Quoth chris@travelamericas.com ("Chris Travers"):
> I personally think that breaking the law is a last resort.
>
> Ghandi was successful. The successes of the Tieneman(sp?) square
> protesters is only now really becoming aparent, as well. The point
> is that when it is the last resort, it should be done publically,
> with one's identity known.
>
> You cannot compare anonymously downloading pirated software or music
> to the legitimate acts of civil disobedience. The point is that
> civil disobedience, done publically and strongly, sends a powerful
> message, and the message is all the more powerful based on the
> willingness to spend time in jail over it.
There's a VERY large difference between Ghandi and "music pirates."
(Aside: I consider "piracy" to be a _terrible_ term to use, since the
crime by that name, as traditionally and even still practiced, is a
HORRIBLY violent crime. Once a pirate has seized a ship and robbed
cargo, adding rape and murder to their list of crimes is quite
typical, and refugees that flee frightening places by boat are quite
likely to be able to attest to that sort of thing...)
Ghandi accepted that the legal system was going to do something unjust
to him, and depended on the fact that people would regard this as a
revolting result necessitating a "revolt" against the then-current
state of the legal system.
If the people "stealing music" were doing so out of an intent to a
similar sort of "civil disobedience," they would be documenting this
carefully, sending in signed confessions that "I just broke the DMCA
when, on 2003-07-01, I copied [Song] by [Artist]. Do your worst; it's
clearly unjust, and I will be reporting publicly whatever you do to
me."
There are _some_ instances of that sort of thing happening today; the
cases I have mostly heard of are where anti-abortion protestors ask
the courts to give them maximum sentences after they have done things
they regard as right but which the law considers, um, "not so great."
They may be pretty "way out there" in terms of some of their
principles, but they're operating rather closer to Ghandi's model of
"civil disobedience" than totally unprincipled teenagers ripping CDs
or DVDs.
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