down surveillance cameras. As different anarchists joined in on the task, posting videos and photos of their exploits online, it turned into a game: Camover. Players first form a team, name their brigade, and then get busy trashing the cameras that loom in public spaces – the omnipresent eye of Big Daddy. Points are given out for each sacked camera, with bonus scores for the most innovative modes of destruction. Some vigilantes use their bare hands, others use axes, or most impressively, string lassoes (see video below).
The number of CCTV surveillance cameras on the streets of Germany is on the rise, and "Camover" came in at the perfect moment, disrupting the silent rise of a totalizing panopticism, with its catchy blend of reality-gaming and activism.
The situation in Germany is case and point at to why we have to give up our reliance on staid lefty tactics. German citizens who oppose CCTV found that petitions, letters, marches and solemn documentaries can achieve very little. A group of 40 protestors march the streets of Berlin in June, protesting the Orwellian level of surveillance in the city, and another group screened documentaries about the rise of CCTV months later. But Camover's direct-action approach has been the only effective measure. They took down over 50 cameras in just the first few weeks of actions, and successfully shifted public dialogue about surveillance – internationally.
It didn't taken long for this flame to catch. The game spread quickly throughout Germany, to Finland, Greece and just hit the Northwest Coast of the USA this month.
What other gaming-activism hybrid initiatives will emerge from the rumbling global imagination this spring? Is #Camover but the first wave of many? The clever and potent mix of reality-game and direct-action could be a game-changer for the political left.
. . . Oh, and keep an eye out for #Killcap games being played elsewhere around the world.
11 comments on the article “#Killcap in Berlin”
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Dks
Best First person shooter game I've seen in a long time! hahaha
Paintball gun could work for real sneaky quick action too..
Check out properagenda.com
These guys are a spawn from the OWS , pretty funny dudes..
Anonymous
simple solution would be a fragmenting grenade in each camera
An-arch-e
Yes, but who's going to take on the cost of purchasing, or manufacturing these grenades? Better do it by hand. It's more fun.
Anonymous
There is one huge problem in the symbolism of destroying cameras:
The expanded and "enhanced" view and insight into the everyday machinations of the politicians and power elites that the "information age" has brought us, has allowed us to better focus and get a clearer picture of who in our society is perfectly willing to lie, steal, and kill for personal gain despite their usual proclamations of higher purpose.
Anonymous
best played during blackouts
Anonymous
Destroying Surveillance Cameras does not seem to me to be as important as coming out in force and allowing citizen media and professional media to film it so people can see what's really going on. That's something I think Occupy did do, was highlight the violence and unfair tactics that the police are willing to use against citizens who speak up and demand to be heard. It needs to be noted that the government chooses to use intimidation and violence instead of listening to it's people. For example, telling people if they don't want to be arrested that they need to leave but then fencing them into an area where they can't leave and then arresting them. People have every right to be p*st off and demand better representation and treatment where the government works with the people not against them or ignoring them.
Anonymous
Most people will by default side with the police except in very special cases. People are not stupid, they know that societal order will collapse if everyone turns on the police, and only criminals will gain from such a scenario. Criminals are almost exclusively right-wing, so this is a good, not a bad instinct.
Brazilian
The sabotage against the system of surveillance is intelligent, but these people recording the acts and painting the walls isn't.
Anonymous
Listen to Berlin. Since the wall came down, others have come up. U.S. Mexican border for one is starting to resemble the Berlin Wall. Power to Little Brother
iPhony
Better use dumbphones while doing this, too:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/technology-and-liberty-criminal-law-reform-immigrants-rights/new-document-sheds-light
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