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  This article is interesting, but I take issue with part of the article about the effectiveness of different actions.
  It is true that if your goal is to gain the moral high ground, or convince people, as the author states was the effectiveness of sit-ins, then DDOS or "vandalism" might not be effective. But if your goal is to hit companies where it hurts (the pocketbook) or do enough economic damage to draw attention and hurt (or even shut down) the company than various forms of vandalism, including DDOS, is actually quite effective. Perhaps a good example would be the maligned animal activists. Actually, many fur farms have been so economically damaged by vandalism that they eventually have to shut down. (see ). Yes, I don't have good stats for places shut down by simple glued locks, but these animal activist also choose to remain anonymous as much as possible. Sometimes gaining sympathy is not the most effective tactic, especially in this day in age when we have so much information about atrocities committed by multinational corporations all over the globe that it seems like we have become numb to the shock. Also the laws have changed, which have made peaceful protest or even reporting about vandalism carry larger sentences if they inflict economic damage (research the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for an example of this).
  I admit, I wasn't there, but I have a really hard time believing that the sit-ins and other civil rights era protests were effective simply because they showed people that other people were willing to be arrested or die for their beliefs. Perhaps that was true, but if it was I think times have changed. It seems like rather convincing your neighbors that the actions of those companies (diners, bus companies, what have you) made even more people boycott those companies, but that still makes the effective factor the economic damage sustained by the company.
  Honestly, for today's activist, it makes sense to inflict the most economic damage possible while exposing yourself to the least risk possible. That is what makes you able to stand and fight another day for what you believe.

  Posted by alteredlife on June 06, 2011 at 22:17:44 Pacific Time