innocent_lex

The thing about jokes (and I realise this is a very complex issue for a lot of people to have to face) is that they need to be funny to qualify for the title. Death threats are generally not amusing. Death threats against women made specifically in a way that shows your contempt for their gender and their religion are particularly unfunny.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-11736154

"A Conservative Birmingham City councillor has been arrested over allegations he called on Twitter for a female writer to be stoned to death."

Still, at least it looks like there are consequences.

I'm seeing and hearing a lot more bigotry these days than I used to. Is that because I'm more aware of it or because there's more of it around in day-to-day conversation? In terms of people I know, I've heard casual racism (as in, words used without any care that they are racist and no thought that the person hearing the words might be offended), homophobia (no, the f-word is not a good one, and being gay is *not* synonymous with being a paedophile, good grief!), and of course the eternal ongoing sexism that pervades everything (which may or may not be getting worse, but it pisses me off).

I'm concerned about the big things like the BNP being voted in as MPs, but also about the everyday speech from everyday people. Is it just me?

A Swedish court has found a torrent website guilty of breaking copyright law. In my view, that's absolutely ridiculous. The website hosted links, didn't copy anything. In fact, other than being a filter for a particular filetype, it's the same as any other search engine. I can find torrent links on via twitter, google, etc. All those media servers that allow people to share files host all kinds of content that would come under someone's definition of illegal. These sites aren't being accused or charged with anything, of course, just the ones created by the end user. Hmm.

What I find ridiculous about all of this is that the companies who brought about this lawsuit (and nobody believes it was the Swedish courts' idea) are run by morons. If you have a company and you refuse to listen to your customers even when they're shouting at you, screaming at you, and demonstrating with their behaviour that how you're doing business is plainly ridiculous, then what's the best idea? Ah yes, criminalise your customers. Not work out how to change your business so that your customers are happy, they buy more of your products and you make a profit. No, that would be silly. Let's not adapt the release of films and television programmes so that consumers are satisfied. Let's not take advantage of new technology to improve availability of our products to the mass markets who are demanding them. Let's not work to create new and better ways to distribute our products now that we have the benefits of digital media that gives us almost limitless options and possibilities. No, let's not be progressive, try to get bigger market share, or make any attempts whatsoever to use what passes for our brains. Let's criminalise the consumers - that's the way forward.

I don't think I've ever encountered another group of companies so determined to put themselves out of business.