Meatspace,

[Faustine]

somebody behind a remailer wrote:

>And IMHO the best way to achieve anonymity in meatspace? A great place to 
>start would be by not deliberately engaging in "possibly illegal operations
>on the street in an environment full of police". You're doomed before you 
>ever get started. But I could be wrong. Don't say I didn't tell you so.

 >   Bitch, you really are a pig, aren't you? Oh, don't protest, don't
>be an activist, that's much too dangerous, you don't stand a chance
>they'll get you, blah, blah, blah. Just a little Tokyo Rose for the 
>cyberage.

Nonsense, that's not what I said at all. I raised some serious issues--and 
all ad-hominem attacks aside, here are a few more for anyone who feels up 
for it:

Can you see a fundamental difference between activism/protest/resistance 
that makes a difference and "illegal operations on the street in an 
environment full of police"?

What's the point of putting yourself into a situation where you have no 
chance of accomplishing anything besides getting arrested(or killed)and 
making some sort of symbolic statement--that doesn't fundamentally affect a 
single soul beyond whoever gets their property damaged? 

Why does pointing out the myriad ways it's possible for unarmed people to 
get swatted like flies by provoking people with superior gear and training 
automatically mean one in any way identifies with the swatters? 

Do you really think being an idealist should preclude you from reasoning 
like a realist? 

Who's more likely to make a difference at the WTO: a) someone outside, 
throwing golf balls at the building b) someone inside, presenting 
compelling arguments to the assembly and individual delegates

Can't you think of a better way to use your skills and talents 
than "fucking shit up" and getting arrested? Can't you even think of a 
better way to get across your message? I can, lots of people here can.

But then, it could just be you're trying to troll me from behing that 
anonymous remailer of yours.

agent provocateur (azhang provocater): "an agent employed to induce or 
incite a suspected person or group to commit an incriminating act."

If you're not one, it's better than even money that you didn't know that 
the idea of the agent provocateur was invented by Czarist Russia over 100 
years ago to stir the Serbs in the Balkans to a rebellion against the 
Turks, which Russia could use as a pretext to declare war. But its use was 
most prominent in combating the Socialists during the Russian Revolution of 
1905. The Czars targeted young students for the operation of the "agents 
provocateurs" because students were deemed more impressionable and 
emotional. At one point 20 percent of all young Russian students were 
reported to be paid undercover agents who were to organize anti-government 
demonstrations and then lead the demonstrators straight into the fire of 
the Czarist police. 


Think about it. Given that, if you can't even keep a cool head posting to a 
message board, then you really ARE doomed. 


~Faustine.