Many journalists, lawyers, political activists, and civil rights advocates would disagree with your characterization. Just because you personally aren&#x27;t aware of abuses doesn&#x27;t mean that they don&#x27;t occur.<p>Bush-era antiwar groups, Occupy Wall Street, leftist political groups, security researchers, environmental activists, whistleblowers, lawyers representing &quot;sensitive&quot; clients, and MLK himself... all have faced some kind of illegal surveillance or intimidation tactics. (There are many known targets that I didn&#x27;t list here, and likely many that we don&#x27;t hear about, simply because the oppressed often lack access to media channels.)<p>I would much rather be manipulated into buying more Coke than targeted for harassment, intimidation, no-fly lists, and smear campaigns because of my political beliefs. Not that marketers are angels, but they don&#x27;t hold a candle to the type of abuse that the government can dish out when someone is &quot;marked&quot; as inconvenient.