[CoLoCo] Ubuntu, The DNC, and Freedom

[Brett Trigg]

Anarchists have a flag?

Sounds a little too organized for me.  ;-)

Ringo Kamens wrote:
> There's certainly a risk of arrest. The Denver police are (illegally) 
> blocking off huge quadrants of the city. I don't think that going to a 
> protest indicates our endorsement of it. And I want to clarify, this 
> isn't a protest. There will be protesting close to the convention as 
> well as (probably) some street battles with police. What I'm talking 
> about is the area farther away from the convention center where people 
> will be participating in positive things such as a really really free 
> market, giving things away, music, dance, etc. This is where I see 
> free software coming into play.
>
> "Regardless of if it is true or not, many will see Ubuntu as a group 
> of Anarchist hackers (read: crackers) bent on world domination(tm)."
>
> Unconventional action is the group of anarchists who have laid out 
> proposed boundaries. The majority of people at these protests do not 
> fly the anarchist flag and don't have anarchist beliefs. And I want to 
> clarify what anarchist means because I think there's some confusion. 
> Anarchists are a bunch of bomb-making teenagers hell bent on the 
> destruction of society, world domination, cracking, or viruses. This 
> is a view given to us by the media (the same way they demonize 
> hackers) and this doesn't describe any of the people who are 
> organizing the DNC protests; As an anarchist, I take offense to that 
> type of view as would any other anarchist. See the Anarchist FAQ and 
> the wikipedia entry:
> http://www.infoshop.org/faq/
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarchism
>
> Also, here's the proposed plan which should show where I'm proposing 
> that the CoLoCo would fit in.
> http://www.unconventionalaction.org/news/2008/01/10/48/
> Comrade Ringo Kamens
>
> On Jan 24, 2008 11:17 AM, TJ Heaney < tjheaney at gmail.com 
> <mailto:tjheaney at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>     My biggest concern with Ubuntu being involved with the DNC is fear
>     of a repeat of what happened at the RNC in New York (Go to
>     www.2600.com <http://www.2600.com> for details).
>
>     As an individual, I would be inclined to be part of the protest,
>     however, representing Ubuntu at said protest would likely be a bad
>     step for Public Relations. Regardless of if it is true or not,
>     many will see Ubuntu as a group of Anarchist hackers (read:
>     crackers) bent on world domination(tm).
>
>     Additionally, we would likely lose our endorsement from Canonical.
>     If memory serves me correct, I believe that there is some sort of
>     clause that prevents us from being able to use Ubuntu in relation
>     to any political issues.
>
>     However, in the interest of maintaining a professional environment
>     on this list, I would like to point out that we are discussing
>     politics....
>
>
>     TJ
>
>
>
>     On Jan 24, 2008 9:05 AM, Ringo Kamens < 2600denver at gmail.com
>     <mailto:2600denver at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>         I think it's sad that people here think protest accomplishes
>         nothing. The only thing that has ever changed the world is
>         protest. What about Ghandi? MLK? The 60's? I agree that lots
>         of protest is negative ie people going "stop that" and
>         complaining without putting positive energy into a solution.
>         During the DNC, there's goingto be a lot of positive protest
>         where we create the better world that we believe in, if only
>         for a few days.
>
>         One of the main ideas that Ubuntu sponsors is that everybody
>         should be able to share software and build off it, even
>         anarchists. I think that we shouldn't exclude something
>         because of the events political views. The facts are that a
>         huge section of downtown is going to turn into a type of
>         spontaneous parade thanks to the thousands of activists who
>         will be converging on the area during the days the DNC is held
>         here. There will be free food, transportation, love, etc. and
>         I think there should also be free software. But if nobody
>         wants to distribute Ubuntu with me, that's ok.
>         Comrade Ringo Kamens
>
>
>         On Jan 24, 2008 9:27 AM, Collins Richey <crichey at gmail.com
>         <mailto:crichey at gmail.com>> wrote:
>
>             I found this little quip in a a free-read paper at a local
>             restaurant
>             a few years back, and how true it rings!
>
>             "The principal (only?) accomplishment of almost all
>             organized protests
>             is to irritate those who are not participating in the
>             protest."
>
>             The Comrades of the world may unite without me.
>
>             --
>             Collins Richey
>                 If you fill your heart with regrets of yesterday and
>             the worries
>                 of tomorrow, you have no today to be thankful for.
>
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