[ale] a specter is haunting our school systems!

[Michael B. Trausch]

On Wed, 10 Dec 2008 20:06:21 -0500
Jim Philips <philips_jim at bellsouth.net> wrote:

> I don't have any trouble believing it. The frightening thing is this 
> combination, which is dangerous wherever it occurs:
> 
> 1. someone eager to enforce the law
> 2. at the same time, clueless as to what the law really is
> 3. in a position of authority
> 
> This teacher might have taken some time to understand the situation
> before expressing herself so forcefully. But apparently that kind of
> self doubt is not natural for her. She might also have limited
> herself to putting a check on things that interfere with her
> classroom activities. But she didn't. I thought the blogger's
> response was excellent and restrained.

I have known _many_ people to have such misconceptions, telling me that
the software is absolutely illegal.  Such people usually cite
Microsoft's "Genuine Software" campaign, which has radio and billboard
advertisements that say things like "Acme, Inc. got computer viruses
because they were using software obtained for free [alluding to
privacy, but vague enough for people to understand what Microsoft
wanted to say].  Are _you_ using Microsoft Genuine Software?"

What's even more sad than that, though, is that one can even point
these people to copyright law---on government web sites---and point out
the licenses which govern things from books to CDs to proprietary
software to Free Software, and they will *still* hold their assertions
to be true.  They will tell you that since you were able to provide the
information that it _must_ be false, that the government web site must
_obviously_ be a fake, and more.  They are incapable of seeing how very
wrong they are when they make assertions without having any absolute
knowledge of the way things work, because most people operate at this
very high-level view of "you get what you pay for," and of course if
you didn't pay for it all you're going to get is trouble.

Even sadder than that, is that such rampant ignorance is easily found
_everywhere_.  A few days ago I was out and gave a random someone a
copy of Ubuntu, and 'twas turned down because I am clearly not a
software vendor and the software was being given away, which
_obviously_ meant that it was against the law.

One reason I won't try to advocate to people in positions of power,
for sure.  The last thing I need is for some ignorant officer to arrest
me.  If I were alone in the world, I wouldn't mind it, because I'd have
the time to make an example of them.  I'd *love* to do so.  Then again,
I am just a jaded twentysomething who has lost his faith in the ability
of the mass population to be smart, or at least able to think for
themselves.

	--- Mike

-- 
My sigfile ran away and is on hiatus.
http://www.trausch.us/
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