On Thu, 07 Aug 2008 20:46:20 -0400, yonyo wrote:
Beautiful. One of the most eloquent pieces I have read in a long time.
Thank you for writing it and sharing it. I am sure others will feel
the same way.
>On Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:12:48 GMT, "Sac Rosanct" <srosanct@oil.uae>
>wrote:
>
>>I'll assume English to be a second language to you, pinocchio, so I won't
>>mock you for your diction.
>>
>>However, your thoughts on this matter are beyond ridiculous, they are
>>absurd.
>>
>>As has been stated by so many other that it scarcely bears my repeating it,
>>passwords are not useful for anything other than preventing other BLers from
>>seeing the posts.
>>
>>LEA are fully capable, if they desire, to crack the encryption and view file
>>contents.
>>
>>As we are perhaps the most persecuted minority of all time in all the world,
>>we BLers should be generous to one another TO A FAULT.
>>
>>Perhaps it is because we are this maltreated minority that the folks who
>>constantly run from one group to another and then password-protect their
>>posts are doing what they do.
>>
>>Perhaps they enjoy the feeling of being a big fish in the small pond in
>>which we all swim.
>>
>>It saddens me to think that they feel so low in their hearts that the only
>>way they know how to feel good about themselves is to make others bow and
>>scrape.
>>
>>There was a fleeting time, not long ago, that Blers were starting to unite.
>>They were starting to talk to one another as human beings, not as frightened
>>fugitives.
>>
>>ON IRC, in webchat forums, and in the newsgroups, BLers were approaching a
>>pinnacle of purpose and the hope that they might make some mark on the
>>world, united as one, that could start a change in the way the worlds view
>>us.
>>What a complete loon.WOW!
>>Something happened to change that. Something broke the trust that was there
>>and has now made it become an "every man for himself" and the "screw you
>>guys, I'm going home" environment.
>>
>>It does no good to point the finger of blame at individuals, like the one
>>recently who announced his leaving and not posting anymore. There will
>>always be another to take his place.
>>
>>The enemy is not a person, it is a mindset, a philosophy, a worldview.
>>
>>Just as the rich people of the world have a responsibility to share the
>>wealth of the world in an equitable fashion or the imbalance will cause
>>hunger, unnecessary strife, and war, so too the holders of the riches of the
>>material we all seek have a responsibility to share what they have as well.
>>
>>If the rich only acted responsibly when the poor, working class, and middle
>>class BEGGED and WORSHIPPED them, or only when they felt they were truly
>>grateful and properly showed it, then this world would be in constant
>>misery. Instead, we have a world of philanthropists with only a mild
>>smattering of scrooges and petty tyrants. It is the tyrants and scrooges
>>that make the poor and working classes resent ALL the rich. The middle
>>class, perhaps represented by folks like pinocchio, want to remind us that
>>there are great philanthropists among us and that we do, in fact, owe them
>>our support and gratitude. But it seems that in recent months, there are
>>more scrooges and petty tyrants on usenet than those to whom I am personally
>>grateful.
>>
>>We need to return to a mindset in which the "rich" among us distribute
>>freely and generously, without demanding us to gush and genuflect to receive
>>the sacrament.
>>
>>We need to return to a mindset in which the "poor" among us accept the
>>generous offerings of these benefactors with a grateful heart and a
>>willingness to take a minute or two (really, it's not hard to do) to post a
>>word or two of thanks. To make it impossible for anyone to be accused of
>>any crimes, it might be nice to leave the note as general as possible if you
>>are not secure in the belief your words may one day leave you suspect.
>>"Thanks for your generosity of time, Mr. Poster" would be fine.
>>
>>Surely, though, the rich cannot expect the poor to be truly grateful if they
>>have to work harder to find passwords and new secret groups and the like
>>than the posters have to work at posting their wares. If posters give
>>freely, with no expectation of an overt showing of gratitude, then there
>>will be true gratitude, though it may not come in the volumes they would
>>like.
>>
>>Those who "give" only in expectation of reward are not generous in any
>>sense. We need a community that loves one another, not tears each other
>>apart or makes other cry "uncle" to satisfy their desire.
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