From: "banjo, lord of the c monkeys" <kelli@zeus.towson.edu>
Date: Fri, 2 Feb 1996 21:53:02 +0800
To: Bruce Baugh <bruce@aracnet.com>
Subject: CDA as a tool (was: Re: Helping the Crypto-Clueless)
In-Reply-To: <2.2.32.19960202095316.0069c6a8@mail.aracnet.com>
Message-ID: <Pine.ULT.3.91.960202075232.3155A-100000@zeus.towson.edu>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


On Fri, 2 Feb 1996, Bruce Baugh wrote:

> While talking with Alan Olsen about the impending Telecommunications Decency
> Act, a thought struck me: one of the groups that's really going to be hurt
> by this is pagans. Me, I'm one o' them Christian types; it's my anarchism
> that'll get me on lists. But insofar as cypherpunks have contact with pagans
> (and aboriginal American groups and the like), probably there are a lot of
> folks who should be ramping up for privacy right away.
> 

I agree:  and in addition to that, I'd like to say that contrary to the
beliefs of some people on this list, I don't think the CDA is
representative of a legislative body's spiteful action against general
free speech and information; it's far to simple a motivation for
computer-illiterate, re-election minded professional politicians.  They
simply don't know enough about the nature of the internet itself to
conspire to something as abstract as all that.  I believe that every
congress critter had a specific social enemy in mind when he/she voted for
that bill; somebody who they've been using as their banner, whom they vow
to fight against when re-elected. 

Pagans are a good example of a group likely to be the victims of such 
political action.  I, as an activist in the field, ask you to imagine the
consequenses for the gay civil rights movement, when even discussing the 
issue is viewed as 'indecent or immoral' by some of the more conservative 
lawmakers.  Remember when Canada banned the import of pornography, even the 
news-oriented gay and lesbian publications were halted at the border.  

The crypto relevance in this post is the value of examples such as these 
when explaining to your friends why they need 
non-government-escrowed crypto so badly in electronic discourse.  People 
tend to see the need for it a bit more when they see the threat more 
clearly.  I'm a college student, and while not all my friends are 
involved in the same pursuits I am, most of them are at least loosely 
associated with groups which are considered undesireable by some 
government types (Black Activists, Jewish Activists, Pro Life/Choice 
advocates, etc).  In college, who isn't?

I don't post too often to cypherpunks, so if this view is overly 
simplistic, right on the mark, or completely wrong, send me some mail, 
and we'll discuss.



Kathleen M. Ellis     http://zeus.towson.edu/~kelli/     kelli@zeus.towson.edu
Diverse Sexual Orientation Coll.  Towson State University  DSOC@zeus.towson.edu
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