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Piracy and Political Affiliation

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Piracy and Political Affiliation

Is one side more receptive than the other?

from JoeUser Forums

Piracy, whether it be of games, movies, software, or music is a pretty hot topic these days.  On one side you have people against piracy who usually claim copyright should be protected and what people are doing is just plain stealing.  On the other side there are people who think attempts to squash piracy are against someones "freedom" and argue that piracy doesn't affect the bottom line in business.

I have been looking through a bunch of websites that one could say the readers are more "supportive" of piracy and I noticed that what seems like a majority of these people seem to also be vocal in U.S. politics.  It also seems many of these people lean more to the left of the political spectrum, although I can't find any data to officially back that up with.  However, I think it's an interesting question to ask.  Does ones political affiliation and beliefs lessen or strengthen their stance on piracy?

Now before people get all bent out of shape, let me say I'm not accusing someone of advocating piracy because they are more liberal or conservative, but I do have my personal theory that one side is more receptive of the practice than another.  It's common to hear that people who are younger are typically more receptive to piracy than someone much older, but you never here much about their political, or even religious, preferences.

My belief is people who are more liberal, meaning fairly far left, will be more likely to accept the practice of piracy.  Why do I think that?  Well first of all, far left thinking is that capitalism is bad, and anyone who makes a profit is somehow "evil".  This also goes back to the reality that liberalism is more in favor of entitlement, and that someone who makes money somehow "owes" it back to society.  This creates an attitude of basically "I don't care" and that stealing someones copyrighted material doesn't mean anything because they are retaliating against the "greedy" industry.

What is your opinion?  Do you think an individuals political leaning affects their stance on piracy, or do you think it has no connection at all?

political internet
109,485 views 119 replies
Reply #51 from WinCustomize Forums Top

There's a difference between prejudice and experience.
End of quote

No kidding, Zu ....;)

Did I say anything to the contrary?

EXPERIENCE may show [to you in yours] that lefties do one thing more commonly than those on the right....or not.

PREJUDICE only becomes an issue when the prevalence is directly attributed to the political affliction....rather than perhaps a coincidence, or discrepancies in counting methodoligy/relevance favouring one socio-economic group over another.

Example...

What if your 'experience' was with friends of the same political persuasion as yourself [whom you favor] vs. a bunch of upper-class twit professionals, or slum-dwelling drop-ours [whatever the opposite may be] that crossed your path in inordinate numbers....so much so that these 'others' numerically appeared more prone to thieving [or less] depending on your aspect?  In other words....is it 'us and them', or is it 'we', and thus can one's stance/view be seen as purely objective?

Or is it, [as is most common a fault in society] purely subjective [and flawed]?

Categorizing people by whatever 'distinguishing' factor or trait can be read as 'discriminatory' as and when different levels of social acceptance/acceptability are ascribed to each.

Personally, I don't hate or distinguish between capitalists/socialists/liberals/conservatives, whatever you want to call them.....all bar none are exercising their rights to determine their 'persuasion'.  I certainly wouldn't want to distinguish between the prevalence of negative traits for one or the other as such simply fuels adversity through prejudice.

I know rich arseholes....and I know poor arseholes.  Successful ones and abject failures.  People who pirate and people who do not.  And people [like most] who wobble uncomfortably on the edge of the two [piracy, not arseholes]....;)

 

 

Reply #52 from JoeUser Forums Top
Basically, if you gave people the chance to earn a better wage...maybe...just maybe...they would be less inclined to steal.
Bullcrap . .I've know poor people that don't steal and rich people that do. It has to do with what kind of person you are.
End of quote


Well, I got to comment 17, before I just had to comment.

Zubaz is right. And WebGismo demonstrates the validity of island Dog's opinion. Webgismo seems to think that people are owed something, instead of having to work for it. And if they are owed it, then they have a right (or at least a right not to be blamed for it) to take it regardless of ownership.

And he does describe himself as a liberal.
Galactic Civilizations IV
Reply #53 from JoeUser Forums Top
simply for the reason that Liberals are more willing to give out free stuff (money, food stamps, etc.)
End of quote


Again, give out things that are not theirs. NOne of the stuff mentioned is theirs to give, and they are free with the giving. Studies show that the more generous a person is, the tendency is they are more conservative, as they give from their own pockets not yours.

Piracy is me giving from your pocket, and goes hand in hand with what you said. They love to give from your pocket, not theirs.
Reply #54 from Stardock Forums Top

Zubaz is Karl Rove!
End of quote

I think that is a compliment.  :)

However, in my experience, people on the left are far more likely to rationalize their piracy as somehow being morally good.
End of quote

That sums it up pretty good right there. 

 

Reply #55 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Jafo . . I may be a bad person and parent . . but I teach my kids to discern and pre-judge to a certain extant.  I think it makes good sense.

<About to wander a bit . . . . >

I think that as responsible people we have an obligation to judge. I think that a concern about being judged poorly is a control in our society. I further think that judging (especially within a small group) will improveone's powers of judgment.

The hard part about judging is finding balance. I tell my kids that they should assume people are good. But I also tell them that if there a person who looks "wrong" walking toward you, move away from them. There's a thin line between reasonable pre-judging based on experience and wisdom, and prejudice based on fear and stereotype.

I think there are things that we all want to do or have wanted to do in the past that society as a whole may not have approved of. Maybe things that aren't illegal but just not right. What defines "not just right"? Other people. Other people judging you. It's a good thing.

The function of group judgment should be wicked strong (as they might say in the Boston of my imagination). The trick there is the group that's doing the judgment. If the judging group is not a sampling of the greater whole; instead, is a group that might reinforce the behavior being judged; all benefits of judgment is lost. If the fear of being judged harshly is stopping a person from revealing a behavior, perhaps they need to evaluate stopping that behavior.

I think that in the youth culture . . which also happens to lean to the left . . they are not judged poorly by their peers for having a "I am owed" mentality or pirating digital IP.  I think, in fact, that they are encouraged by their peers and the world of IP law will be interesting in about 20 years.  :)
Reply #56 from JoeUser Forums Top
I had my fair share of piracy some time ago. It’s basically what lead me to this site. I eventually learned how annoying it was dealing with pirated content so I went the open-source way or I buy my stuff now, well, except maybe music. I usually never like an entire record so I just get the one song I Like. Either way I don’t think I download more than 3 songs a year since today’s music pretty much sucks, I’ll stick to the 80’s.

I think piracy is bad simply because it is. It’s someone else’s property and no one would want to have their stuff stolen so. Political connection? Maybe. As some have said here, a Liberal is more likely to believe piracy to be morally correct. But I seriously doubt politics play a big role in it. The reality is that People will always look to saving a few bucks one way or another and probably would not question a guy who is selling a $1500 HD TV for $500. Would you say no to a free Xbox 360 without knowing if it was stolen or knowing?

The truth is thieves come in all shapes and sizes, any political party and of any lifestyle (rich or poor). Poor people steal because they want and need money; rich people steal because they want more money. The only difference I see is that when poor people steal, they take without permission, rich people get people to give them money freely buy selling something at a higher price than the consumer should have paid.

According to this am I to believe that people who shoplift and/or steal are liberals?
End of quote


You mean more likely to be Liberals. This would be a great theory to research. Take every person ever convicted of stealing and ask them what was their political affiliation at the time of committing the crime. It would be funny to see if criminals and Democrats or Liberals can be linked.
Reply #57 from JoeUser Forums Top
Jafo . . I may be a bad person and parent . . but I teach my kids to discern and pre-judge to a certain extant. I think it makes good sense.

End of quote


I do find interesting the double standards people tend to hold now a days. If we pre-judge a person for possible committing a crime, we are seen as unfair and probably relate it to racism, the cleansing of a religious faith, sexism, etc. Yet, by the same token, if that same person does get to commit the crime, we are seen as incompetent and stupid for not stopping them.

I believe in a defensive lifestyle which requires a lot of pre-judging. I tend to believe most people are good but never ignore the possibility of being stabbed in the back. I trust no one, trust is earned not given. When I drive, as far as I'm concerned everyone else on the road is an idiot behind the wheel. Give me a better mentality to actually avoid encounters with the true idiots behind the wheel.
Reply #58 from Stardock Forums Top

You mean more likely to be Liberals. This would be a great theory to research. Take every person ever convicted of stealing and ask them what was their political affiliation at the time of committing the crime. It would be funny to see if criminals and Democrats or Liberals can be linked.
End of quote

That would be very interesting.

I do find interesting the double standards people tend to hold now a days. If we pre-judge a person for possible committing a crime, we are seen as unfair and probably relate it to racism, the cleansing of a religious faith, sexism, etc. Yet, by the same token, if that same person does get to commit the crime, we are seen as incompetent and stupid for not stopping them.
End of quote

That's what political correctness does to society.  ;)

 

Reply #59 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Opinions are like noses, everyone has one and they all smell. Having said that, I will now deposit mine. :)

No one is a devout conservative or a liberal, these are merely radio/tv personalities created to shape public opinion, and in the end to achieve more ratings. How the two contrasting points of view are accepted or rejected depends on the perceptive bias of the individual, because despite what any tv or radio station will have you believe, you are an individual that is capable of making sound decisions through cognitive thinking.

This is an important distinction because as human beings, we have the ability to make choices; whether to follow one school of thought, reject another, or pick and choose. These choices are irrespective of age groups, media commentators, demographics or polling data. The influence these two social ideologies have on deviant behavior is negligible, as during the commission of the act, the individual is pursuant to a personal gain, and rarely a political statement, at lease in this context.

Operative words such as "conservative" and "liberal" when used in the context of describing people are labels. Labels are for soup cans, stop being a soup can and re-join the human race!
Reply #60 from WinCustomize Forums Top
My Wall: labels are useful and accurate within the scope of this discussion.  If you identify with enough elements of belief with a group of individuals calling themselves something  . . it's fair to say that you are (to some degree) that thing.
The spectrum is far enough apart on many issues to accurately label people more or less liberal or conservative.
Reply #61 from WinCustomize Forums Top
I don't know. It sounds kinda like bs to me. Political leanings and morals don't really seem to go hand-in-hand as much as people tend to think.

Piracy is piracy, and without actual hard data it is unfair to "claim" that one group of people is more prone to theft than any other.

And as for labels, well.... Soren Kierkegaard put it best: "Once you label me, you negate me."

Reply #62 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Webgizmo seems to think that people are owed something, instead of having to work for it. And if they are owed it, then they have a right (or at least a right not to be blamed for it) to take it regardless of ownership.
End of quote


Ah....NO...I never said anyone is owed anything. And further....please show me where I said anyone has the right to take anything that isn't theirs?

And he does describe himself as a liberal.
End of quote


NO...You describe me as a liberal. Don't assume to ball someone up in your way of thinking based a few sentences taken out of context. You know nothing whatsoever about me.

Get your facts straight....and further....I do not in any way, shape or form subscribe to any party lines...so don't even try to label me as anything other than a human being. You and others may "think" people are describing themselves one way or the other....but you haven't got a clue. People are more complex than that.

I've seen party minded people like yourself change party lines at the drop of hat on numerous occasions. So trying to label someone is an exercise in futility. I myself keep an open mind about the world around me, I don't allow insane political parties define who I am.


Reply #63 from WinCustomize Forums Top
The concept of liberal/conservative is amusing to most people. For 90% of the world both these are extreme right wing... ;)
Reply #64 from WinCustomize Forums Top

Jafo . . I may be a bad person and parent . . but I teach my kids to discern and pre-judge to a certain extant. I think it makes good sense.
End of quote

Zu...it'd be far better to teach your kids to be wary/leery of people until proven otherwise...aka "Stranger danger"... but THAT MUST go way beyond one race, creed, or colour [and political bent].  ALL should be presumed 'bad' until demonstrated to the contrary....eg via assurity by appropriate adult [parent].

Pre-judging can be problematic as you shouldn't want to pass on the impression that for example all well-dressed people are good and all scruffy long-hairs are bad....or vice-versa, for that matter.  It may even equate to the horrors we have all been subjected to eg in Hollywood where for a very long time if you were black you must be a servant or at best a villain....cowboys with white hats vs black....not even subtle.  Racial stereotyping.....everything from 'Black and White minstrel show' to 'Gollywogs' to 'Yo Momma jokes' - all aid and abet society's 'pre-judging' 'differentiation'.

Example.....we can collectively call ourselves 'skinners', or maybe 'skin users' but that's as far as it goes [or SHOULD go].  It does NOT make us collectively [or individually] good/better people, and I am quite confident we are not all equally 'good'...;)

Reply #65 from WinCustomize Forums Top
People are more complex than that.
End of quote


Exactly the point I was trying to get across, pity only one person got it...
Reply #66 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Exactly the point I was trying to get across, pity only one person got it...
End of quote


My Wall...if you hear any noise...its me banging my head against your wall! :LOL:
Reply #67 from WinCustomize Forums Top
ts me banging my head against your wall!
End of quote
/me wonders which will break first.  ;)
Reply #68 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Zubaz wonders which will break first.
End of quote


It'll be a draw! ;)
Reply #69 from WinCustomize Forums Top
People are more complex than that.


Exactly the point I was trying to get across, pity only one person got it...
End of quote


I got it... just hadn't bothered to comment, being totally disinterested in politics and outside the US. Liberals where I come from (oz) are tight arsed, mean spirited and quite pro business... the poor usually fare poorly under them.

However, people steal to make ends meet: they're poor and feel the need. These poor sods are the ones who most often get the shittiest end of the stick in court because theft is rampant... more-so because of the following two categories, who have no need.

Others steal simply because they can: most often only doing so to prove a point, either to themselves or others). This type of thief becomes so brazen that they eventually get caught, and they they cry poor and plead for leniency

Then you have those who steal simply because they want to: not because they want or need the item, nor because they must make ends meet or have anything to prove. This type of thief is probably the worst because the stolen items are quite often thrown away or discarded in some dark closet for eternity.

Of course then there is the cleptomanaic who can not resist the compulsion to steal and need help to overcome their problem.

At one time or another in my life I have come across people from all these categories, and I can confidently state that none had any political persuasions of any kind... it didn't matter to them which party was in power, because it was government and therefore an authority which was corruptly managing their affairs/the economy.

Me, well I'm pretty much like Webgizmos... I have NO party preferences/persuasions and live in a 'governed' society because there is no escaping it in this day and age. I hated the Howard Liberal Government with a passion, but I don't know that I like the Rudd Labor Government any better... despite it 'supposedly' being for the working man/lower class.

Many of my family and friends/acquaintances feel the same way, but I don't think any of them ever thought it was right to steal, irrespective of which party governed... whether or not they felt like "getting back at the bastards".

Nope!! I see no correlation between political persuasion and stealing/piracy. The complex spectrum of life from which thieves/pirates come is too wide and varied to even attempt to put them in any kind of political category.

My tuppence worth. ;)


Reply #70 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Nope!! I see no correlation between political persuasion and stealing/piracy. The complex spectrum of life from which thieves/pirates come is too wide and varied to even attempt to put them in any kind of political category.
End of quote


I whole-heartedly agree with this statement.
Reply #71 from JoeUser Forums Top
I do not in any way, shape or form subscribe to any party lines
End of quote


Liberal is not a party line. It is an ideology that can and often does cross party lines. Me thinks he doth protest too much.
Reply #72 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Left, right...conservative, liberal...whats the difference.  We still have a lot in common.  How many movies have you recorded off the TV?  How many cassettes/cds have you recorded with music? 
Reply #73 from WinCustomize Forums Top
Right on Starkers! ;)

Liberal is not a party line. It is an ideology that can and often does cross party lines
End of quote


Well there ya go...When someone refers to a liberal....they are generally speaking about a particular political stance...Dem/Rep/Lib/Conservative...you guys just can't make up your minds...its just more waffling on where someone stands. And if you cross party lines...I guess your at the party then huh? Or are you just a wall flower at the party?

Your either in the game/party or not. Personally, I like to stay away from people I wouldn't even invite into my house. Then ya need all that whiteout for when everyone jumps parties...it just gets to ridiculous. ;p

And I gave up protesting....waste of time anymore. I just get annoyed at people that double speak...try to label me...or don't have the backbone to actually stand for something and take physical action other than sitting in a chair grumbling. And I'm not talking about anyone in particular here...I don't know any of you well enough to make a judgment either way...just speaking my own mind. ;)

And can we just call piracy what it really is....theft. No need to insult pirates. :LOL:
Reply #74 from WinCustomize Forums Top
And can we just call piracy what it really is....theft. No need to insult pirates.
End of quote


Thanks Giz. Us honorable pirates 'ere at WC thanks ye frum tha very bottom of our salty 'earts fer defendin' our integrity. Some of us might be a bit on tha blaggardy side, but we ain't pirates...er, about nickin' interlecktual property. :LOL:


Reply #75 from JoeUser Forums Top
When someone refers to a liberal....they are generally speaking about a particular political stance...Dem/Rep/Lib/Conservative
End of quote


Actually no, or at least the literati do not. There is a real difference between democrat and liberal and republican and conservative.

McCain is a republican, but not conservative. UP until 2006, Lieberman was a democrat, but hardly a liberal.