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Re: [Fwd: Re: USDOJ BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES]
From: northern snowfall <dbailey27 () ameritech net>
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2003 16:09:52 -0500
Len, if Donnie is moderated, what's the threshold for calling his post noise? Although snowfall suggests the option of skipping Donnie's posts, he didn't this time, and snowfall's response raises an important issue in whether we should sit back and allow DoJ to bend language to its own means.
Hey, I saw "USDOJ BRAINWASHING" and just couldn't resist :) I completely understand your point about making a parallel of racism to the 'hacker' definition issue. I do agree to a lot of it. Though, we aren't talking about race or religion. We are talking about malicious criminal activity. We aren't associating a race of people with a certain skin color or religious bias. We are associating a group of people that may (or may not) attempt to adhere to the old flavor of definition: one that attempts to manipulate a medium to its end toward a specific benefit. Remember, the DoJ didn't define the language. The media did while many 'hackers' sat back and allowed them to because they were the ones doing technical support for the movies or television shows. Did you ever notice in the movie 'Enemy of the State' when they're tracking the environmentalist? Seth Green's character asks for satellite support and promptly receives it. Who does he thank? "Thanks, Mudge..." I'm not saying we should blame Mudge. If we choose to blame him why not blame Fyodor, Dvorak and Lcamtuf for helping perpetuate a 'hacker' connotation in Matrix Reloaded? They're allowed to enjoy recognition based on the fruits of their labor. "Hacker" isn't a race. You weren't born into it with your skin raining bright purple down upon some caucasian masses. You make a conscious choice to define the term in your own way, either for good or for bad based on the actions you take against the regulations of a set society. Don't get mad when those actions become concentrated into a facet of sub society: cryptologist, mathematician, electrician, ... hacker. You're acting like life is somehow defined by some web page on the internet just because it is maintained by the Department of Justice. Just because they use the term 'hacker' somehow all individuals reading it will associate these terms for the rest of their lives in the context defined by the web site? That, in itself, is a fool's game. Don't forget that we have a choice. A very specific choice. If somehow people's minds would have been "brainwashed" in the 40's 50's, 60's (and later) do you think African Americans would have broken through the boundaries of racism? Do you think women would be as respected today? Those people weren't brainwashed by the government. They knew they had a choice to listen and formulate their own ideas, despite their age. Look around you. We define our terms over time, altering the given definition with the actions presented by the users of the term. If you want a term to change, just use it day to day with your given work. I don't stray from using the term "hacker" to describe myself. I'm proud of the background of the word and its original meaning. People may be initially be startled at my blatant use of the word. However, once they are introduced to my character and my work's intent, they begin to see the other world of "hackerisms" without any debate, argument or lecture. Children are taught in the terms they've learned. When a child has been brought up with the word "spick" describing Mexican or Spanish people, they must be taught with that very word what a Mexican or Spanish person really is. Hip hop culture recently did this with the word "nigger" by incorporating the song into their music in a positive context. They attempted to change the perception of "nigger" by using the very word in a different light, which showed wide success in our younger generations. People like DMX, Ice Cube, Eminem, etc consciously chose to use this term differently, rather than sitting back and letting the slang tie them up while they did nothing but complain. Don't act like everyone but you gets the final word. Fight for what you believe in with every action you take on. And if those actions negate a positive image of "hacker", ask yourself where the problem is coming from. But, hey, what do I care, I'm just a spick and a hacker :) Don http://deadchildren.org/~north_
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- [Fwd: Re: USDOJ BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES] northern snowfall (Jun 10)
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- RE: [Fwd: Re: USDOJ BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES] List Bot (Jun 12)
- Re: [Fwd: Re: USDOJ BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES] northern snowfall (Jun 12)
- PLEASE REDUCE THE NOISE SecuresDotComs (Jun 12)
- Re: [Fwd: Re: USDOJ BRAINWASHING TECHNIQUES] northern snowfall (Jun 12)