Could SOPA/PIPA actually be good for the U.S.?

I know this sounds kind of crazy, but hear me out:

If people can't have access to their favorite sites, if they have a lot of their distractions removed, because of SOPA/PIPA, couldn't that ultimately be a good thing?

If people don't have their distractions, maybe they'll start to realize how bad of a bum rap we're actually getting in the U.S. This is going to affect a lot of popular stuff, like Youtube and Facebook and Reddit. When the sheeple don't have their pretty baubles anymore, they're going to have to find something else to do. They're going to have a lot of time freed up that used to be devoted to the Internet.

Maybe, just maybe, if this thing passes it could turn out to be one of the best things that ever happened to our society here in the U.S.

reply to post by AnIntellectualRedneck


Your theory is possible. It may cause people to pay attention to their surrounding.

But what's more important is the freedom to do what we want in a free society. People have the right to be sheeple. That freedom is much more important than waking up due to government control.

Otherwise it will most likely lead to a fascist state and freedom will be a thing of the past.

if I am correctly informed, even google would be effected, infact deffinatly google will be effected. no news, videos, images, lockdown.

I refer to the fact that any site can be blocked by the firewall if it has copywrite content, correct me if im wrong. wikipedia would be effected, got any librarys left? cause half the ones in the UK shut down because of lack of funds.

in a word, no.

ed: the sheeple as you say already have beer and tv, or do you mean WoW players?

I guess it all depends on your opinion of who you think should tell us how to live our lives. Seems plausible but passing this bill to me is like being forced into a large bubble and only a handful of individuals get to decide what comes in and goes out.

reply to post by blackhillsbrutality


If the anger finally starts to simmer over and gets people's heads out of their butts and they start to actually talk and plan and do something, then I will gladly let the Internet go. If losing that freedom means that people finally start to fight to get back what we've lost so much of (namely freedom), if people finally start to get their heads out of their rears, then I will gladly let it go.

Maybe if people didn't have this false sense of entitlement, and stopped stealing music,movies, and programs, we wouldn't have a need for these types of legislation. Not saying they wouldn't find some other "justification" for trying to control the 'net, but it would be one less reason they could use.

yes...it is good for us..


i think we all need to get off our butts, go outside get some fresh air, and some sunlight and forget about wasting our lives behind some computer screen gossiping and speculating on things..hell who knows you might even be able to .....you know........GET A JOB.


seriously though...people spend way too much time paying attention to their computers, commenting on websites, posting pictures, they lose touch with reality and what truelly makes us humans special, our BRAIN and our ability to imagine and dream things..

we got along fine ...hell GREAT! for thousands of years without electricity, and internet...until someone proves this statement otherwise.....i rest my case

The internet is the last portal of non-bias information that we have. We can't trust television, radio or newspapers to get us the truth. If we let it go, people will fall back to those traditional forms, where we will be steadily informed that everything is A-okay.

Originally posted by CoherentlyConfused
The internet is the last portal of non-bias information that we have. We can't trust television, radio or newspapers to get us the truth. If we let it go, people will fall back to those traditional forms, where we will be steadily informed that everything is A-okay.

its just as easy to say that the internet is a better portal to disinform people, and corrupt them..

it has made many people useless lazy vegetables....just as much biased lies and B.S has been spread through the internet as the media..

the coin goes both ways...

i think we could go a couple years without knowing that your cousin-in-law just got a strike bowling, or the kardashians are going on vacation...

other than porn i wouldnt really miss much from the internet...tell me how has the internet dramatically, undoubtedly, changed your life forever...what? you dont have to lick stamps anymore?...

How has it changed my life?

Well, First, I met my husband 10 years ago and we have two children together.
Second, I work full time from home and I also run my own website.

I have found ATS, which basically changed my entire way of thinking about just about everything. I don't know if that's good or bad! LOL

Nothing major.

Then again, I'm the type of person who would rather read a good book rather than watch TV. I tend to watch documentaries and such when I do.

( I don't do facebook or twitter and I still pay my bills with a check and send physical cards that I either hand make or go out for and pick out myself. )

I doubt that SOPA and PIPA would be beneficial. The masses would just find another veil to keep them occupied, such as TV or video games, as the government strips them of their liberties, money, and everything else that Big Brother might want. They'll only wake up when it is too late. Who knows, maybe it already is too late.

Are you Rick Santorum?

I didn't think you'd be on ATS!!!

Wow, what a great idea!

Taking down the internet will make everyone's lives BETTER! Because then they will all go outside and talk with one another, you know like before the internet, when people watched TV all the time! They weren't watching TV, they were INTERACTING. With their cable provider.

And the best part is, you posted this GREAT idea ON THE INTERNET. Just think how much easier it would be to broadcast bad ideas, sell out, or astroturf DOOR TO DOOR. After we disband the internet because SOPA & PIPA were so popular!

While we're at it, lets take the Constitution out of the National Archives and pee on it. Because if there were no laws and no rights, the economy would probably pick up again. We could be sold as slaves, and interact with each other in the slave ships or on the farms, instead of wasting our time on the internet.

NO!

SOPA = Censorship

SOPA = Corporate Rule

SOPA = Guilty until proven innocent

SOPA = No ATS

SOPA = Government control over free thinking

SOPA = No voicing opinions (especially about a corporation)

SOPA = No more open source

SOPA = Microsoft rule of the internet

The purpose behind sopa is to make the shutting down of websites a person or company doesn't like, easier and faster by bypassing due process. The laws to protect copyrights are already on the books, and questionable sites can already be shut down if deemed an infringement through due process.

The companies that support sopa just want to bypass due process and shutdown the start ups that they may deem as a threat to their business.

I was very interested in reading the thread on why the movie industry moved to California.

(for those who missed the thread. They couldn't in New York because motion pictures were copyrighted by Edison and California didn't adhere to the copyright laws.)

Pot calling the kettle black anyone?

reply to post by NightShift


My memory is that there actually was a good bit more outdoor activity and communication going on before the Internet became so huge, but maybe that's just because I lived in a rural area.

As for the rest of it, I think you're being a bit dramatic.

In theory, it could.

The bottom line is, though, that is censorship is allowed, that means the content will be controlled. Which means that what people will see will be only what "they" want the people to see.

Its hard to notice your surroundings when what you see of those surroundings is pre-chosen.

SOPA and PIPA would not stop anything. Look, when Napster went down in flames, other apps took it's place. Other means of getting the media were devised. For those of us who have been online since the beginning, we know where to get the stuff, and SOPA and PIPA would do nothing to curb it. It's nothing more than a media stunt. As long as computers are connected to the internet, there will always be a way to get media that you want for free. Personally, I don't do it, but I know it's out there. I know how to do it. But I really don't fancy getting served papers for copyright infringement! These stunts are geared for the novice user who is not savvy enough to know where to get stuff without being tracked. It's meant to instill fear. Why else would they put out digital copies that notify them when someone downloads it?

So you think having the government restrict access to those websites could be good? So, in effect, we are children that need our decisions made by the government, like telling us the fire is hot so we don't burn our wittle fingers. I see where you're coming from.

/TOA

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
I know this sounds kind of crazy, but hear me out:

If people can't have access to their favorite sites, if they have a lot of their distractions removed, because of SOPA/PIPA, couldn't that ultimately be a good thing?

If people don't have their distractions, maybe they'll start to realize how bad of a bum rap we're actually getting in the U.S. This is going to affect a lot of popular stuff, like Youtube and Facebook and Reddit. When the sheeple don't have their pretty baubles anymore, they're going to have to find something else to do. They're going to have a lot of time freed up that used to be devoted to the Internet.

Maybe, just maybe, if this thing passes it could turn out to be one of the best things that ever happened to our society here in the U.S.

The only sheeple is you. Your either for or against.

Frankly spoken people like you are the reason we are in the sorry state.

Scum like you think if "gas was more expensive people would drive less, commute more and ride more bicycles!", or "if food cost more, people wouldn't be able to eat as much and obesity would go down".

What your advocating is evil and vile. And it leads me to question what type of a person you are. Well not really as your own statements are fairly damning.

It is akin to a Jewish person justifying the Holocaust as the perfect thing to end antisemitism.