From: nobody@huge.cajones.com (Huge Cajones Remailer)
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 11:08:42 -0800 (PST)
To: cypherpunks@toad.com
Subject: The Redlining Topic
Message-ID: <199612111908.LAA24332@mailmasher.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



At 3:05 AM 12/11/1996, drose@AZStarNet.com wrote:
>Matthew J. Miszewski wrote:
>Many people of good will find racial discrimination to be abhorrent.
>OTOH, I'm sure that as an attorney you are cognizant of the fact that
>financial institutions have a fiduciary responsibility to their
>shareholders.
>
>In any case, have you given any consideration to taking your
>well-meaning but off-topic thoughts to any one of a number of perhaps
>more appropriate fora?

A discussion of redlining is very much on topic for cypherpunks.

Capital markets and their (alleged) inefficiencies are very close to
the heart of cypherpunk thinking.  A thread we haven't pursued, but
will likely get to, is the ways in which inefficiencies are typically
introduced by the government, even in the case of redlining.  After
that point is made, a discussion of the ways in which cryptoanarchy
will circumvent governmental scheming will certainly be germane to
this forum.

Discussions of the nature of bigotry and racial discrimination lie
very close to the cypherpunk thinking.  In a cryptoanarchy it will be
very hard to enforce our ideas of what other people should think.
Affirmative action, anti-redlining laws, etc., will likely become far
less effective.  Disaster?  No, a blow struck for human dignity and
freedom.

Similarly, allegedly well-meaning programs to help the poor through
seizure of other people's assets will not do well in a cryptoanarchy.
Is this a terrible outcome?  Not really.  The reasons why are worth
discussing and they are worth discussing in this forum.

The cypherpunks list benefits from a wide ranging discussion.  This
was one of the original ideas of the group and is, presumably, why it
is a completely open mailing list.  These sorts of complaints are
particularly inappropriate now that there are two other restrictive
mailing lists available for those who want them.  One is coderpunks.
The other is Perry Metzger's cryptography list.

A wide ranging discussion is beneficial because it allows us to truly
explore our ideas.  Not only do we then achieve a deeper
understanding, but completely new ideas also arise.  "Let a hundred
flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend."

I note that in your comments above, you couldn't resist making a
comment which is, apparently in your view, off topic.  I would
encourage you to pursue these ideas.  You obviously find them
interesting.

Rather than making killjoy comments, which do nothing to promote the
discussion, perhaps you should consider posting long thoughtful posts
which you believe would raise the level of discourse in this forum.

Barring that, learn how to use a killfile.  You can killfile on
subject line.  You can killfile on origin.  (I sign my posts
consistenly, so they can be killfiled, even though I am posting
through the remailers.)

Red Rackham