NetNews Usenet Archive 1992 #31/NN_1992_31.iso/spool/alt/cyberpun/6907

Internet Message Format | 1992-12-31 | 1.6 KB

Path: sparky!uunet!haven.umd.edu!umd5!rich
From: [e-mail] (Rich Puchalsky)
Newsgroups: alt.cyberpunk
Subject: Re: Is it OK to be stupid?+
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Date: 31 Dec 92 17:29:19 GMT
Sender: [e-mail]
Organization: U. of Maryland @ College Park, Astronomy
Lines: 27

This is probably a mistake, but I'll try to respond to the original
subject of this thread...

Let's say that you are an intelligent, cryberpunk-wise person and you
know how to protect yourself vs. all manner of phone line and data
line privacy invasion.  It probably took you a good deal of time to
learn how to do this.  Do you still feel capable of single-handedly
protecting yourself from:

   The utility company charging you excessive rates?
   The car company that makes your car skimping on safety features?
   Insurance policies that don't protect you due to obscure clauses?
   Toxic emissions from the nearby factory that you don't even know about?

Etc.  The point is that even an intelligent person would be spending
all of their time protecting themselves from all of the different ways
that businesses have of ripping you off, even if they knew how to protect
themselves.  I certainly don't want to spend my time working on all of
these different things.  That's why we have government consumer protection
regulation and, for you libertarians, we also have consumer protection,
environmental, etc., groups that directly represent citizens.

That's why I think it's reasonable to have laws protect even the "stupid"
people who don't know that they can block giving out their phone number
to every business.