I'm a northern neighbour to the US..
and we see some pretty sketchy stuff happening sometimes down there...
But you fellas across the pond need to put some perspective on things...
I'd suggest asking fellow american maemoans about what happens in their country before fear mongering and twisting things out of context.
Sure they have a militarized police force.
They need it.
When the populace have the "right" to bear arms (originally meant for a non-gov't public militia to be able to rise up against a gov't in power which becomes tyrannical...) it means that when the police go to a house over a ludicrous barking dog complaint...or pull someone over for speeding...there is a very good chance they won't be just shot...but riddled with bullets...and armour-piercing to boot ...if not bloody well blown up or vaporized by some of the weaponry the public are "allowed" to own.
Even here in Canada...at present we are dealing with truly messed up people who are assaulting our law enforcement and killing them.

No person who makes their life's ambition and job.. to keep others safe from physical harm ...deserves to die.. at the hands of nutbars who think it is a god-given right to kill other people.

Even still...we have no room in our canadian society for either the bleeding-heart-liberal- crying injustice nor the hard-bitten-conservative toting an AK ...neither are welcome.

People getting along, working things out, finding solutions ..we have plenty of room for.

Closer to home...here at maemo...
I am a bit concerned...
1stly- yes you have a valid argument szopin ...
in the case of alerting the community to the hazards of becoming the victim of (essentially) predators ...for lack of a better term... and online terrorism.

But you really better hear this part man...
Between the title of this post and "what's wrong with western society" ...well that is really pushing man...and not in the good way.
The content of your argument is fairly sound...
really.

The thing is ...
1- Unless you offer a viable ...realistic solution or alternative which can actually be put into practice and which the community can understand and accept.
or
2- Unless you alert the populace of the community to the dangers (which you did) and then follow through with asking for help from the community in trying to figure out how to safeguard said community and implement it. (which you haven't)

then you are just pissing in the wind buddy.

do you get it?

either ask for help in implementing safeguards...
or offer viable realistic solutions which can be put into practice....
otherwise you are just screaming about a problem.

and that is the core reason why your friends here are starting to call you a pain in the arse.
they aren't malicious in their statement ...
but they are worried.