drw@cullvax.UUCP (03/24/87)
While I personally find Mr. Newman's position dangerous toward my liberty, I feel compelled to explain some of his statements: spe@cad.cs.cmu.edu (Sean Engelson) writes: > Neville Newman writes: > % The fact of the matter is that by encouraging distribution of this > % (EMACS) code to the entire net-connected world, you are in a position > % of respon- sibility. ... > % [D]amage is inflicted on > % individuals and society by that type of irresponsibility as with the > % distribution of this "humor". i would applaud your decision to take > % out the -r option, but it doesn't even begin to deal with the problem. > > While it is evidently undeniable that you are offended by the material > in question, it is also quite evident that there are others, not quite > as puritan as you, who are able to take this material humourously. ... > A ``Trojan Horse'', by its > very nature is undetectable and irrevocably damaging. Now, unless you > maintain that you are physically unable to keep from looking at the > file, and that such looking will turn you into a stark, raving maniac, > I would say that your analogy is ludicrous, at best. What Mr. Newman wishes to argue is the traditional anti-pornography argument: (1) exposing an otherwise moral person to pornography makes him less moral; (2) making pornography available for your viewing pleasure will inevitably induce people to look at it; and so (3) making pornography available of necessity corrupts people's morals, thus increasing the incidence of sex crimes, drug addiction, and impiety. If one were to grant the truth of the premises of this argument, then sex.1 is indeed a Trojan Horse of no little evil effect. Thus we can be pure if we eliminate all temptation. BTW, I find it odd that Mr. Newman (and his answerers) find bestiality particularly immoral. If one considers butchering animals for food to be moral, then it certainly must be moral to commit sexual acts with them against their will. Or is sex inherently more immoral than killing? Dale -- Dale Worley Cullinet Software UUCP: ...!seismo!harvard!mit-eddie!cullvax!drw ARPA: cullvax!drw@eddie.mit.edu Un*x (a generic name for a class of OS's) != Unix (AT&T's brand of such)