I have the right to read… and remember!
I immediately thought of this short story Richard Stallman wrote in 1997:
The Right to Read
Here’s how it starts:
“For Dan Halbert, the road to Tycho began in college—when Lissa Lenz asked to borrow his computer. Hers had broken down, and unless she could borrow another, she would fail her midterm project. There was no one she dared ask, except Dan.
This put Dan in a dilemma. He had to help her—but if he lent her his computer, she might read his books. Aside from the fact that you could go to prison for many years for letting someone else read your books, the very idea shocked him at first. Like everyone, he had been taught since elementary school that sharing books was nasty and wrong—something that only pirates would do.”
La DB strip est très bonne!
J’avais lu le texte de Stallman dans le recueil fait par les Cogitateurs-Agitateurs. Ce regroupement existe-t-il encore?
Comment by Nicolas Marchildon — 2007/07/29 @ 00:45
Les individus, si. Mais pas le groupe comme tel. Le site dort sur un disque, j’ai demandé à Yannick une copie du recueil, ça devrait refaire surface bientôt. L’avoir eu, je l’aurais aussi collé au billet. Ce sera pour une prochaine fois.
Comment by Robin — 2007/07/29 @ 03:17
A little while ago, my 11 year old son asked me what I was doing. I said “I’m burning a CD”. His reply was “but Dad, isn’t that illegal?”. This story of Richard Stallman’s is only 10 years old, but already we seen the keen insight involved. Every time I rent a video I’m bombarded with images paralleling the crime of downloading music and stealing cars.
Comment by Bruce Stockwell — 2007/08/01 @ 10:45
Indeed, it’s a crazy world out there. In Canada, we had, amongst other initiatives, the awful Captain Copyright. Fortunately, it didn’t last long, but the powers that be remain.
Comment by Robin — 2007/08/04 @ 13:43