Texas Congressman Wants To Throw File Trading College Students In Jail

from the strict-disciplinarian dept

Add Texas Rep. John Carter to the list of policiticans who just don't get it. His latest brainstorm (supplied, I'm sure, by the folks at the RIAA) is that college kids would stop downloading music if we threw a few of them in jail as an example. Yeah, and people would stop overeating if we started shooting fat people. This is a ridiculous argument. Basically, it says in order to stop something that many people feel is perfectly legitimate, we should impose excessive and cruel punishments that don't fit the crime. Seems like that goes against the Bill of Rights, but that document seems to mean less and less these days anyway. Carter seems to completely bypass the very important question of why so many people are downloading music if it's so wrong that it deserves jailtime. Perhaps it isn't so wrong and perhaps (just perhaps) it actually represents a huge opportunity for the music industry - which they continue to squander by pushing out plans to call all their customers criminals.
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  • identicon
    LittleW0lf, 19 Mar 2003 @ 12:14pm

    Indentured Servitude

    Aw, Mike, don't pick on Mr Carter, he is just doing his job. The jail system needs more quality in their slavery program, he is just adding college students to the program since the government cannot seem to get Ken and the other Enron cronies behind bars to help with their rent a professional program.

    After all, if this country doesn't have atleast half of its population behind jail, it obviously isn't doing something right.

    [Big sarcasm alert...]

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Duffman, 19 Mar 2003 @ 1:13pm

    Hasn't worked before.

    The government has been fining and jailing kids who have (and sell, but that's a little different) pot for years. What happened? More and more people fought for its legalization. Society became more accepting.

    Besides, they're kids. Do you think an authority figure telling them to stop and punishing them will make them stop? Never stopped me. ;-)

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    JD, 19 Mar 2003 @ 6:59pm

    mkay

    Sounds like a perfect idea. After all, we put murderers and rapists and such in jail and it stops.... er, well maybe not. Never mind.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    alternatives(), 19 Mar 2003 @ 8:13pm

    I agrre

    Throw 'em in jail.

    every last one of them. Be sure to start with the fed. government staff and their famalies.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Anonymous Coward, 20 Mar 2003 @ 6:23am

    No Subject Given

    Hey, I like the idea about shooting the Fat people. God knows they are more of a problem that File sharing.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

    • identicon
      Thomas Sniper, 14 May 2003 @ 8:18am

      Re: Idiot's

      I think instead of shooting fat people we should
      solve our problem with idiot's in this country. Idiot's like you who criticize and torment helpless individuals. I hope you die of gonorrhea and rot in hell.

      link to this | view in chronology ]


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