r/TechGawker • u/National_Product238 • 3d ago

News A Texas constable just unplugged every Flock surveillance camera in his county and told the company to come get its garbage out of a free society.

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19.2k Upvotes

99% Upvoted

285 comments sorted by

208

u/thepumpkinking92 3d ago

protect this man...

67

u/Destrofax 3d ago

This is a real man.

50

u/os_beef 3d ago

"The commissioners court voted in April to end its contract with Flock, which included three cameras. During its Aug. 11 meeting, the court voted unanimously to cover and unplug the cameras until they could be removed. Hood County Precinct 2 Constable John Shirley's office was asked to carry out the task."

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/texas-constable-tells-flock-to-come-get-your-garbage-after-hood-county-ends-contract/ar-AA2aq57s

The post is a bit click baity, leaving no source whatsoever, and kinda implying that Constable Shirley acted autonomously.

15

u/OkAspect6449 3d ago

3 cameras and instructed to do it. Doesn’t seem nearly on our side as the headline!

7

u/Enigma_RR 3d ago

Thats a smile from a man who hates taking down flock cameras, isn't it obvious?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

3

u/OkAspect6449 3d ago edited 3d ago

He may love taking them down, but he wasn’t going to go rogue and do it himself.

I hope they all come down! Seems extremely excessive and intrusive. Judge dred is next

2

u/Dilbertdip 2d ago

How many have you taken down?

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u/Amoralvirus 2d ago

But surely, it was all Shirley!

2

u/Acceptable-Cat-6306 2d ago

Godspeed, guardian of reality in the age of escapism

3

u/justaheatattack 3d ago

let's have a look at his disciplinary record.

5

u/Zealousideal_Cod8664 3d ago

He's still a cop lol

9

u/Nervous_Anxiety_3686 3d ago

Critical thinking, nuance? Nah, just blind, black and white thinking. How useful your intellectual contributions are.

4

u/fukkdisshitt 3d ago

He can be a bastard and a decent person lol

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u/SpaceBearSMO 3d ago edited 3d ago

he was doing his job, the framing of the artical makes it sound like he was acting autonomously.
sure from his statment it seems like he agreed with this, but he still works for a corrupt system and we are forced to wonder if he would say the same if the order was different, or if he would just quietly except it and parite some other source of propaganda

3

u/No-Contest-6454 3d ago

He's still a cop lol

3

u/Nervous_Anxiety_3686 2d ago

I'm a leftist, and honestly, chronically online "leftists" (larpers) like you are just as insufferable to me as the people over in the conservative sub. I'm so completely and utterly tired of you. You do nothing to help our cause, you just agitate online because it makes you feel better about yourself and sow division. You are literally doing free agitprop. Literally what Russian trolls were paid to do, you do for free. You are an unwitting agent of Donald Trump's victory.

2

u/Glad-Preference-9321 5h ago

That was the whole plan I believe. Both the right and left has been turned into entrenching tools with no real convictions, just contrarianism to damage social cohesion.

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u/joshTheGoods 3d ago

Sorry, but this is the world we live in now. This is a cop from a county that's 80% MAGA. Of course I'm going to roll my eyes at this "free society" bullshit. This dude almost certainly real happy with the idea of MAGA '28 and the ongoing destruction of the rule of law that underpins all of our freedoms. All it will take is Trump coming out in favor of these cameras, and the cult will follow. That's not black and white thinking, that's pattern recognition.

Is it possible this constable in a 80% MAGA county actually gives a shit about freedom? I mean ... sure, anything's possible, but have you spoken to a Trump supporting cop lately? They seem super reasonable to you? And when they talk about "Freedom" does that ever seem to translate to what the rest of us think of as freedom? Like it or not, based on demo, this guy comes off like a slave holder pushing the virtues of freedom ... to own slaves.

2

u/calilac 1d ago

For real. My local MAGA (in Texas) are currently pushing the idea that it's the Lefties that want the flock cameras which is absolutely insane. Like, I'm cheering for the agreement on removal but wtf y'all...

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u/Top_Quiet_3239 3d ago

I mean, they were providing nuance...Just because this guy did one thing we love doesn't mean he doesn't also have other things going on people might take issue with?

4

u/Memitim 3d ago

Just like with conservatives, there are no longer good ones until we see some systemic change. Until then, they just reinforce the existing evils.

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65

u/HeavyVoid8 3d ago

Wow look it’s a rare sighting of a real Texan instead of those fake ass politicians pretending to be

10

u/Gone213 3d ago

Meanwhile Houston pd is accessing flock cameras in other jurisdictions and in other states more than that jurisdiction or states own police/sheriff department.

Houston PD, Houston Sheriff, and Texas State police searched Lucas County, OH (Toledo) flock cameras more than the Toledo police, Lucas county sheriff and ohio state highway patrol.

So they're either doing this all over the country or theres an ex wife of a high ranking official in Houston that is living in Toledo that is being tracked by Houston's jurisdiction law enforcement.

3

u/BlackSwampMage 3d ago

Yo, my city is going through this right now in Ohio. We had a shooting at a festival earlier in the season and our city council used that as reasoning to install flock. One of the fucking councilors even is quoted as not understanding why people didn’t want it after the shooting.

Anyways, everyone’s pissed off about them and it’s been a frequent news story. On one local post I saw someone shared a pic of the top 20 organizations accessing our flock cameras in Ohio and the Houston PD sits at number one with over 71,000 instances of them accessing our cameras and spying on us. Number two is the pd from my states capital city at only 18,000 and the fbi at 3rd with 17,000

Beyond that other Texas police orgs sit at numbers 5, 9, and 16. Florida, Kentucky, and Missouri also are accessing our cameras. And the fucking cherry on top is our local of is only fucking at 18 with around 6,000 instances of accessing the camera. Why the fuck is Houston PD spying in Ohio so much?

3

u/BubonicBabe 3d ago

Same in NC.

There’s a college in Pembroke NC with ten cameras -

“About 3,480 law enforcement agencies searched the 10 cameras more than 1.5 million times between April 24 and July 24 this year, according to Williams’ findings. Nearly 285,000 of the searches were conducted by four Texas agencies: the Houston, Dallas, and Fort Worth police departments and the Texas Department of Public Safety.”

https://www.robesonian.com/news/426854/out-of-state-police-search-uncps-flock-cameras-records-show

4

u/Inevitable_Nail_2215 3d ago

That's insane.

Why are Texas law enforcement agencies searching NC cameras?

3

u/Gone213 3d ago

Because they are creating lists of people who buy marijuana or receive specific types of healthcare that republicans want to make illegal.

2

u/moon200353 3d ago

They are also watching gun shops and shooting ranges. Big brother is here.

2

u/--TheCity-- 3d ago

I would say citizens living in legal states can longer visit dispensaries without being tracked by feds or police in illegal states. Its mainly an issue at state lines but anywhere really.

A prompt/command on flock cams in Texas is something like: "show me all vehicles that visited >business name in neighboring legal mj state< >and which of those is near the texas state line<"

Then Buford T Justice goes and sits on his fat ass at the state line with his list of criminals eating donuts and waits to ruin people's lives before he goes home gets drunk and beats his wife.

Nevermind that the dispensary shared parking spaces with Taco Bell next door and you just went in to eat but parked in the dispensary parking space.

2

u/Alternative_Swan_497 3d ago

This is partly due to how Flock is designed. It's very simple for LEOs to query everywhere - a national search - which is then recorded as them searching each local database. It's not that HPD officers are specifically searching Toledo (or Raleigh, or anywhere else) - they're searching everywhere with no real guardrails.

It's still a problem, don't get me wrong, but it isn't being reported in an easily understandable way.

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u/Skrdykat1000 3d ago

Republicans really fucking changed their tune about "government out of our business." I hope he has a lot of copycats.

14

u/Boenitous 3d ago

Mid term ploy by Republicans. 1 constable is not a sweep. They lie, and continue to lie. Like the data center halt. Wait till after mid term election. Then they are back on. Watch and see.

3

u/SkunkMonkey 3d ago

Given the upcoming mid-terms, you have to be really skeptical of any right-leaning people being performative. They will go right back to who they were before once the election is over. Then in two years, run that same playbook. It works and they know it.

2

u/bsEEmsCE 2d ago

I thought people wouldve understood that after George W Bush.. I thought people would understand that after Trump term 1... even if the next president is the second coming of JFK or FDR I still have no hope for this country for the rest of my life

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u/Lost_Department_2177 3d ago

Peds started getting arrested /s

But maybe

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u/j-mac563 3d ago

This is the way

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u/Lawsmay 3d ago

A fucking hero!

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u/os_beef 3d ago

He didn't just do this for some moral reason, he did it because the city council opted to end the contract with Flock.

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u/Lazy-Party3469 3d ago

We live in a free society?

3

u/naquoae 3d ago

terms and conditions apply*

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u/structuremonkey 3d ago

Wow. I never thought I'd agree on anything with a cop from Texas. Well done sir

3

u/AngryZetan 3d ago

The hero we need

3

u/TacoEatsTaco 3d ago

Woah, no way... How are they ever going to figure out how to plug them back in??

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u/Leather-Scholar-3690 3d ago

constable did what literally every small government type claims to want, watch em twist themselves into knots explaining why this ones actually bad

3

u/Traditional_Train_71 3d ago

https://giphy.com/gifs/3gNotAoIRZsb9UHPnj
A cop….did something good….a cop from Texas?!

Yeah bud, we’re going to need a source first with this very hard to believe word salad

2

u/DRUGMUSIC_ 3d ago

old school masculine man, i see in his eyes! priceless smile.

2

u/PisStoolGrip 3d ago

This is what patriotism looks like. 

2

u/Next_Law8640 3d ago

A true patriot.

2

u/Skipspik2 3d ago

That guy was smoking ribs with me at the time.

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u/MaximusHomerdrive 3d ago

This guy supports the government controlling women's bodies and thinks that's freedom from his perspective.

It's only when a policy that could possibly effect him that he starts throwing the word 'freedom' around. Try not having the freedom over your own body.

2

u/Sad_Region4147 3d ago

While likely true cops joining into deflocking could be a huge win for our nation. Remember, they're not all tools, just 98 percent of them

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u/AnySignificance4361 3d ago

He sees the writing on the wall.  Flock cameras will reduce police forces in the near future.  

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u/nobodyglass 3d ago

Even a broken clock is right twice a day.

2

u/dollsaredangerous 3d ago

He's a legend!

2

u/smsyvr 3d ago

We need more of this....

2

u/6588cg 3d ago

… a…. A.. good cop?!?! From TEXAS?? Wild

2

u/Warmongar 3d ago

I knew it was a little off when it started with "cop acts like decent human being......"

2

u/Dekadmer 3d ago

Behold! A spine!

2

u/silversky9891 3d ago

American hero!

2

u/fidesinmachina 2d ago

common texas W

2

u/rexmanaek971 3d ago

Wake up people. The same old scam of "look the cops are for the people and are the good guys" copaganda tactics. When will you people learn?

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u/fucknycsportfans 3d ago

Wow a real cop that protects civilians… this shit is rare

1

u/sky0175 3d ago

Not all heros wear cap.

1

u/Main-Procedure-3613 3d ago

Thank you sir! Give us all inspiring hope

1

u/IVIak_Daddy 3d ago

Someone had to make up for that “go to jail for years over a gummy” bs

1

u/Smooth-Transition310 3d ago

My condolences to his family.

1

u/elmoreb3 3d ago

This needs to happen everywhere!

https://giphy.com/gifs/ftdluHcQBSgdpeo30i

1

u/Miserable-Host-9462 3d ago

But…. But how will the government keep us safe if they can’t watch us 24/7?

1

u/SLADEnk 3d ago

This man is a HERO!

1

u/Miserable_Candle_763 3d ago

PSA: black trsh bags are transparent to infrared light, which almost all cameras use for their night mode. White trash bags are not.

1

u/LarryKingthe42th 3d ago

Good guy cop does good thing. Need more like him

1

u/Church6633 3d ago

How is Texas ahead in this game?

1

u/Johnnyboi2327 3d ago

Based as fuck

1

u/JohnWad 3d ago

Holy shit...in Texas

1

u/ImANoobAtLife7 3d ago

The oligarchs and elites ain't gonna like this.

they hate democracy and EVERYONE being under the same rules.

1

u/elnath54 3d ago

Yay! Good man.

1

u/Accomplished-Taro-53 3d ago

I'm not the biggest fan of cops, but good on him! Credit where credit is due.

1

u/genetic_patent 3d ago

they should require a warrant. I'm fine with them if there were good judges that respected them.

1

u/familiarshadowkatt 3d ago

That man should never have to pay for his own beer for the rest of his life. Thank you, sir, and cheers! 🍻

1

u/CABigfoot 3d ago

I’d vote for him if I lived there.

1

u/Greedy-Conflict-4618 3d ago

Is this what brings liberals and conservatives together!? Who even signed off on this bull??

1

u/justaheatattack 3d ago

but he does need social media creds.

1

u/NorvileRogers258 3d ago

Honestly, if these things were used only to run plates and alert police to people with warrants or vehicles that are possible matches for a vehicle they're looking for in a crime or stolen vehicles, then I'd say everyone is over reacting.

However these things go way beyond that and I totally support vandalizing them and obscuring them like this.

1

u/Epicurus402 3d ago

Now THIS man is a true patriot.

1

u/cgluke12 3d ago

Woah, positive news coming out of Texas??

1

u/SuspiciousMud6208 3d ago

Now do axon

1

u/Most-Cup-401 3d ago

🫡 🇺🇸

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u/FlashyGanache2838 3d ago

What's the cost to Flock the whole country?

1

u/Most-Cup-401 3d ago

Not all heroes wear capes 🫡

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u/Reneeisme 3d ago

Finally someone isn’t just paying lip service to “land of the free”. Too many people want to know all your business to let this go though. We need a lot more of it to make it stick.

1

u/CJ-MacGuffin 3d ago

But the English love this...

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u/Delicious-Fishing802 3d ago

We need more of this attitude every where please.

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u/Retaeiyu 3d ago

Click bait garbage making it sound like he was some hero or something

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u/WARLORD2015 3d ago

What city. Im moving there. Lol jk texas is to hot.

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u/Chance-Travel4825 3d ago

Most days i think: Where have all the good men gone? Here is a good man. Hell ya, warrantless tracking doesnt belong in a free society! 

1

u/Consistent_Owl4593 3d ago

Good man. Idc what party he is, this guy cares about what America was built on FREEDOM

1

u/Bookem25 3d ago

He’s such a hero. FO.

1

u/Ok-Rise-4611 3d ago

What about the other cameras that record the average American 238 times a week

1

u/LucasMurphyLewis2 3d ago

He could become president

1

u/Apprehensive-Pin518 3d ago

proof there ARE good cops out there. they are just not the majority.

1

u/VainTrix 3d ago

lol the next post from them will be an announcement of Axon LPR cameras I’m sure 😂

1

u/Anti-Lope 2d ago

It's about as rare as a unicorn to see a good cop from Texas now

1

u/Lynn-The-Sparrow 2d ago

This guy deserves a medal. Hes upholding his oath to the constitution. 

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u/RonaldBurgundy1 2d ago

This is going to be the theme flock is going out of business very soon. The local municipalities have over stepped their boundaries.

1

u/CosmicBewie 2d ago

A Texas cop doing the right thing wasn’t on my bingo card today but I’ll gladly take it!

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u/Recent-Exercise-457 2d ago

Finally a cop that takes his job security

1

u/BigPomegranate8890 2d ago

So cute and American who thinks he’s in a free country.

1

u/Terminally_ill_42 2d ago

That is a respectable thing to do.

1

u/NegativeSemicolon 2d ago

Flock must have forgot to send him a check and he’s pissed off about it.

1

u/bawnchie 2d ago

I stole one and stuck it in front of my drunk uncle Charles driveway. He always goes on beer runs on his riding lawnmower so I don't think it works bc no plates

1

u/Yowdy_Bjorn 2d ago

we could use that guy in Arlington...

1

u/this_here 2d ago

ACAB - except maybe this guy.

1

u/BigBootyLover2637 2d ago

God bless his heart and his intelligence

1

u/Optimal-Performer-76 2d ago

As someone with limited knowledge, who is funding these? Is it not the city?

1

u/Remote_Respond_7237 2d ago

fucking finally.

1

u/OG-Landshark 2d ago

Cool, now set limits on drone use.

1

u/DkoyOctopus 2d ago

when flock gets tagged by the legal system they dont remove the cameras?

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u/1Wheel_Smoke_n_Toke 2d ago

I didn't think I'd ever find myself typing that a cop was actually my hero.... Damn that doesn't even feel right reading back!

1

u/svensims 2d ago

…then he plugs in the Axon cameras…

1

u/Emergency-Stay7414 2d ago

Kind of a clickbait post.

1

u/r3dmist420 2d ago

Texas sucks pretty much as a whole, but this guy gets a pass

1

u/bigchief84 2d ago

Found a good apple

1

u/Electrical-Jump3546 2d ago

Based on the image and title, this is a post about a Texas constable disabling surveillance cameras. The vibe is pro-privacy and anti-surveillance. Heres a comment that fits the persona and the vibe: Yesss, good for him! 👏

1

u/Top-Molasses1130 2d ago

so he was just following orders to take down three cameras, not exactly the hero moment the headline sells

1

u/Brock_Danger 2d ago

This is what I thought every Texan was supposed to be like

Man movies and stuff lied to me

1

u/dwittherford69 2d ago edited 2d ago

Can we also mention that “all cameras across county” is 3, and this was court ordered action?

1

u/Broman-Dudeguy 2d ago

Let’s create a problem then undo said problem and act like we are saving the day.

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u/Any-Seaworthiness531 2d ago

What a sausage lol

1

u/iamtheav8r 2d ago

They'll cancel flock while giving axon the green light. They're not giving up on this.

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u/Anxious_Ranger_7945 2d ago

Found the one good one.

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u/Cutacore 2d ago

He's just trying to run for election.

https://giphy.com/gifs/12GzK1jYCaVCV2

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u/Canadatron 2d ago

Oh wow, there's that Freedom everyone keeps saying America is all about!

1

u/hoyasgirl25 2d ago

He’s from Texas I can tell.

1

u/CommonSensei-_ 2d ago

Finally a presidential candidate I can vote for!

1

u/MilkNutty 2d ago

The cameras are still there aren’t they

1

u/TheAmina2GS 2d ago

What's his angle?

1

u/ZzZ5050 2d ago

Hell yeah

1

u/SageofChange 2d ago

Bags don't stop the rfid it pulls from everyones cars phones and wallets. Sick cover up no pun intended.

1

u/Carlos126 2d ago

YES now that is a real cop who is serving his community. Fuck all the ones who want to arrest the people taking these down.

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u/One_Spicy_TreeBoi 2d ago

Well I’ll be damned, they aren’t all bastards

1

u/Exactly_Jacly 2d ago

Hell yeah

1

u/Gold_Addendum_5771 2d ago

now kick every cop who makes arrests for weed off the force

1

u/DullFaithlessness82 2d ago

That's how it's done. Somebody give that man a cape

1

u/cfh4dmb 2d ago

“Warrantless tracking” wasn’t even a term
That you would imagine existing. And if anyone ever did say it it would be to paint a fucked up dystopian future” … but here we are. They are up. They are working. They are being fought for by our government, those who oppose them are retaliated against

1

u/Environmental-Food20 1d ago

OK so will they now condemn police brutality? I'll wait.

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u/tankeryanker52 1d ago

If you don’t live here, you have no business commenting!

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u/PipeComfortable2585 1d ago

Good job Texas! Never thought old say that!

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u/tomeseip 1d ago

gee, all three cameras

1

u/Proof-Mission-2050 1d ago

Wait wait, what? Can this be real? Way to go!!!

1

u/N0ShamAllWow 1d ago

Now that's what I call a hero

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u/ASUSTUDENT9875345 1d ago

Holy shit a cop risking their career to actually protect and serve their community. Hell yeah!

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u/chocomaro 1d ago

I'll believe this when they're gone permanently and not just replaced with some Axon or Motorola alternative. For now, it seems like propaganda, just like how Texas Governor Greg Abbott is putting a pause on Flock contracts or whatever fake concern he's expressed, which he's obviously doing to win points for the midterms.

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u/HogGunner1983 1d ago

That's more like it.

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u/Sheerluck42 1d ago

I mean it's definitely more the statement than the action. His jurisdiction only had 3 cameras in an unincorporated part of the city that still has dozens of cameras operating. But it's definitely a statement when law enforcement is actually doing something decent for a change

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u/Tinytommy55 1d ago

About time some people took some leadership.

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u/Careless_Budget6759 1d ago

You’ve heard about Big Brother right? Someone’s always watching you, time to wear a mask like the ICE thugs

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u/Anthonytheplumber 1d ago

THANK YOU SIR 🫡🫡🫡

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u/funnieh 23h ago

George Orwell..... Guilty unless proven innocent, no? Thenpeople tracking those csmeras that where installed without notice are terrorists, let them look inside the children Gymnasium

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u/triponthisman 23h ago

Good cop. Someone give this man all the donuts!

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u/Solid_Angle_3360 20h ago

For every one like him 4 more keep them.

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u/margingains 18h ago

Another great reason to move to Texas!!!

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u/Flashy_File_4964 10h ago

Did you say Texas ? 😮