Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Pirating music, movies, and books is fun!

A lot of people who disagree with me sometimes shake their heads in disgust and say something like, "Well you're just trying to justify getting all this free stuff just because you want it!"

Well, sure.  It is fun.  I do want it, or I wouldn't download it.

Actually, sometimes I'm not sure if I want it or not.  So I download it to find out.

And, in principle, I may download something I don't want at all.  Is that immoral, too?

If you've never sat around on a Saturday night with your friends, imbibing some pleasant concoctions, and downloading and listening to any music that pops into your head--you don't know what your missing.  It really is the most amazing thing.

Of course, I may delete the files afterward.  Or not.  What difference does it make?

Some people build up huge libraries of pirated movies.  They get a charge out of having this "library" at their disposal.  They would never do it if they had to pay $15+ for each one.

Of course, to me, my "library" is the internet.  I feel no great urge to have a local copy.

The internet is a library.  It's a new kind of library.  Libraries are sacred, and not to be interfered with or destroyed, because they represent free access for all people to the knowledge--including cultural knowledge--of humanity.  They are the ultimate enabler of "all men are created equal".  No one can claim, ultimately, that they are denied an education and a fair chance to thrive in the world if libraries are freely available.  They are necessary.

And they're also fun.

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