Darth Vader Endorses Flock Cameras #darthvader #flockcameras
The short version: A Darth Vader bit at San Diego City Council skewers Flock Safety surveillance, and the joke lands because the reality isn't far off.
Our Take
Credit where it's due: Jay Mo's clip (via footage from @OrwellDay on X) is funny because it's not that far from true. Having a guy in a Vader costume tell a city council that mass surveillance cameras are great, actually, is the kind of satire that writes itself when the actual pro-ALPR talking points at these meetings often sound just as tone-deaf. Empire endorsements aside, the joke works because it names the dynamic plainly: a surveillance apparatus that watches every car on every block, sold to the public as just a helpful little safety tool.
What makes this bit land isn't just the costume, it's the setting. Flock Safety's pitch has become a fixture of city council agendas across the country, usually framed as a modest ask: a few cameras, a pilot program, nothing to worry about. Public comment periods are often where the only pushback shows up, sometimes from residents, sometimes, apparently, from Sith Lords. The absurdity of the sketch is really just a magnifying glass on how normalized this technology has become in ordinary local government.
If your council is quietly voting on Flock contracts without this kind of scrutiny, that's worth fixing. Check our camera map to see what's already been deployed near you, and if you want to push back before your city ends up starring in the next viral clip, our take-action page has a place to start.
This is DeFlock The USA’s original commentary. The video above is the work of Jay Mo, published on YouTube — full credit to the creator.