From: JasonLee@yabbs
To: arachnoi@yabbs
Subject: re: shot it out  ;)
Date: Thu Apr 28 22:54:18 1994

In message shot it out  ;), arachnoi said:
> ....I'd assume that they would, before killing us, make
> some offer to sell out our ideas and give up.{Convert or
> Die! I take it U would rather be a live slave than a dead
> freeman. How quickly we forget the lessons of the past.
> Go read Sparticus.}

The thing is, I don't know what I'd do.  I'm just not too sure I'd have the
strength to resist the pressure to sell out.  I'm kinda thinking of the end
of 1984, and how I would react to that situation.

> So, if I knew they'd be after me?  I'd leave the country. 
> Fast as possible....{U are assuming that U have
> foreknowledge, and can escape a manhunt. Most of the
> cases I've seen on the news were surprise attacks, and
> used overwhelming force.(At least what they thought would
> be overwhelming force)}....I think, generally, that you

Of course I was assuming I knew they'd be after me.  If they came for me, I
would not resist arrest (well, that depends a bit).  I feel like I have to
have some measure of trust in our system (as shaky as it is) even though
that belief is illogical.  Unfortunately, I can't give up on some of my
idealism.  To do so would be to give up on my whole identity and my history
to date.  Can't do that.

> can take two paths in your life: one where your
> job/whatever consists of uncovering the criminality in
> the government, and another that generally doesn't have
> much to do with politics.{This makes no sense.} My

It does make sense.  Are telephone sanitizers political agents?  There is a
difference between being a literary critic and being a writer of subversive
literature.

> current plans lean more towards the second choice.  It's
> not because I'm scared or anything.  It's just that what
> I enjoy doing does not necessarily make me a potential
> threat to the government. {Hahahaha, what makes U think
> that U are so innoxious? Just by being someone with
> computer access, U are a potential hacker. Just by being
> on this conf. U are potential anarchist. Just by being a
> Democrat U are a potential rebel rouser. Regardless
> whether it's true or not. Some moron probably has U on a
> list already. Big Brother may not be smart, but certainly
> can be overwhelming} What about you?  What would you do

So, the answer to the threat of being discovered is to cultivate powerful
friends.  In the hacker world, you can't trust your friends, because most
people are kids.  In an academic world, the level of trust is much higher
because the stakes are not so high.  In a situation like that, about the
only danger is something like HUAC or the McCarthy hearings.  We can only
hope public witch hunts like those don't occur again (Waco doesn't count,
since the branch Davidians were not part of the mainstream).

> if the government wanted to put you down? {Well, even
> though I know how to make a 500 megaton H-bomb from a
> rail gun and about $100,000 worth of chemicals, as I
> mentioned before I'm living on my overdraft so that's
> out. Anyway, that sort of weapon is strictly a self-
> destruct device anyway. I do not think I could kill
> innocent ppl (AIDS victims) in order to make super bio
> weapons. Anyway, they would be just as hard to handle as
> an H-bomb. So If they came after me, there would be no
> hope of a stalemate. I guess I would run for the border
> too. To get there, I would have to get past the ring of
> gunfire around my house. I would not have any qualms
> about using field expedient gas and explosive weapons to
> quickly suppress the original group of attackers, and to
> get out before their reinforcements arrive.(WACO made
> themselves another Alamo, they should have gotten out
> after the ATF begged for a cease fire.) One point is very
> important. Before U can do this, U have to have the
> materials and knowledge at hand first. In other words, Be
> Prepared. I know this makes me sound like one of those
> survivalist nuts, but then that's what we are talking
> about. Surviving. I've been thinking recently about using
> animals. A couple years back, I helped a psych major
> Fourier analyze a encephalogram. I think I can figure out
> a way to stimulate the emotions of animals with implants,
> especially attack dogs. Maybe an army of 10-20
> controllable dogs would make a window for escape. :) Just some odd ball 
> musings}

See, I don't think I could do that.  I'm not quite a pacifist, but I don't
believe in using violence or weapons to save me.  If I die or get punished
for what I believe in, then so be it.

JasonLee