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I have no sympathies for the real "Dread Pirate Roberts". He was running an enterprise whose primary purpose was to facilitate criminal activity, and he profite

I have no sympathies for the real "Dread Pirate Roberts". He was running an enterprise whose primary purpose was to facilitate criminal activity, and he profited handsomely from it.

VMG 13y ago
There are currently many people who are engaged in moral activities that are considered criminal by the government they are ruled by. Not saying that DPR isn't a scumbag but morality is not the same as legality.
- ketralnis 13y ago
  > morality is not the same as legality Fine, but the site sells and even has categories for things like hitman services, ATM skimmers, fraud how-to pamphlets, and lists of stolen credit cards. "Morality may not be legality" is a trendy thing to say but there's significant overlap, and that statement is meaningless anyway when much of the behaviour that we're on about is both immoral and illegal
  - dwaltrip 13y ago
    The pamphlet part might be true (I think this would be considered protected free speech anyways), but the other things you list are not on silk road.
    - ketralnis 13y ago
      I didn't make those up to sound edgy, those are all items that I saw when I looked at Silk Road roughly six months ago
      - dwaltrip 13y ago
        Hmm. They might have removed them. I sort of remember hearing about that.
betterunix 13y ago
The criminal activity was primarily selling recreational drugs whose legality has nothing to do with morals and everything to do with the profitability of competing enterprises. The broader picture here is that the profitability of SR was the result of legitimate demand for certain products. We are not talking about racketeering here. We are not talking about robbery, kidnapping, or fraud. We are talking about victimless crimes involving the sale of goods that are highly demanded. DPR himself may have been a mean guy, assuming there is anything to this alleged murder-for-hire plot. The reality of the situation, however, is that a much greater harm has been done to society by drug prohibition itself. Millions of people incarcerated, millions of people exposed to drugs of unknown quality, and a widespread trend of soldiers attacking civilian homes in the name of the drug war. The DEA has the power to simply declare drugs to be illegal, then arrest people who possess them. The DEA is not only a police force, but also a military force (even receiving help from NORAD and the NSA) and an intelligence agency. People in foreign lands and here in the United States are being killed by our government in the name of this prohibition. Do not think for a moment that the law is some kind of moral compass. Drug laws have a sordid history of racism, corporate hand-outs, and widespread corruption.
- dbags 13y ago
  Not talking about fraud? Hacking tools, identity theft tools, and false id kids were also sold on SR. This was definitely a marketplace for fraud. But hey, no need for honesty to enter the debate. Not when it undermines betterunix's precious libertarian religion. The libertarian religion is so strong that the Libertarians on this site are, predictably, not just defending SR. They're lying about what was on it, defending the hiring of hitmen, and generally making clear that Libertarianism is solely about self-interest and has ZERO underlying ethical frameworks.
- frozenport 13y ago
  I consider drug use eligitate demand, and I have no doubt the world would be better place without them. The stuff he was peddling will get you hooked fast.
  - peterpathname 13y ago
dwaltrip 13y ago
The law is an arbitrary human construction. Why do you follow it blindly?

I have no sympathies for the real "Dread Pirate Roberts". He was running an enterprise whose primary purpose was to facilitate criminal activity, and he profited handsomely from it.

VMG 13y ago

There are currently many people who are engaged in moral activities that are considered criminal by the government they are ruled by. Not saying that DPR isn't a scumbag but morality is not the same as legality.

ketralnis 13y ago
> morality is not the same as legality Fine, but the site sells and even has categories for things like hitman services, ATM skimmers, fraud how-to pamphlets, and lists of stolen credit cards. "Morality may not be legality" is a trendy thing to say but there's significant overlap, and that statement is meaningless anyway when much of the behaviour that we're on about is both immoral and illegal
- dwaltrip 13y ago
  The pamphlet part might be true (I think this would be considered protected free speech anyways), but the other things you list are not on silk road.
  - ketralnis 13y ago
    I didn't make those up to sound edgy, those are all items that I saw when I looked at Silk Road roughly six months ago
    - dwaltrip 13y ago
      Hmm. They might have removed them. I sort of remember hearing about that.

betterunix 13y ago

The criminal activity was primarily selling recreational drugs whose legality has nothing to do with morals and everything to do with the profitability of competing enterprises. The broader picture here is that the profitability of SR was the result of legitimate demand for certain products. We are not talking about racketeering here. We are not talking about robbery, kidnapping, or fraud. We are talking about victimless crimes involving the sale of goods that are highly demanded. DPR himself may have been a mean guy, assuming there is anything to this alleged murder-for-hire plot. The reality of the situation, however, is that a much greater harm has been done to society by drug prohibition itself. Millions of people incarcerated, millions of people exposed to drugs of unknown quality, and a widespread trend of soldiers attacking civilian homes in the name of the drug war. The DEA has the power to simply declare drugs to be illegal, then arrest people who possess them. The DEA is not only a police force, but also a military force (even receiving help from NORAD and the NSA) and an intelligence agency. People in foreign lands and here in the United States are being killed by our government in the name of this prohibition. Do not think for a moment that the law is some kind of moral compass. Drug laws have a sordid history of racism, corporate hand-outs, and widespread corruption.

dbags 13y ago
Not talking about fraud? Hacking tools, identity theft tools, and false id kids were also sold on SR. This was definitely a marketplace for fraud. But hey, no need for honesty to enter the debate. Not when it undermines betterunix's precious libertarian religion. The libertarian religion is so strong that the Libertarians on this site are, predictably, not just defending SR. They're lying about what was on it, defending the hiring of hitmen, and generally making clear that Libertarianism is solely about self-interest and has ZERO underlying ethical frameworks.
frozenport 13y ago
I consider drug use eligitate demand, and I have no doubt the world would be better place without them. The stuff he was peddling will get you hooked fast.
- peterpathname 13y ago

dwaltrip 13y ago

The law is an arbitrary human construction. Why do you follow it blindly?