 balthazarus says: A college professor from the University of California, San Francisco, wrote a $100 check in support of Proposition 8 in August, because he said he supported civil unions for gay couples but did not want to change the traditional definition of marriage. He has received many confrontational e-mail messages, some anonymous, since eightmaps listed his donation and employer. One signed message blasted him for supporting the measure and was copied to a dozen of his colleagues and supervisors at the university, he said. “I thought what the eightmaps creators did with the information was actually sort of neat,” the professor said, who asked that his name not be used to avoid becoming more of a target. “But people who use that site to send out intimidating or harassing messages cross the line.” Many civil liberties advocates, including those who disagree with his views on marriage, say he has a point. Cont. "They wonder if open-government rules intended to protect political influence of the individual voter, combined with the power of the Internet, might be having the opposite effect on citizens." Although i do no support Prop. 8; i think the measures taken by the eightmap. are backfiring. I do not find 'open season' hunting of ones opponents as legitimate! there is a thin line between democracy and anarchy. Moreover as one that supports technological advancement and free flow of information i am worrying that this crack that is exposed will take us, humanity, back in how we treat and relate to the coming changes. Surely a clear ethical discussion is needed if we wish to welcome our new now to come. This is a interesting article Balth, and poses a question to me which is would I rather know how a person truly feels about my orientation regarding civil rights or would I prefer they hide their feelings or even pretend to agree with me. The answer is I would rather know. I think the point here is that a technological advancement is being used to potentially harm people. This exposure could be used for any other sort of donation where the person would not want to be identified. I understand that Tany, but on the other hand, I'd rather know and then I could decide which business's to patronize. hi debby  this article made me also think, in relation to what you say, 1) what about the right of a person to have an opinion but to choose when how and if to express it? any kind of 'outing' should be kept as a choice for the said person. especially if he/she wishes to remain anonymous and do not aspire a public function that affects these issues directly. 2) there is a line that was crossed here between knowing and having these people threatened. either directly or by exposing so much data on them. I think some addresses, such as homes, should not be shown. Regardless of cause, crazy folks always use this information to harm others. The risks are too great, and the privacy concern are enormous. It certainly could serve as an intimidation tool against political expression, which would negate its stated goal of transparency. Hi Balth Yes, the article does make one think and probably because of my life experience of living where I do I tend to have definite opinions. Racism and homophobia is never really expressed here in public quarters, but rather in small groups where people are sure they are around other like-minded individuals. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the N-word and faggot and lesbo around other's who felt comfortable expressing that, and although I was a Hillary supporter, it was shocking to see racism come out into the light of day here in WV during the primaries. But I would rather know how other's really felt about my orientation than not know. Now, like Rat said, there are alway... I'd like to know to debby. It's just to bad technology is available that has the potential to harm anyone at all. I understand that point too Tany. |
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