From: nobody@REPLAY.COM (Anonymous)Nerthus <cypherpunks@cyberpass.net>
Date: Thu, 20 Nov 1997 13:07:38 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Fairy Gold
Message-ID: <199711200500.GAA21844@basement.replay.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



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Monty Cantsin wrote:
>Anonymous <anon@anon.efga.org> wrote:
>>Persistent identities suck.  Ideas stand or fall on their own.
>>Reputation capital is fairy gold, evaporating with the morning dew.

If this were really true, you would have posted your message under your real 
name (a.k.a., your persistent identity).  The fact that you chose to make 
your statement anonymously only proves the inverse of what you say.

>I do not believe this to be true.  Of course, concepts are valid
>regardless of their source.  It would be unwise to take the statements
>even of established identities on faith.
>
>The advantage of persistent identity is that it allows the exploration
>of more complicated ideas.  Use of the persistent identity places a
>particular post in a greater context.
>
>There is only so much that can be done in a single post.  It is the
>mailing list equivalent of a sound bite.

We should remember that -- at least here in America and the rest of the 
so-called first world -- we live in the age of the sound bite where the 
"medium is the message."  Public opinion is manipulated by the puppetmasters 
who pull the emotional strings of John and Jane Q. Public sitting in front 
of the TV each night.  Witness how anyone who has watched a video on Waco is 
quickly being lumped into the category of an anti-government extremist 
(Terry Nichols had two copies of "Waco Under Siege" in his house).  The 
underlying message is, "don't consider any of the facts that the video 
viewer presents to you, just realize he/she is an extremist."

Frankly, I wasn't there at Waco so I don't know what happened.  However, as 
Monty pointed out in another post, the fact that the FBI/BATF/etc. 
administered the gas into the Davidian home (notice how I fail to use the 
media-sanctioned term "compound") is clearly an aggressive act on the part of 
the U.S. gov't.  Regardless of what the spinmeisters say (both on the left 
and the right) no human being with a conscience can take note of this fact 
and say that the feds were justified in their actions.  Gassing children?  
Come on.

A single sound bite on its own will do nothing, but a persistent group of 
sound bites presented over time with a recurring message can create a great 
amount of influence.  This is how public opinion is formed through mass
media channels.

But think about this: who is the author of these mass media sound bites?  
Can you name the person?

It's easy to say that it's the feds, the ZOG, the NWO crew...but you can't 
name an individual can you?  Why is that?

Seriously, think about this question.  It has a lot to do with a major
cypherpunk theme: anonymity.  But in this case, with hardly any conscious
responsibility.

Nerthus

P.S. Notice how my response becomes "negated" by Monty's previous response 
when you read the first 6 lines of text in order:

"
>>Persistent identities suck.  Ideas stand or fall on their own.
>>Reputation capital is fairy gold, evaporating with the morning dew.

If that were really true, you would have posted your message under your real
name (a.k.a., your persistent identity).  The fact that you chose to make 
your statement anonymously only proves the inverse of what you say.

>I do not believe this to be true. 
"

Think how easily Monty's "response" could be used against me if the quoted 
text marks (>) were removed.  Truths are easily twisted into lies by those 
who seek advantage from such actions.

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