Formal apology (RE: Crypto McCarthyism ...thoughts, gentlemen?)

[Tim May]

At 5:00 PM -0600 2/11/01, Aimee Farr wrote:
>Declan said:
>
>>society has instead adopted and then accepted the Internet. It's difficult
>to be
>>  repulsed by something when you use it to share baby pictures with
>>  grandparents.
>
>Yes, and we are starting to regulate the hell out of it. Outside of a
>generic "Internet" sense....crypto is viewed as more threatening -- not
>simply a conduit, but a means. The next domestic terrorist kaboom! is going
>to have "bought to you by crypto" stenciled all over it by the US guvmint.
>Our demographics don't speak of technosophisticates.

Agreed. (I will not say "So? We've been saying this for years. See my 
"Four Horseman" point of 1992-3 or so.")

Those who want crypto outlawed have been trumpeting crypto uses by 
terrorists, pedophiles, money launderers, and other thought criminals 
for the past decade.  Nothing very new or interesting in the latest 
round, save that the New Team is now attempting to lay the groundwork 
for New Laws.

>...
>I agree, but you yourself stated that the average American isn't that
>concerned about privacy and won't purchase privacy enhancing technologies.
>(In a general privacy sense, I don't see a lot of "privacy reclamation." I
>do see a lot of notice provisions -- the functional equivalent of placing
>99% of Americans in a social-adhesion contract.) I don't think it's
>conservative. I think it is a new and unusual threat - to the majority of
>Americans.

Come on, Aimee, do some background reading. The "average American" 
is, and has long been, of two minds:

-- "what have you got to hide?"

and

-- "none of your damned business!"

Both views are present in most Americans. An observation I made here 
nearly a decade ago.

I welcome your participation here, provided you don't rant about the 
list being "estrogen-deficient," but, really, these basic points are 
well-trod ground.

>
>Of course, you have all watched this battle for many years, so you have a
>longevity of insight that I don't have. Probably just the same-ole-same-ole
>to you, while it seems more dramatic to me.

Ah, good to see you recognize the situation.

--Tim May

-- 
Timothy C. May         tcmay at got.net        Corralitos, California
Political: Co-founder Cypherpunks/crypto anarchy/Cyphernomicon
Technical: physics/soft errors/Smalltalk/Squeak/agents/games/Go
Personal: b.1951/UCSB/Intel '74-'86/retired/investor/motorcycles/guns