Sunday, August 13, 2000 2:31 AM, Zero Powers wrote:
>None of us has any right which we don't have the power to enforce.
True, no there are no *god given rights*.
Empathy may change a persons *bad* behaviour, a person may refrain from rape
or killing because of empathy yet the *stealing* of intellectual property
may or may not be stopped by empathy.
>In essence, "might makes right." For instance, at one point in time it was
the
>law in the U.S. that the black man "had no rights which the white man was
>bound to respect." Why? Because the black man was utterly without any
>power to enforce any rights he might like to take unto himself. Did the
>black man like that state of affairs? No. Was it fair, perhaps not. But
>that's the way it was.
If you abandon the concept of *fair* and the rather flaccid view of *well,
that's just the way things are....." and instead ask "What are the
consequences of this state of affairs and how can things be made better?"
you may well improve a situation.
>And that's the way it is. If you have no power to prevent me from making
>use of content you create, you have no "right" to do so either.
I have no right to *make* you leave *my stuff* alone......and I personally
(being poor and all that!!!) have no power. But should I lack any empathy
and sympathy plus be rich (and very pissed off) I could hire an assassin to
change your mind.
You can
>piss and moan all day about what rights you think you have, but its no
>different from me claiming that I have the right to inherit the moon. Get
>used to it and get over it.
A belief that one has rights is not the cause of the problem. In the case of
*intellectual theft* or simply car theft someone may be seriously pissed off
because money may well be lost as a result (money = food, security and
choice in most societies) so unless this person is a saint, she will be in a
very bad state of mind!
The person put in this bad state of mind will not be able to think straight,
will act in a pissed off way and piss others off too.
This isn't useful to anyone.
But I suppose that if everyone in the world could be broad minded enough to
accept that their property (how ever they define it) is available for any
man, woman and child to take away and use in any manner ......oh what a nice
place this world could be (pass the sick bag)
Regards..... J.Smith
-Zero
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