Re: Privacy being free

[Stanton McCandlish <anton@hydra.unm.edu>]

> > Sorry to get on your case yet again, Perry, but I just cannot accept that,
> > and I don't think anyone else here can either.  
> 
> I accept it.
> Freedom and privacy are things that take actual effort to maintain.
> Either you pay the cost yourself or you expect others to pay it for you,
> but the cost is there.  Saying it "should" be free doesn't explain a lot.

I think this is another map/territory confusion.  The RIGHT and the defense,
use, tools for, effect of, etc. of the right are not the same thing.  It is
like the distinction between philosophy and books about phil.  The first is
free.  The second cost money as does instruction in philosophy, etc. Even
the effects of philosophy can be costly.  But the concept "philosophy" has
no price tag.

> I think maybe you mean that you shouldn't accept any intrusion, any
> specific imposed cost, without fighting back.  I agree.

In addition to what I already said, I agree with this absolutely 100%.
 
> I have a certain emotional resonance with "rights" talk, but I've found
> that people will argue it forever unless (and even if) you get down to
> brass tacks, talking about ideas that can guide individual actions by 
> individual people in individual situations in a practical way.

Most astute.  I agree with this also.  That was one of the reasons I "put
my money where my mouth was" and tried to dist. PGP on my BBS.  
-- 
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Stanton McCandlish,  SysOp:  Noise in the Void Data Center BBS
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