I think that by far the most unsettling thing about this information is that in the event that it may in fact be true... no one would believe it. Or if they did, what could they do about it? How many people would take them seriously, or how many other worthwhile people would think to go with them to make any kind of difference?
The real shocker isn't so much that a government would fuck it's own people so badly. That sort of thing is no stranger to history... what upsets me is how easily people go along with it, which again is no new thing, but it's terrifying to see it happen right in front of your own eyes.