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I have not yet read 1984, and I have never seen the old movie or any other publication of it, but I've read about the concept of "thought police" and "thought crimes". It seems like 1984 is all the rage, even more so than before, and there are people out there who have said "the world we live in truly Orwellian".
It seems like since the inauguration of the Bush Administration, and the legislation of the PATRIOT ACT, people think that the USA is an Orwellian country. There are people here and there who think that we can be arrested for "thought crimes".

What is a thought crime? And how do thought police carry out their enforcement?

Apparently, there have been so-called "thought police" in modern history. In Japan, circa 1911, there was the Tokko, a supposedly civilian branch with the purpose of enforcing proper thought. And then there came the early-mid 1900's; fascist and communist nations had departments, directorates, and ministries bearing the title of "state security". Some of these could be considered "secret police". Supposedly, these groups, such as the Gestapo, SD, Stasi, KGB, GRU, et cetera are considered "thought police". And now we've got US groups, mostly the FBI, CIA, NSA, and of course the Republican Party, being slammed as "thought police".

What I want to know is...how do you determine thought crime? I'm convinced that there are events that people use as an excuse to label as "thought crime", such as saying you're going to do something. To me, verbal communication is not thought. Or at least, not wholly thought. Thought is mental, consisting of imaginations and such. And we currently do not have the technology to see into an individual's mind. I mean, there are some things I have imagined (but never did) that would normally have me arrested if I did them in person, but I have never been prosecuted or arrested for what I'm thinking in my mind.....and as far as I know, how thought crime is determined in 1984 is that the dystopian government uses omniscience and high-tech means utilized by its secret police. Compared to this, the only thing that comes close is the monitoring of the Internet (which, for the record, is a bigger issue in the PRC than here in the US), but I don't see how catching threatening sentences is considered "thought crime".

To me, there is no such thing, right now anyway, as a legitimate "thought police". I think, and I have not been arrested or tried for anything.

Keep in mind, though, that my beliefs on "thought" are philosophical related; memories are wordless and ultimately difficult to put into words. If anything, memories are between the words and between the pictures.

I want your opinion on this matter, please. I welcome all views.

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I think the main way of enforcing "proper thought" would be to make people afraid of what would happen if they got caught. They would ultimately betray themselves by having a guilty face- so all you need to do is send people undercover to look for guilty-looking people.
Ack, just read that through and it doesn't make sense...I can't think of a better way to put it! I have read 1984, by the way.

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Orwell is the best. You should all read 1984, it's a gem.

Doublespeak is fun too. You can contradict yourself without knowing it!

And Newspeak, People can't even talk about things contradicting the party.

But you don't need that stuff if you have the Thought Police. It makes those things not even exist.

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Oddly enough, I just finished reading 1984.
lol.
Well, In the book, the government has brainwashed the people into believing that Big Brother (the gov't) is watching you through the telescreens and can see everything you do. The only people who got caught in the novel were the people who had someone tell the Thought Police of what they had done. Ex: One man was saying "down with big brother" in his sleep, and his daughter told the Thougt Police which led him to get caught. Another one was where the 2 main characters, Winston and Julia, agreed to join the Brotherhood, which was really just a setup to get people such as Winston to confirm their thoughts so they could be punished.
It's confusing. It will make more sense to you if you read the book.

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Eye Fsh
Oddly enough, I just finished reading 1984.
lol.
Well, In the book, the government has brainwashed the people into believing that Big Brother (the gov't) is watching you through the telescreens and can see everything you do. The only people who got caught in the novel were the people who had someone tell the Thought Police of what they had done. Ex: One man was saying "down with big brother" in his sleep, and his daughter told the Thougt Police which led him to get caught. Another one was where the 2 main characters, Winston and Julia, agreed to join the Brotherhood, which was really just a setup to get people such as Winston to confirm their thoughts so they could be punished.
It's confusing. It will make more sense to you if you read the book.


It's been a while since I read it, and since it's fresh on your mind, can I ask you a quick question?

How did the thought police get Winston and Julia if the spoke and...met...in places without telescreens, like the in room above the shop, and the woods?

Was it because the old man (can't recall his name) was a agent of the thought police?

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Maybe it means the government will hire a group of psychics to read your mind.

but, *gets dragged off by comicjunkie that wants to see 300*

uh, yeah that's my cue, I'll be back?

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Breadcleaner
Eye Fsh
Oddly enough, I just finished reading 1984.
lol.
Well, In the book, the government has brainwashed the people into believing that Big Brother (the gov't) is watching you through the telescreens and can see everything you do. The only people who got caught in the novel were the people who had someone tell the Thought Police of what they had done. Ex: One man was saying "down with big brother" in his sleep, and his daughter told the Thougt Police which led him to get caught. Another one was where the 2 main characters, Winston and Julia, agreed to join the Brotherhood, which was really just a setup to get people such as Winston to confirm their thoughts so they could be punished.
It's confusing. It will make more sense to you if you read the book.


It's been a while since I read it, and since it's fresh on your mind, can I ask you a quick question?

How did the thought police get Winston and Julia if the spoke and...met...in places without telescreens, like the in room above the shop, and the woods?

Was it because the old man (can't recall his name) was a agent of the thought police?


They got caught because they wanted to join a resistance group, and the government was smart enough to make up its own group to catch those who tried to revolt.

I think the name of the guy they talk to was O'Brien, but I haven't read the book for a while.

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Breadcleaner
Eye Fsh
Oddly enough, I just finished reading 1984.
lol.
Well, In the book, the government has brainwashed the people into believing that Big Brother (the gov't) is watching you through the telescreens and can see everything you do. The only people who got caught in the novel were the people who had someone tell the Thought Police of what they had done. Ex: One man was saying "down with big brother" in his sleep, and his daughter told the Thougt Police which led him to get caught. Another one was where the 2 main characters, Winston and Julia, agreed to join the Brotherhood, which was really just a setup to get people such as Winston to confirm their thoughts so they could be punished.
It's confusing. It will make more sense to you if you read the book.


It's been a while since I read it, and since it's fresh on your mind, can I ask you a quick question?

How did the thought police get Winston and Julia if the spoke and...met...in places without telescreens, like the in room above the shop, and the woods?

Was it because the old man (can't recall his name) was a agent of the thought police?

The old man who let them stay in his shop? Yep. He's one of them.

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Breadcleaner
Eye Fsh
Oddly enough, I just finished reading 1984.
lol.
Well, In the book, the government has brainwashed the people into believing that Big Brother (the gov't) is watching you through the telescreens and can see everything you do. The only people who got caught in the novel were the people who had someone tell the Thought Police of what they had done. Ex: One man was saying "down with big brother" in his sleep, and his daughter told the Thougt Police which led him to get caught. Another one was where the 2 main characters, Winston and Julia, agreed to join the Brotherhood, which was really just a setup to get people such as Winston to confirm their thoughts so they could be punished.
It's confusing. It will make more sense to you if you read the book.


It's been a while since I read it, and since it's fresh on your mind, can I ask you a quick question?

How did the thought police get Winston and Julia if the spoke and...met...in places without telescreens, like the in room above the shop, and the woods?

Was it because the old man (can't recall his name) was a agent of the thought police?


Actually, that room above the shop did have a telescreen. It was just hidden underneath a picture that was fixed to the wall. And yes, Mr. Charinggton was a member of the ThoughtPolice, as was O'Brien.

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imma bump this

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Wrong thought leads to wrong action, and if you think about comitting a crime you have already comitted it. Or something like that. Which is why Winston was already guilty when he bought the diary, despite not having written anything.

We don't quite have Thought Police yet. You can't be arrested for thinking Bush is a moron.

I'm not entirely certain there was a resistance movement in 1984 or that the Brotherhood existed. I'm of the opinion that it was a myth spread by the government to enable them to catch dissenters. And it worked. We're not there yet either.

Oh, and read 1984. And Brave New World. They're great books.
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