The Glade 4.0

It's the thread talking about anonymous distributed denial of service attacks against Visa and Mastercard.

Clever. Don't get defensive just because I called you on your BS rhetoric.

Oh, I'm not criticizing them for trying, so much as I'm not really seeing them accomplishing anything is all.

/eyeroll.

You'll be ok, I promise. No need to concern yourself with what I do/don't/can/can't/will/won't do. Not like any proof other than flying you out here would do.

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A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. ~ John Stuart Mill

You know what they've accomplished?

The group wants transparency, yet performs anonymously ...
They want freedom, yet seek to deny others of their right of association...
They are against unjust persecution yet .... oh, you know.

They've accomplished hipocracy.

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In time, this too shall pass.

I'm not trying to defend Anonymous. However, I will say that there's no hypocrisy inherent in wanting transparency in government, but not in private affairs.

The point I'm making is this: you say you don't appreciate people taking illegal actions in the course of protest. And yet, you criticize Elmo for failing to do exactly that. Do you see the disconnect, there? You may be entirely right that he doesn't act out the things he says, but that's a red herring, because it's not as though you would respect him if he did. I think your real issue with him is plainly that you don't like his politics.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

The criticism I have towards people that perform illegal acts is one thing, the criticism I have for folks that advocate illegal acts, another, and the criticism I have for folks that complain and take no action is yet another.

There's no disconnect.

Throw into that mix folks that advocate illegal acts yet take no action themselves and you get my criticism for the muppet. There are sometimes I do have some measure of admiration for the furry creature though - he has participated in rally's and such. More than most folks I hear complaining.

A general observation... People complain but don't do anything. How many people do you know that have even called or written their elected officials? Written a letter to the editor? Participated in a rally?

Not many I know have. I gotta admit, it's frustrating to spend an hour crafting a letter to a senator and not getting a reply, but that's how you earn your rights, by exercising them.

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In time, this too shall pass.

Just because people don't tell you about it doesn't necessarily mean that they aren't doing it. But beyond that, it's odd that you didn't ask how many people voted according to their opinions. Talking about the issues, explaining what and why you have grievances, and trying to persuade others (who also vote) is hardly "doing nothing" in the context of a republican and/or democratic system.

I'm not sure why you feel that way. Do you not believe that people's opinions can or do change? Or is it just because the Glade is a small audience? If the former, I can personally attest that my own opinions have changed with respect to a lot of things due in large part to the discussions we've had here. If the latter, do small and incremental victories "not count"?

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

Yes because its always the most prudent course of action to advertise illegal acts.

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"...but there exists also in the human heart a depraved taste for equality, which impels the weak to attempt to lower the powerful to their own level and reduces men to prefer equality in slavery to inequality with freedom." - De Tocqueville

Stathol, 40% the people eligible in this country didn't even vote. In the 18-24 age bracket, 52% didn't vote. That's entry level "getting off your ***" type involvement, that's not marching in rally's, calling congress or the president, or even sending an e-mail.

That's why I feel the way I do. That's the numbers, and as loud as folks get here, I'd doubt if there's much of a difference between the average and what we have going on at the glade. Heck, Lex has even posted that he doesn't vote like he's proud of it or something. It's all talk and no walk. Khross has gone on time and again how voting doesn't count. Etc, etc, etc.

And, I'd do something about it... but you can't make folks care.

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In time, this too shall pass.

Especially those that believe that if they only give up a little liberty they'll be "safe".

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

And there are those that believe they can define what liberty means for everybody else...I wonder if they voted? I wonder - if they did - why they think their vote matters more?

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In time, this too shall pass.

Oh, liberty has already been pretty well defined, not much they can do about it. I'm sure those that desire to impose what they want liberty to mean did vote; that's why we have the President we do. I'm just as sure that it doesn't matter what they think about the worth of their vote. I wouldn't pretend to know what people think about their vote, as I can't read minds.

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"Dress cops up as soldiers, give them military equipment, train them in military tactics, tell them they’re fighting a ‘war,’ and the consequences are predictable." —Radley Balko

Oh, my bad. They're not internet heroes at all. It's a secret, guys. They're secretly bombing people.

Shhhhh.

Stathol:

I'm not "against" illegal activity to correct a wrong at all. I don't think it should be a first resort, that just seems like a tantrum to me. But it could be appropriate. I am against hurting people, however. If the government takes someone's cash, and they bomb a family member as a result, I'll kill 'em if I can. I don't care at all if they were collateral damage in some nutjob's war.

All I'm getting on about is the near constant boasts and claims that people should be hurt because of some slight. It's nonsense. It's nothing more than foolishness by people sitting safe behind a computer screen trying to act tough.