Quote:
Originally Posted by kazbates
Bottom line: whether you like the laws or not, breaking them is still wrong. If you don't like them - work to change them within the system. Peacefully and respectfully.
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Some laws are unjust, or applied disproportionately. Copyright law is currently arranged so that corporations can go after anyone--other corporations, or individual bloggers--but are not held accountable for their actions when they overstep.
When's the last time a company was sued for sending out false DMCA reports? Where are the multi-million dollar awards to people falsely accused of copyright infringement?
Breaking the law is one of the ways to protest a law that isn't working as it should, or was created to encourage discrimination or oppression. And it's a legitimate, acknowledged way to do so; that's why we allow jury nullification--it's a way to say "maybe he broke the letter of the law, but I don't believe he did anything wrong."
Part of getting rid of unjust or outdated laws is refusing to follow them. That's part of how we prove that the law isn't protecting our interests anymore. That's a big part of how prohibition was eliminated, how we got unions, how we got civil rights--people refused to follow laws that were created to reinforce someone else's morals or line someone else's wallet.