Don Porter wrote:
>I have a suspicion that some folks will read more into this paragraph than
>is probably intended. They may well take references to unsatisfied urges to
>include pedophilia and child pornography in the literal, and not just
>literary sense. Some might accuse you of declaring open season on kids.
Indeed. I too have severe misgivings about this particular
civil-disobediance tack from a stratetic point of view. I argued against
it, but lost out in a fair debate with other CR co-leaders.
I believe our mission (re/Exon) should be to continue to point out that it
amounts to a very over-broad attack against online expression in general --
a jackhammer to kill a fly, as it were.
If we --
(1) point out the dangers to political speech and open discussion
on the net
(2) & the possibility that Internet culture as we know it is at risk
(3) underscore that means already exist to prosecute pornography
(4) help identify more appropriate ways that those can be enhanced
-- then we have a very strong case to make, and can enlist the maximum
number of allies from all parts of the political/religious spectrum.
It seems clear to me (although Craig and others disagree) that a systematic
demonization campaign against Internet culture is being carried out in the
media. There are many more articles about pedophile rings, pornography,
bomb-recipes, and terrorism than is justified by the actual uses to which
the Internet is put -- the famous Time article is only the most spectacular
example from many.
I think we play into the hands of this campaign if we _unnecessarily_
extend our tactics to defending D.H Lawrence or Henry Miller or whomever.
If Exon was more narrow, and only attacked such literature, then I'd be in
favor of using tactics appropriate to that case. I think we should employ
the most politically effective strategy available to us, and be congizant
of the kind of oppostion we're likely to encounter. It isn't wise to
_unnecessarily_ ignore the prudish, right-wing attitudes prevalent in
today's political scene.
IMHO,
rkm
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Posted by Richard K. Moore (•••@••.•••) Wexford, Ireland (USA citizen)
cyber-rights co-leader
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