From: wcs@anchor.ho.att.com (bill.stewart@pleasantonca.ncr.com +1-510-484-6204)
Date: Fri, 1 Jul 94 23:16:05 PDT
To: blancw@microsoft.com
Subject: RE: Illegal Acts & Crypto
Message-ID: <9407020614.AA26069@anchor.ho.att.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


Blanc Weber writes:
> Images of the psychology of crypto-users:
> .  scurrying around like rats, hiding in the dark from regular 
> interactions (regular = unconcerned)
> .  fear of being onesself in the light, lacking courage
> .  having a view of life which is not trusting, but suspicious and cynical
> .  not identifying with the group, therefore keeping things from them, 
> something akin to hoarding & not sharing (closed to the other members 
> of the society, rather than open)
> .  not necessarily "officially"  illegal, but generally not  really  
> "one of us", as in hypocritical -  "with us, but not *of* us"

A lot of the crypto users I know are quite the opposite - folks willing
to stand up in public, speaking truth to power, challenging the
NSA in court or in the newspapers, and working to distribute 
and share free software with other programmers to improve the work
done by everybody.  Many of them are as trusting as anyone else
intellegent I know, though I'll have to grant a certain amount of cynicism :-)

> Consequential Circumstance:
> .  insufficient self-reliance, having to wait for the cavalry to come 
> over the hill to save oneself.

Cypherpunks write code!

		Bill


Celebrate Independence Day the traditional way - overthrow a government! :-)