It's because perception of intent matters.

Someone actively pointing a camera at you is perceived as an aggressive, hostile thing. People get immediately defensive.

A static CCTV camera wasn't installed to video you in particular, so therefore people are more accepting.

Depends on the location of the camera. Three went up on the street near me, since its by a high school and I guess they monitor traffic or something. But it can clearly see into private yards and it does offend me. If I lived nearer to the cameras and was impacted I would try to ensure my bits and tackle were visible to the cameras from my bathroom window every day.

It's pretty obvious why that is, don't you think? Surveillance cameras are targeting everyone in the space equally. A person pointing a camera at you is targeting you specifically. Of course that causes a different reaction.

many years ago, there used to be a dude who went by Mr. surveillance man. He’d walk around with a camera just recording random people on the street and it caused a big sensation.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=X9sVqKFkjiY

I would even endorse personal recording as an act of SOUSveillance. A subversive reverse surveillance. We have to become the ones who watch the watchers.

It's not sousveillance if you're recording people who are not surveilling you. That's just surveillance.

Regardless, I'm always thought that sousveillance was a terrible idea. All it does is to normalize the idea of ubiquitous surveillance without providing much, if any, actual benefit in terms of coping with ubiquitous surveillance.

Fair. But what alternative path do you propose to oppose ubiquitous surveillance?

I'm not sure there is a realistic path to that, at least in the short term. It requires the majority of people to strenuously oppose it. If history is any guide, that will only happen after the amount of harm from it becomes intolerable for a sizable percentage of the population.

All I can do, personally, is to support organizations that fight this stuff, and to refuse to participate to the greatest degree I can. By this I mean avoiding going to areas where surveillance is used to the greatest degree possible, expressing my concerns about surveillance, and teasing/shaming friends and family who buy into the whole thing by using things like Ring doorbells, etc.

None of which will change anything overall, really, but you do what you can.

I would be ok with video recording doorbells if only the homeowner had access to the recording.

Ring is just evil.

Yes, I agree om both counts.