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Hey Carmin et al.
This is my first posting to the list. I consider myself an
activist, although I admittedly haven't the computer knowhow to be a
hacker. Maybe someday!
Carmin, I must say there is a distinct and clear
danger presented when you endorse corporate good-will projects.
Corporations do not give money to 'worthy' causes out of a desire for a better
planet. They do so to increase their bottom line. In fact, that's
the only reason a corporation does anything of any sort. It conjures up a
strange image to imagine an activist sitting in front of a terminal madly
clicking their way to a better future through some corporate website.
Believe me, your time is much better spent fundraising on your own or, even
better, organizing to shut these corporations down. They and the global
tides of free capital they support are mainly responsible for the plight of
these underfed nations. The legitimacy that your patronage to their
program provides them will never amount to changing the conditions of
undernourished lives. The root cause is never addressed, in fact, it is
supported. It reminds me of a quote I read once somewhere:
"Building more jails to answer crime is like building more graveyards to
answer a disease." Corporations are the disease. And getting
them to donate a couple of thousand dollars to ease world hunger (while
endorsing them) runs the same vein.
That said, in light of the recent discussion on
Freedom of Speech, I don't want to give the impression that I would in any way
wish to stand in your way. Aside from Parsifal's agism and elitism, I was
most offended by her/his insistence that there is only one way to counter
oppression. To reuse the analogy: if s/he wants to stand on the
other corner screaming louder than the Nazi, fine. I'll be busy defacing
his banners and signs, fine. And maybe someone like Pete will come up and
kick him in the nuts, fine. We should be very careful not to limit the
actions of others who share our goals. It is this diversity of ability and
resource that will inevitably turn the tide. It is only my recommendation
that you reconsider supporting your local planet-friendly corporation--a myth,
in my mind.
And don't worry about offending or
disgusting. That's your Free Speech perrogative, n'est pas?
And to the point of
hacktivism:
I agree wholeheartedly with pj. Defacing a website with boobies and
weewees for a couple of hours might be a good prank (which might earn you
bragging rights at Lambda Lambda Lambda), but it has little real-world
significance. Power in terraspace translates into power in cyberspace and
vice versa. Just as in terraspace, cyberspace offers information to be
found and/or stolen. There are also structures to be demolished. As
in all things, effective planning, networking and understanding of real-world
consequences are crucial to all efforts. Therein lies the strength of
hacktivists being activists (or at least being in contact with them).
There is a great deal of strategy and sustainability to be gained in forging
these ties. Random, unfocused attacks will not topple even the smallest of
institutions--they are simply a small annoyance. Coordinated, strategic
efforts are capable of just about anything.
Regards to all,
Bernie.
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