As some of you probably noted yesteday, my esteemed colleague Justin Neme deftly switched out my Built to Spill mp3 file that was streaming with a note about how distribution of copyrighted materials without permission is morally reprehensible.
While I don't disagree that there is some merit to this claim, I think we should keep this in perspective. My take is that, since only 10 (if I'm lucky) people actually read this blog, and since I'm not actually providing a link and encouraging people to download and steal music but instead am simply embedding a file into my code to allow someone to listen to a tune whilst reading my blog, I'm not exactly "distributing" copyrighted material. I think of myself more like a one-song-per-week radio station with a listening area of ten people on the web.
What I DO find morally reprehensible is how our Chimp in Chief can consistently lie to the Ameircan public, and moreso how a chunk of that same public continually buys into the shit that he says simply because of the fact that he's scared them silly or because of some religious belief he claims to practice.
With the possible exception of Harry Truman, I can't think of another president with more innocent blood on his hands than this one. And Truman gets an asterisk because of the whole WWII thing.
As Lars points out here, so many people seem to forget why we sent troops to the Middle East to begin with. For the president to gloat about how the most wanted man in our country's history being still at large helped his re-election bid makes me want to do a combination of cry, vomit, and punch a lot of people in the face.
Now, THAT'S morally reprehensible.
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4 comments:
Lori and I have had many conversations about why 30-40% of the country can still think this guy is doing a good job. I posit two things: 1. the hatred of "liberals" (or the way liberals have been "constructed" by the right wing press/talk syndicate) is so huge that no matter how much Bush screws up, he's still better than the alternative (look at all the energy being expended already to make Hillery look un-acceptable); 2. The Christian thing (Christians love Bush because he's one of them and, to them, he's not screwing up - war, lower taxes, no abortions, etc., it's the country they want).
I read something yesterday that made the rather elegant argument that we've moved from a society based on helping ones brother to a society where, if you are rich enough, you never even have to see your brother anymore...despite its lack of parallel structure, it's a great argument.
You've touched on an argument someone I used to debate with frequently would often posit: a lot of people resent liberals/Dems/what-have-you because they have an air of thinking they're intellectually superior.
His argument centered around this idea: he felt liberals make insinuations that many people who vote(d) for Bush, for example, are dumb because they don't realize they're voting against their self-interests and being lied to. Those people, he ventured, didn't like being called dumb, and thus voted for Bush out of spite for the Democrats/liberals.
Which, ironically enough, I find to be a dumb reason to vote for someone.
Distribution of copyright material without permission is hardly morally reprehensible. Illegal? Sure. It also opens you up to civil liability, but to call it morally reprehensible is stupid. Rape is morally reprehensible, breaking the promise or confidences of a trusted friend is morally reprehensible.
Distribution of copyrighted materials in and of it self is not morally reprehensible. It would depend on the circumstances. Especially in the case of a band that appears to have an open taping and trading policy.
As far as the Bush thing goes... most people are idiots and most people are sheep. This is a big reason why I hate all politics in general. It's too much of a cliquey us vs. them mentality.
Speaking as someone who has had a number of problems with people taking my music and distributing it through various websites and other means without even asking, it's really just a personal battle.
I'm also against it because it was posted using webspace that I fund. If there were a problem, it would fall on my shoulders. So sum it up as one part paranoia, one part personal crusade. I know it's not a popular opinion, but it's one that I hold dear.
An open trading of live music seems fundamentally different than a recorded session which is readily available to purchase - at least to me.
Anyhow, I know I often come across as a jerk when posting my feelings on this topic - but I really would prefer you not use hosting that can be traced back to me to provide streaming or downloadable files.
As far as Bush goes - I'd duplicate lionel's thoughts.
-Justin
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