Getting Ready for the Blackout

I'm not sure if LJ will be participating in the Internet blackout to protest SOPA and PIPA, but if it does, then I understand its decision to do so. The Internet is such a vital tool for education and communication for so many, and the idea that it should be throttled and censored solely for the benefit of a decaying corporate model is mind-boggling, short-sighted, and elitist, not to mention dangerous. Corporations should never be given the right or the ability to restrict the free dissemination of information for their economic gain. My right to access information about new treatments for my disability or documentary footage of life-changing therapies should not be sacrificed to some CEO's 401K.

And really, there is nothing rational, proportionate, or just in the idea that under this proposed law, a fourteen-year-old SPN could theoretically be sentenced to more jail time than a rapist or murderer. Not to mention the tremendous power it bestows upon ISPs to control who gets access to the Internet. All they would need to deprive someone of access is a flimsy accusation of piracy. Get one, and poof, no access for you; if your area is served by only one ISP, well, then, unless you can afford the services of a copyright attorney, enjoy your isolated, Internetless life, unworthy peon.

It's just too bad that during this boycott, millions of non-US users will be affected. If we Americans can't have our toys, then no one gets to play, apparently. And you can bet the lyrics to "Amerika" have been running through my head since last night.

So, I've got my books and my DVDs, and I'll see the Internet whenever it comes up from its self-imposed crash.