Further comment on the Google/China thing:
Nart Villeneuve — Google’s New Approach
The [Great Firewall of China] doesn’t have to be 100% technically effective, it just has to serve as a reminder to those in China about what content is acceptable and that which should be avoided. The objective is to influence behaviour toward self-censorship, so that most will not actively seek out banned information of the means to bypass controls and access it.
This is something many people seem to forget. There are plenty of places where the concept of "information wants to be free" (I admit, I cringe typing those words) isn't part of the general atmosphere.
I once got into an argument with someone about the concept of "internal resistance", a notion that's best summed up by someone who says "I was always secretly against the Nazis," or something of that ilk. The other person was of the opinion that if someone didn't manifest resistance to unjust authority, no matter what the circumstances, they were being cowardly. I told him that he was speaking from a position of moral comfort that most people never have the luxury of basking in in the first place, and the fact that he couldn't even see that was doubly annoying.
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I told him that he was speaking from a position of moral comfort that most people never have the luxury of basking in in the first place
I'm not a coward, I've just never been tested.
I like to think that if I was, I would pass.
Look at the tested, think 'there but for the Grace go I'.
Might be a coward, I'm afraid of what I might find out.
-The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, The Impression That I Get.
Those of us who have not risen to overcome such circumstances must always allow that even if we find fault with those who fail to do so, we ourselves might fare no better. Our desire to pass judgement must always be tempered by empathy.
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