We’re almost 24 hours into the anti-SOPA protests, and I’ve got to tell you … I’m getting burned out.
Google’s black banner, countless blog after blog with their black banners, Wikipedia’s complete blackout of their site — I’m starting to lose sympathy for my own cause.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m still against both SOPA and PIPA, but I do not like the way said opposition is being shoved down my throat. Not only that, but if you’ve seen one black banner, you’ve seen them all. This whole thing is starting to feel like an insincere “me-too” fest.
All of the cool blogs are joining in the fray today, and I’m just not swallowing any of it (yeah, yeah, that’s what she said). Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, and it’s starting to feel a little contrived. I feel like we’ve all been told what to do by a bunch of millionaires, and we’ve all complied like sheep.
One of our friends called today, and she told me that she was recently diagnosed with a health condition. When I went online to research the condition to see what her options were, I was thwarted a couple of times due to anti-SOPA protests. How did this hurt SOPA sponsors? How did this help the cause?
Since Wikipedia is authored by the collective, and funded by donations from same, is it really their place to blacken out our work, our photos, our content to support their own political positions? Certainly some Wikipedia users support SOPA, right? Shouldn’t they get equal time in a neutral, encyclopedic arena?
Look, I think most people agree that SOPA and PIPA are bad bills, but even if they don’t, isn’t this their right? I mean, is it legitimate to browbeat people into your own point of view, just because it’s a popular point of view? What next, website blackouts until people contact their representatives to oppose abortion?
Let’s face it, the reason that companies like Google oppose SOPA is not for our benefit. It’s not out of altruism and concern for the people’s freedom. It’s because SOPA will cost these companies millions and millions of dollars. If they could make twice as much money by sponsoring SOPA, let there be no doubt about it … this is exactly what they would do. At the very least, they would not oppose it.
As such, I just can’t bring myself to do their bidding on command. I just can’t.
While I detest these bills as much as the next person, at this point, I really hope the black banner lemmings find a new way to express themselves, and I hope they find a more original way to do so. I doubt I’m the only person suffering from black banner burnout, and in the end, over-saturated stunts like these will probably turn at least some people off from the message.
This being the case, please allow me to make a plea to the Internet community at large:
Dear fellow SOPA warriors, we get it. We all get it. Really, we do. Loud and freaking clear. Let there be no ambiguity over the fact that we understand SOPA, PIPA, and the risks associated with these bills. You don’t need to raise any more “awareness”. On the off chance that we are still not familiar with these bills, chances are, we never will be. Short of coming to our houses, knocking on our doors, and shoving copies of the bill down our throats, you’ve done all you can do.
Now, please, stop preaching to us. It’s all gotten to be a little too much.
I respectfully abdicate my soapbox.
Rex,
The concept is to have many voices with one message. Yes, that inspires a certain “me too” concept, but that was kind of the point.
I understand the point, but I question the effectiveness.
Much, if not most of this endeavor is preaching to the choir, and those who don’t agree with our position are unlikely to be persuaded by yet another goddamn black banner or popup. I think some people are starting to tune it all out, or are being turned off.
Look at the comments in The Consumerist. They’ve posted about nothing other than SOPA today, and readers are complaining that the website is milking it … which they are.
Much like pink breast cancer ribbons, this is all starting to feel more like a ploy for popularity and an advertising stunt than it is a sincere effort to make a difference.
You can preach to people, but there is a line at which they will begin to resent it … even if the message is a good one.
Now, people are being punished for something which they didn’t even do. Their favorite websites are going offline because of a bill that a bunch of rich guys sponsored. The little guys are being punished for the sins of the big guys … yet again.
And you don’t think they’re going to resent it? I mean, why wouldn’t they?
This is not the correct way to win converts.
At least not in my opinion.
Most of these things are only graphical, aesthetic changes. Few of them are actually denying content. Wikipeida is, but anyone who turns off Javascript can get to it. Furthermore, anyone who knows how to turn off Javascript already knows that SOPA is bad and isn’t the intended audience, so it’s not like Wikipedia cares that you do.
You want to talk serious offenders? Try sites like Linux-oriented Distrowatch, which temporarily (it’s already gone) shut down every single page with a STOP AMERICAN CENSORSHIP link. PC reference guide publisher O’Reilly did something kinda similar for a few hours.
Again, people who need assistance with the Linux terminal prompt aren’t the kind of people who need to be informed about SOPA by this point.
Wikipedia did do a vote/discussion before going dark. I am not sure how the foundation works but I know input was taken from “the people” in some form.
Your overall point is correct. I was tired of it before it began as my new reader was full of articles about the protest for weeks. A bunch of speculation on who will do what to their site(s).
I use Wikipedia a lot during the course of an average day. I just googled the topic and used the cached page, it’s not like the topics I use it for are full of edits, as it is usually something about a tech standard or stupid shit like movies or music.
The effective thing to me was the Google approach, fairly low key and no more in my face than a Google Doodle for Einstein’s Birthday. Make sure people see it, offer them information, but let them get business done.
The RIAA, MPAA and a lot of the people supporting this bill are on their deathbeds, this is their last chance to maintain power. More people are self publishing, putting their movies and serials online, or otherwise leaving traditional distribution methods. Once this dies I have money that some form of Net Neutrality debate starts back as the same people again try to gain more control of the Information Superhighway.
There will always be those who try to control information for their benefit…but if you take away that information for your own benefit…how much better are you?
I see where the Feds shut down MegaUpload and MegaVideo today. Interesting timing.
http://mashable.com/2012/01/20/sopa-is-dead-smith-pulls-bill/
Well it worked, so you can quit yer bitchin
For now, till “they” try again or quietly slip it in to some other multi-thousand page bill/budget/etc.
I think that something we, the computer savvy, are not taking in to account is that there are huge populations of people who are not savvy. For example, my mother and my father. These are two people who have computers and who use the internet, but who have no real idea of what SOPA and PIPa are (were).
These blackouts, while annoying to us, have been very good at showing people like my mom and dad what SOPA was and the effects it could have. It was simply raising awareness as to the potential harm those bills could have done to the free exchange of information. Without the blackouts happening in the many “me-too” numbers they did, I wouldn’t have had the conversation with my dad about SOPA and why it is bad.
Personally, I think Google could have been a lot more effective in their demonstration by not only blacking out their banner but also placing black dots next to search results of sites that would be potentially taken down by SOPA. Or even making those links click through an awareness page about how SOPA could prevent access to that site.