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Why is someone else's poor choice regarding privacy a justification for abandoning the fight for privacy? There's always a subset of people who don't care. The

by kardos 12y ago

Why is someone else's poor choice regarding privacy a justification for abandoning the fight for privacy? There's always a subset of people who don't care. There was a time when women didn't have the right to vote, and although I wasn't around during that time, I'm sure there was a subset of women who didn't care. Their apathy is not a justification for withholding that right from the rest.

stcredzero 12y ago
There's always a subset of people who don't care. The problem is when it's the seeming majority who don't care.
- OvidNaso 12y ago
  But this is the case in many social issues that are eventually "won". Only a couple of years ago the vast majority of people in the US firmly believed marijuana should remain illegal and that number has dropped enough to change many state laws. How about gay, women or minority rights. All of them were strongly opposed by the masses.
  - stcredzero 12y ago
    Only a couple of years ago the vast majority of people in the US firmly believed marijuana should remain illegal Really? In my circles, even when I lived in "red" states, the attitude was more like it's a damn shame it's illegal, and too bad there isn't a prayer of it changing. How about gay, women or minority rights. All of them were strongly opposed by the masses. In the 1st and 3rd case, of course, because the subject group was a minority. In the case of women, things only changed when enough of the subject group started to demand change. In the case of privacy, the subject group isn't distinct from the masses, it is everyone. So yes, it's a problem for progress until everyone gets more clued in. (It will happen, when enough bad stuff has happened.)
- click170 12y ago
  If there's one thing that the outrage around the Snowden leaks showed us, it's that people do care. But they just aren't all geeks or programmers or crypto experts, they're welders and baristas and waitresses and cab drivers. They want privacy too, but one could argue that we've failed to educate them about how to use existing tools and failed to make those tools simple enough that they're usable by the average Joe.

by kardos 12y ago

stcredzero 12y ago

There's always a subset of people who don't care. The problem is when it's the seeming majority who don't care.

OvidNaso 12y ago
But this is the case in many social issues that are eventually "won". Only a couple of years ago the vast majority of people in the US firmly believed marijuana should remain illegal and that number has dropped enough to change many state laws. How about gay, women or minority rights. All of them were strongly opposed by the masses.
- stcredzero 12y ago
  Only a couple of years ago the vast majority of people in the US firmly believed marijuana should remain illegal Really? In my circles, even when I lived in "red" states, the attitude was more like it's a damn shame it's illegal, and too bad there isn't a prayer of it changing. How about gay, women or minority rights. All of them were strongly opposed by the masses. In the 1st and 3rd case, of course, because the subject group was a minority. In the case of women, things only changed when enough of the subject group started to demand change. In the case of privacy, the subject group isn't distinct from the masses, it is everyone. So yes, it's a problem for progress until everyone gets more clued in. (It will happen, when enough bad stuff has happened.)
click170 12y ago
If there's one thing that the outrage around the Snowden leaks showed us, it's that people do care. But they just aren't all geeks or programmers or crypto experts, they're welders and baristas and waitresses and cab drivers. They want privacy too, but one could argue that we've failed to educate them about how to use existing tools and failed to make those tools simple enough that they're usable by the average Joe.