On Thu, 17 Jan 2002, Tim May wrote: > On Thursday, January 17, 2002, at 08:45 AM, Aimee Farr wrote: > > > When you paint targets on people, other individuals may cause them > > harm, seeking some measure of your acceptance. Some here might have > > actual "followers," not fans or confederates-in-cause. Some > > individuals here, and you even as a group don't have to "ask" for > > somebody to be hurt, just imply that it is consistent with your > > wishes. When somebody expresses targeted violent sentiments, and > > you don't correct them, they perceive that as a ratification. (While > > "mattd" is a self-identifier, others might not be. You might not > > even know about them.) Such "suggestions" are a time-tested method > > of obtaining plausible deniability for violent political action. > > Back on the list for a day or two and already you are back in your tired > old pattern of claiming that there is some collective guilt for the > actions of individuals. > > What "mattd" writes about is of little concern to me--I filter his > garbage into the right spot for it. > > The notion that others have to "denounce" his views, or my views, or > your views is wrong-headed. People say a lot of things, and others are > free to believe or not believe what they say. It is not our collective > responsibility, nor any of our individual responsibilities, to denounce > or repudiate them. > > And your insinuation that we are using mattd, for example, as a cat's > paw for "violent political action" (?) while "obtaining plausible > deniabilty" is pernicious.
Even if CIA can Echelonize each individual bullshitter and character string they find on the Internet, it should be quite easy for programmers to create something that will roam around the net and give them enough suitable strings to read and check, and leave the smart people well enough alone. All it takes is one e-mail virus or a trojan that sends randomly generated threats, including perhaps some encrypted shit and files, and the CIA, Secret Service, etc goon-squads will have their hands full raiding random people's homes. And all the people of the world would once again be free to discuss and bullshit each other as much as they want about anyone they want. But do (we) the serious people really want that? Stupid people deserve to be caught and real Al-Quaida terrorists don't bullshit on the Internet anyway. After all, it is a small limit on people's freedom to not be able to dissent and speak out freely in public. And it mostly concerns only non-American arabs who have no privacy rights (now) anyway. God Bless America.
