Re: No One Is Going To Save You Fools

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: December 22, 2009 12:20:39 PM EST
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] Re: No One Is Going To Save You Fools

[Note:  This comment comes from reader John Quarterman.  DLH]

Subject: Re: No One Is Going To Save You Fools
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 2009 12:21:13 -0500
To: dewayne-net () warpspeed com
From: "John S. Quarterman" <jsq () quarterman org>

Bob is right about the right's story, and that works for the right, because the right is about tribal us against them.

But to win on matters like net neutrality a more inclusive story is needed, non-zero-sum, participatory, about 
community. Because that's what the Internet enables: participation on a scale never before seen, fueling innovation 
that increases the size of the pie for everyone. This "we" which really is all of us does deserve participation because 
we really do all work for it, even if we're only chatting on facebook. We are bigger than the right wing we: we are 
large, we contain multitudes.

This is not to say such stories can't include enemies. Barbarians at the gates would work well against teabaggers, and 
clueless dupes even better. Fox makes hay claiming Congress has been bought off by health insurers, but neglects to 
mention that opponents of health care reform are among the biggest recipients of health insurance company 
contributions. Proponents could have (and still could) play up those angles.

This is all relevant to net neutrality. What industry spends even more lobbying Congress than health insurers? Telecoms.

And net neutrality and Internet freedom and participation and innovation, and even more the sorts of radical rethinking 
that Bob proposes, getting rid of the telecommunications mindset and getting into radically decentralized 
participation; all these are about the mutually-benevolent community against fat cat corruption.

Hell, we're even trying to help the telecoms! On the path they're on, they'll end up being like GM when NTT comes in 
and sells 100Mbps FTTH that actually works for a reasonable price. 50 years ago Motown was the industrial leader of the 
world; now Detroit is a ghost town. On Internet time it won't take that long for the duopoly to gut themselves and us 
if we let them. So let's use the Internet to stop them.

There's a story I don't see told often enough.

-jsq

PS: See Robert Reich about the Four Stories of American Life: 
<http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/02/obama-vs-mccain-and-four-stories-of.html>

> Date: Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:55:40 -0800
> From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
> To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
> Subject: Re: No One Is Going To Save You Fools
>
> [Note:  This comment comes from friend Bob Frankston. DLH]
>
> From: "Bob Frankston" <Bob19-0501 () bobf frankston com>
> Date: December 20, 2009 1:24:32 PM PST
> To: "'Dewayne Hendricks'" <dewayne () warpspeed com>
> Subject: RE: [Dewayne-Net] No One Is Going To Save You Fools
>
> The problem is that organization is not enough. You need a story that people
> want to believe. As the Palinists and Fox TV have shown it matters little
> whether it makes sense. All that matter is that it be simplistic and
> comforting and unites "us" against "them". After all, if it's their fault
> then "we" have no burden nor any need to make tradeoffs. And if it's their
> fault "we" can do no wrong by definition. Even better when we know that "we"
> are just like the rich -- well, as soon as we are blessed by the great
> lottery in the sky because "we" deserve it.
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