You've encapsulated the problem perfectly. Outrage blooms, persists, gives way to fatigue, cynicism, and blitheness, till eventually yet another new low in the status quo gets voted into being by mass acquiescence. This relates to how I feel about all available forms of protest, that they have essentially been co-opted, invited to become a part of the spectacle, a venting of outrage in a context wherein meaningful change has already been taken off the table. It's like the bleeding off of steam, releasing force outside of the machine so it can't have any internal consequences.

And I think that your method of avoiding complete disconnection is a strong one. It's not just that you're forced to regard the offense. It's that _you_ have forced yourself to regard it.

This all invites us, though, to the real pressing question: what avenues remain open to us for meaningful change? What, if anything, can we do about it? I'm looking for peaceful, positive actions here. Perhaps removing one's self from the equation is the only alternative. Say what you will about the Amish, but if the NSA want to violate _their_ privacy, they have to do it the old fashioned way.