Persecution
"Georgia Grad Student Sues University Over Gay Sensitivity Training", the headline read. "They told me to change my beliefs or be kicked out," she said. This is, of course, a story about persecution. We hear about it all the time; in the story about the Christian bus driver who is fired for refusing to drive a woman to an abortion clinic, or the pharmacist who loses her job for refusing to fill a valid prescription for birth control.
This is an unfortunately common response among minorities and majorities-who-pretend-to-be-minorities, like Christians and white people. You don't like your black co-worker? You must be racist. Well, I have news for you; it might be because he's a dick.
But religious people often take it further, finding systemic abuses in events that ultimately have nothing to do with religion. This tendency is not exclusive to Christians; for example, the French parliament recently moved to ban the burqa in public places. The response was immediate and predictable; "France is persecuting Muslims!" But are they? What the French are really saying is,"For security reasons, we need to be able to see your face, and your religion does not exempt you from this requirement." To be honest, they're saying other things as well, but the point is the same: when Christians say they're being persecuted, what they usually mean is they're not receiving special treatment.
The grad student in question, Jennifer Keeton, is applying for a degree in counseling. If she was becoming an accountant, it wouldn't matter; however, she has chosen a career where a certain degree of sensitivity and objectivity is required. Miss Keeton has indicated that she is unable or unwilling to put her client's needs first and prevent her personal beliefs from interfering with her professional obligations. The university is not only within their rights, but they have an obligation to withhold their endorsement if they feel she will be unable to perform her job duties effectively or will be unable to adhere to her profession's code of ethics. She is not being asked to "change her beliefs"; she is being asked to behave professionally.
A person's choice of religion does not exempt him or her from the law or from professional ethics and responsibilities. And expecting him or her to abide by the same rules and adhere to the same standards as everyone else is not persecution. For that matter, neither is calling "bullshit" in a blog post. Do what you want in your private life, but, in your public life, you don't get to play with your own rulebook.
And to all my Christian friends who feel picked on and unliked, please keep in mind that the neverending persecution complex may be a large reason why. Or maybe you're just a dick.
Free Your Media!
I'm a big fan of digital media. It's convenient; you can enjoy new books, movies, or music immediately, provided your internet connection is up to it. It's portable; you can carry an entire library in your pocket. And it takes up far less space in your home than those books, cds, and dvds. Sounds great, right? Leave it to the publishers, the recording industry, and hollywood to screw up a good thing.
The culprit, of course, is Digital Rights Management. DRM is a way of tying digital content to the original purchaser. Usually, this also means tying it to a specific hardware and/or software device. Content producers say this is necessary to prevent piracy. They're wrong.
While DRM may be adequate for stopping casual sharing (such as when I "give" my friend the new Snoop Dogg album I just got off iTunes), it does nothing to deter the dedicated pirate, who simply gets his media from illicit, DRM-free channels (such as torrents, newsgroups, and direct-download, like Rapidshare and Hotfile. Or so I've heard). The loser, of course, is the consumer, because these technologies, like their analogue in the hardware world (I'm looking at you, Apple!), prevent consumers from using their legally purchased products in the way they want. Want to listen to that iTunes album on your Android phone? Sorry, Apple only. Want to read that Amazon ebook on your Barnes and Noble Nook? Nope. How about that iTunes video on your Linux box? Sucks to be you.
The irony is, you are perfectly within your Fair Use rights to change formats or otherwise use your legally purchased content in any way you see fit for your personal use; however, circumventing DRM in order to exercise those rights is a violation of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. Which is paramount? Ask your lawyer. Then ask another one. You'll likely get two different answers.
Unless, that is, you live in the Fifth Circuit. There, Judge Emilio Garza recently made the commonsense ruling that merely circumventing DRM is not illegal, provided the underlying reason for doing so is non-infringing (I'm parapharasing). In other words, if it falls within your Fair Use rights, you can break DRM to do it.
This is great news...if you happen to live in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Texas. For the rest of us, it technically has no legal bearing; however, it does establish precedent that may influence similar cases in other jurisdictions. Ultimately, this issue will have to be decided by the Supreme Court, or Congress, or even by the Library of Congress (which has the power to grant DMCA exceptions).
Here I Go Again
No, I'm not talking about Whitesnake (if you immediately thought of Tawny Kitaen writhing on the hood of a Jaguar, shame on you. Also, you're old.) I'm referring, of course, to this blog.
Like practically everyone on the web, I once had a blog (several, in fact). And, like practically everyone on the web, I eventually lost interest. The posts gradually became less and less frequent, until they eventually stopped altogether, until the interwebs were once again safe from my pointless ramblings and musings, at least until I caught the bug again. Well, the bug is back, and it's biting my ass!
The big difference this time, besides my newfound unwavering commitment to diligently maintaining this blog, is that I have moved from my CMS of choice, Joomla, to WordPress. My reasons are twofold. First, I want this to be a simple blog, so I really don't need all the bells and whistles of a full-featured CMS. And second, it's an excuse to familiarize myself with a new software platform. Yes, I'm playing with a new toy.
That is all.