Re: EFF/Bernstein Press Release

[Alan Olsen <alano@teleport.com>]

At 11:56 AM 4/19/96 -0700, Rich Burroughs wrote:
>At 10:46 AM 4/19/96 -0700, Alan wrote:
>>The thing I have not determined is whether they understand the outcome of
>>the ideas they are wanting to implement.  A good case could be made either
>>way for cluelessness or totalitarian mindsets.  I am beginning to think it
>>is a bit of both...
>
>More likely, IMHO, it's an attempt by politicians to make the public think
>they're actually doing something.  It's a lot easier to rant about
>terrorists and the Net than to address the root causes of terrorist violence
>(whatever they may be...).

I the long run, I think that they are making the problem worse.

My theory as to the causes of disorder and "terrorism" have to do with a
general distrust and disrespect for laws and governments.  I see this as
being caused by having laws and governments that are hard to respect.

Even without conspiracy theories, what we know that the government of the US
has done to its own citizens is pretty scary.  Between the releasing of
radiation on humans near Hanford "just to see what would happen", the
misdeads of the FBI with Hoover and his cronies, support of various
dictators, and on and on and on, the people are getting more and more
distrustful of what they are told.  Mix that with a War on Unauthorized
Molecules that gets more extereme and more bizzare every day, law
enforcement that seems to be more concerned with issues unconnected with any
principles relating to justice, and lawmakers who are totally disconnected
from the things that are making laws about.

These things tend to generate an attitude of "Every being for themselves!".
Why not try to grab a bit under the table when your leaders are doing
likewise on a bigger scale?  Or try to overthrow a system that looks more
and more oppresive?

The forces of "Law and Order" and the forces of "Chaos and Dissent" seem (to
me) to be feeding off the actions of each other.  Where it will end is
anyones guess.  I can imagine that it probibly not be very fun for the rest
of us.
---
Alan Olsen -- alano@teleport.com -- Contract Web Design & Instruction
        `finger -l alano@teleport.com` for PGP 2.6.2 key 
                http://www.teleport.com/~alano/ 
  "We had to destroy the Internet in order to save it." - Sen. Exon