Silk Road forums
Discussion => Philosophy, Economics and Justice => Topic started by: ZenAndTheArt on March 05, 2013, 09:52 pm
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Which 'Political Activists' have earned your respect?
I was on YouTube the other day and I came across a video of some British guy on the streets of London, on his own, with a megaphone and video camera, who was challenging some of our 'plastic police' (PCOs - Police Community Officers), because he believed our taxes are being wasted on a useless political idea that puts an under-trained, under-payed and powerless alternative to 'real' police officers on our streets for the sole reason of saving money.
He was going about his 'challenge' to the PCOs, in a funny, non-confrontational manner. He kept saying to them "I don't have a problem with you personally" as they tried to illegally detain him for using a megaphone, whilst calling for back-up from the 'real' police at the same time. I started to respect this guy because he had a belief and was doing something about (making short films for YouTube). He may not have been the most effective or relevant 'activist' of our times, but he was doing something when so many other just procrastinate.
Activism is something that's relatively new to me. So, I was wondering, as a lot of you guys (and girls) are intelligent, well read and worldly people (flattery will get you everywhere), which 'Political Activists' have earned your respect? I'm keen to find some more videos, blogs or books about individuals you stand up for what they believe in, who get out there amongst the chattering classes and mix it up, who don't pull
any punches when sticking it to the man (you get my drift). The more entertaining, amusing or engaging the better.
I'm talking about an individual person who may be a blogger, v-blogger, author, leader or creator of a political group or pressure group, programer, hacker, comedian or even a payed-up politician. But they must be an individual who has a media presence, either videos, blogs, columns, articles, books, poems, music, lectures, websites or any other type of media out-put. Someone who has an ideology or a set of political beliefs and who's passionate about what they believe in.
(DPRs a given ;))
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I enjoyed the antics of Abbey Hoffman, I think Political Theater can be a great motivator and eye opener
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The guy the OP refers to is pretty great. He went on a BBC program, conspiracy road trip, where they investigated 9/11. He knew way more than all the other conspiracy theorists, and they loved him. Then he responded almost instantly to logical arguments that answered their questions, gave up on the conspiracy theory, and all the others' got pissed at him. It's sort of a 'reality' show, but well worth the watch.
He is absolutely despised by 9/11 'truthers' now, even those he was friends with before this. Very sad, very cult-like.
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Search on youtube for Tom Woods, Stefan Molyneux and Adam Kokesh
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oh and for a great activist that focuses on health matters search on youtube for "the health ranger" (Mike Adams).
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Adam Kokesh is one of my favorites. I also admire those behind the Free State Project and the Blue Ridge Liberty Project big time! Those of you in the US should consider migrating to those wonderful libertarian communities. An activist group I am very fond of is CopBlock.org, you should all check them out.
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Mark Thomas, a brilliant mix of comedy and activism
Check out The Artist Taxi Driver on youtube too for up to date rants :)
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Alex Jones.
Yes, I am serious.
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Most political activists I know of have a large ego and a need to be 'noticed'. I often wonder what is more important to them - their cause or their ego. It usually follows a familiar script - do something to get attention, get a media interview and throw extreme words around (nazi, facsim and communist are common when referring to relatively simple matters) and then follow up with other gimmicks. The fact is that any moderate or subtle activist won't get noticed so we get a series of clowns or showmen out to make a name for themselves (kind of like politicians). Unfortunate, but catering to what our media expects.
A true activist, someone who really wholeheartedly believes in their cause simply lives their beliefs, passively if the law is against them . This CAN make for some powerful media interviews but they require more than 30 second sound bites.
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DPR, slightly ahead of Bush and Reagan. ;)
Seriously SR has the power to change how politicians perceive the so called "drug problem".
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Julian Assange, Stefan Molyneux, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Adam Kokesh, Martin Luther King, Alex Jones, Webster Tarpley, Max Keiser, and any person with a voice who spreads the message of freedom and points to a better way of living that doesn't involve theocratic fascists and statist criminals who's very existence is based on a Mafia style government and the enslavement of the people.
Last but not least Dread Pirate Roberts!
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Christopher Hitchens
Christopher Hitchens? Are you serious? The fucking moron was all gung-ho for the invasion of Iraq, man! You know, the one all based on bushcheney lies???
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Most of my favorite activists are doing a lot with the digital era, and remain anonymous as best as they can (Or as best as their ego will let them.). Hacktivism has accomplished some pretty great things, and drawn attention to much more. Sure, there are some twats out there running around saying they're "Anonymous" who accomplish nothing but being twats, but that's also the beauty of it. Hacking the Steubenville Highschool webpage was a great thing to do, and it really made me proud to be a computer geek. Hitting security companies to show they're full of shit, corrupt cops, bankers, government websites - anywhere that needs a great big light beamed right into it's very soul. They do it without regard to their own glory, but under the banner of the digital age and the freedom of information that it should bring, anonymously attributing their works to anyone and no one all at once - I like that.
Dread Pirate Roberts should get a mention too, but I don't consider him as much an activist as an internet gangster. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate just as much, but in a slightly different way. After all, we deserve a higher class of criminal.
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All of them, that had nothing to gain from their actions. All the way down to the lowly hipster "occupy wallstreet" boys chasing hippy girls.
They all have my respect to some degree.
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He's less of an activist and more of a comedian, but I always liked Bill Maher.
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Peter Joseph, the guy behind the Zeitgeist films and the youtube series Culture in Decline.
Anonymous has a place in my heart, even though I hardly ever see any results from his side :(
Mandela and Gandhi were nice as well. Bradley Manning should get the nobel peace prize (but norway just fucks it up every year)
I don't like Julian Assange. He seems to be more a politician, than activist :(
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DPR. For looking at the big picture and doing something about it. It must be great to combine your beliefs and business. I mean if you think SR is here exclusively for bitcoins, then I think you haven't been paying much attention. I believe it legitimate for members of SR to declare themselves as political prisoners if captured by the enemy. Because they are.
In addition, all the cypherpunks, notably Julian Assange for seeing clearly. Really there are too many to list, there are cypherpunks and their latest incarnation - the cryptoanarchists at every level of society, large and small, in the tens of thousands. You're heros for traversing the gap between "Fuck this shit" and "Fuck this shit, I'm going to do something". It is this cadre that is most set on building a better world. Even when we violently disagree and some make missteps, our cryptographic coterie is in lockstep on our essential war doctrine. There are no compromises, none, on Free Speech, Free Trade.
I feel sorry for those mediocre people who idealize a happy compromise between freedoms and 'harmony' or 'social' anything, most especially our career politicians, what a convoluted warp they weave. Our coterie members have a gleam in their eyes, they are truly alive, when many others have become jaded, turning to apathy and nihilism, cynicism giving the false impression of sophistication. So many feel like they are clockwork, all dead inside. That can change, with free markets, free currency such as bitcoin, we can revitalize the world. It won't happen overnight, it is down to us to keep the ball rolling until it picks up momentum.
Notable cypherpunks include the people behind the Tor Project, Satoshi Nakamoto. More lately Cody Wilson has been in the news. His project is just in its infancy but it has great promise. Keep it up! There are many others.
Then there is Phil Zimmerman. I consider Phil an honorary AAM alumni. He almost lost his burrow by getting behind on mortgage repayments, just a late mortgage payment or two and he would have been bankrupt. But the result of such devotion was PGP - pretty good platypus.*
It takes enormous mental effort for all these people and organizations I mentioned to keep going. Enormous because the tasks they have set themselves are herculean. They have the honor of bringing genuine change to the world. Y'all one in a million *salute*.
Finally, all members of PGP Club and SR who came here, struggled to understand WTF was going on, attempted to learn PGP until you succeeded in doing something that at first seemed new, fiendishly complex and unfamiliar to your habitat, congratulations! It is a small act of courage to do something that might make you feel inadequate until you grasp it, but it is still important to take that step. (-:
Talking of courage, I have over nine thousand emails in my inbox to respond to, I did promise to reply to them all, so see you guys in a couple of days lol.
* even a great fellow can make a spelling mistake.
PINE!!! So happy to see your back! I have missed that beautiful mind of yours so badly. A lot of us were really worried about you. It's a relief to know you haven't left us for good, hope all is well!
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Ron Paul. Thirty years as a politician and it did not change him one bit.
Adam Kokesh.... He turned me on to Silkroad
Joe Rogan. Calls it like he sees it
Alex Jones. He gets a little excited, rants, and raves but he is right
JFK
MLK
Henry David Thoreou. Has anyone read "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience"? He refused to pay some sort of tax and was thrown in jail, he could of paid it himself, but he refused. His sister bailed him out and this infuriated him. This is why he wrote the book!
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oh i forgot Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, and DPR
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DPR!
Bradley Manning, Julian Assange, people in the Free State Project, antiwar veterans, Students for Liberty, Young Americans for Liberty and anarchists.
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This is a bit off-topic but still down the same vein:
There's an SR forum member called fingertothefbi who started a thread asking about the morality of selling to kids. He himself is a vendor.
The question was posed as to how old someone should to be to buy drugs. Since there is absolutely no 'standard' on this anywhere (our governments have deemed people of all ages "not allowed"), this guy just brought it to the community and asked what we all thought. A lively and (more or less) decent debate followed but most people believed that selling to kids was wrong and immoral. In the end the vendor pretty much said ' this is kind of what I thought also'.
It's people like this that earn my respect everyday. It shows that we as a community, endorsed by no 'official' government body can be; collaborative, reasonable, level-headed and respectable. Not extreme, wild-eyed addicts that are diametrically opposed to society. It's based on grass roots movement that says:
'Even though the leaders and elders of our society think that what we endorse is wrong, we are wise enough to know differently. Knowing that we have been wrongly persecuted we do not demand criminal retribution, only an intelligent recognition of what is inevitable"
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Shami Chakrabarti
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+1 for everyone here.
Thought we could add someone but almost everyone that this subject sprung to mind is covered. Maybe Slavoj Žižek (Probably getting his coke off one of us...). ;D
Special shout out to Dread Pirate Roberts of course for taking the risk and making this all possible. On that note, everybody involved in SR and BMR - You're all activists in your own right!