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Boy Scouts Introduce Merit Badge For Not Pirating

Posted by Zonk on Fri Oct 20, 2006 03:21 PM
from the think-of-the-children dept.
It's funny. Laugh. Media Movies
The_Slaughter writes "The MPAA has recruited the boy scouts of America to do their dirty work. Scouts will now be able to learn a merit badge for anti-piracy related activities, including creating public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music. No word yet on if that includes helping the MPAA file lawsuits against 80-year-old grandmothers."
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  • Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MECC (8478) * on Friday October 20 2006, @03:23PM (#16520897)
    "Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music." And complete a lobotomy. [idiom.com]

    Do they also have merit badges for not thinking independently? Or one for having your IQ reduced to a single digit and being converted to a near-mindless automaton?

    • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 20 2006, @03:25PM (#16520941)

      Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy.

      I wouldn't worry. When they see the true extent of the "harm" caused by movie and TV piracy, they'll be heading to thepiratebay.org the moment they're near a computer.

      Scouts will be instructed in the basics of copyright law and learn how to identify five types of copyrighted works and three ways copyrighted materials may be stolen.

      Cool, they'll be teaching them how to do it, too.

    • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

      by MattGWU (86623) * on Friday October 20 2006, @03:33PM (#16521073)
      Yes, it's called the "You don't HAVE to do any merit badges you don't want to do." merit badge. The one requirement is you DON'T DO THE BADGE. It's a total gimmie, it's great. Nobody is holding a gun to some kids head to do the badge.

      My prediction: If it's easy, scouts will do the badge. You don't have to believe in it, you just have to do it, and damn if there's nothing better than an easy merit badge for that extra Eagle palm or whatever.

    • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by OS24Ever (245667) * <trekkie@nomorestars.com> on Friday October 20 2006, @03:33PM (#16521081) Homepage Journal
      I wasn't in the boy scouts, but I was in the Explorer portion and that's how I got my private pilot license at 18.

      However, I feel that the scout organization has fallen so far from its original intended roots that it's nothing but a special interest shadow of its former self. It's very sad, because what once was an organization that helped kids learn about skills and camping and other simple yet vital tasks for a well rounded person have been hammered away into anti-gay, christian centric whored out to any group that wants type of thing.

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Informative)

        by smitty_one_each (243267) * on Friday October 20 2006, @03:40PM (#16521197) Homepage Journal
        However, I feel that the scout organization has fallen so far from its original intended roots
        The organization is no more than the sum of its members.
        The two or three scout parents I know are the kind of old fashioned, independent thinking, screw-the-post-modernists sort of people whom you'd want to have around in case of actual emergency. Can't speak for their sons, whom I have not met.
        Succumbing to the moral dry-rot so rampant in contemporary America is something we have to eschew individually.

        • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Interesting)

          by ottothecow (600101) <ottothecow.gmail@com> on Friday October 20 2006, @04:02PM (#16521563) Homepage
          Excellent point

          When I was a boy scout (I would have had to stop due to age 2 years ago but I really stopped 4-5 years ago) my troop was a lot of fun. It wasnt the nerdy bunch that boyscouts were stereotyped as at the time (though there certainly were entire troups like that) but was really a bunch of good people. Had a lot of focus on camping and outdoors type stuff rather than pushing certain ideals and morals (well, there was still the good-doing ideals but nothing remotely like the anti-gay stuff). I never really advanced too far as I only went for merit badges I was interested in so I ignored a lot of the "required" merit badges like swimming since while I certainly can swim, it was a lot of time and foolish tests to prove I could swim rather than learning about something new with another merit badge. It was a lot of fun either way and the way the organization seems to be going these days makes me kind of sad.

          Something tells me that I wont be willing to be a scoutmaster by the time I have children...

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by vought (160908) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:48PM (#16521335)
        However, I feel that the scout organization has fallen so far from its original intended roots that it's nothing but a special interest shadow of its former self. It's very sad, because what once was an organization that helped kids learn about skills and camping and other simple yet vital tasks for a well rounded person have been hammered away into anti-gay, christian centric whored out to any group that wants type of thing

        Thanks for saying so well what I've felt often over the past fifteen years. Scouting is nothing more than bitter old men leading impressionable young men around anymore. It's almost like a page program for suburban and exurban white guys.

        I was a First Class Scout before leaving when I was 16, to spend more time bike racing. I enjoyed scouts because it let me get outdoors (I'd formerly beena roly-poly little fat computer nerd kid, and while I kept my computer nerd cred, scouts got me outside, working some of that flab off and seeing, doing, and loving the outdoors.

        As I crested Muir and Bishop Passes on consecutive days four summers ago, I thought a lot about my time as a scout. I'd never have learned to enjoy the outdoors were it not for my thoughtful and tolerant scoutmaster. Stuff like this - being a shill for big business - and the flaaaaaaming antigay rhetoric coming out of the Boy Scouts is a truly sad thing. The organization could do a lot of good for ALL young men if they chose to.

        • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by 644bd346996 (1012333) on Friday October 20 2006, @04:01PM (#16521547)
          Your comment almost perfectly hits the mark. The only thing is that there are still a few troops that accomplish the original purpose. They are actively being repressed by the higher levels, but there are ways to deal with them. It is only through the efforts of a few extremely patient and caring men, mostly Eagles, that some troops can stick to BP's ideals. Unfortunately, these men are almost entirely absent from the organization above the troop level.

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by Greventls (624360) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:59PM (#16521497)
        The quality of the Boy Scouts depends on where you are. I was in the Boy Scouts in the Westmoreland Fayette Council up until 4 years ago(I turned 18). I was openly atheist and recieved Eagle. I knew of a couple openly gay members who also made it through to Eagle. No one cared. Everyone was openly accepting of everyone. I think these are select councils or troops run by extremely socially conservative people.

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Interesting)

        by davmoo (63521) on Friday October 20 2006, @04:03PM (#16521583)
        I was in the Boy Scouts, from start to finish...started as a Cub Scout as soon as I could get in, stayed in until I was 21, and then served four years as a Scoutmaster. I was also in the OA, Explorers, and several other "side groups" (for lack of a better term). This was in the 60s through the 80s. I have nothing but fond memories of the experiences. There are **MANY** positive skills I learned and things I did that I would have never experienced without having been a Boy Scout.

        That was then, this is now.

        Now I'll echo what you say here. The organization has changed so much from what it was then that if I had children and they were to ask to be in Scouts, I'm not sure I would approve. I ceased donating even my money in the mid-90s.

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by swillden (191260) * <shawn-ds@willden.org> on Friday October 20 2006, @04:10PM (#16521683) Homepage Journal

        However, I feel that the scout organization has fallen so far from its original intended roots that it's nothing but a special interest shadow of its former self

        I was a boy scout, got my Eagle, have been a Cub Scout leader for the last few years and just recently became the Varsity Team Coach (Varsity is the 14-15 year-old boys), so I have a very good view of what Scouting actually is, as opposed to what it appears to be in the press.

        My take is that your perception is driven primarily by the special interests who have decided to attack scouting based on the two tenets of the program they don't like: homosexuality and religion. The scouting organizations actually have very little problem with either of those, and spend no time at all worrying about them. The prohibition on homosexual and pedophile leaders is very sensible, in my opinion, and the religious position is both open (must profess faith in *some* god) and not really enforced.

        Scouting is a great program that does a tremendous amount of good. It's precisely because it's such a valuable program that people who object to a couple of its tenets like to attack it. Don't take their attacks to mean that the program has changed.

        Anyway, I need to get back to planning next year's High Adventure camp. We're going to do a week-long, 100-mile rafting trip, most of it through the inaccessible canyons of the Colorado River above the Grand Canyon. I'm actually not so much planning it as putting together the framework for planning it, because the boys will do the real planning themselves.

        That's what scouting is about. Self-sufficiency, outdoor skills, teamwork, preparedness and the moral strength and integrity that are developed by doing hard things in a place that no one can cover for you. Oh, and fun. Lots of fun.

        Doesn't stop people from trying to use Scouting to score political points, but we try to ignore those people.

    • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 20 2006, @03:48PM (#16521331)
      As has already been pointed out, this is NOT a Merit badge, it is a patch. Anyone can create a patch and offer them to anyone. It has nothing to do with whether the LA Boy Scouts want to earn the patch or not.

    • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Funny)

      by adisakp (705706) on Friday October 20 2006, @04:01PM (#16521543) Journal
      Scouts will still be allowed to sing songs around the campfire during camping trips assuming that all use of music is properly accounted for with performance fees and royalties paid to the RIAA.

        • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by WilliamSChips (793741) <{moc.liamg} {ta} {ytinifni.lluf}> on Friday October 20 2006, @03:44PM (#16521271) Journal
          Why does this have to be a partisan issue instead of a cut and dry, "creepy old man" issue?
          It's an election year for Congress, plus it's karmic retribution for the Lewinsky scandal.

            • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

              by Score Whore (32328) on Friday October 20 2006, @04:13PM (#16521723)
              Without getting too political, Bush has lied under oath as well. He swore to uphold the constitution, but then ordered that people be held without access to courts, attorneys, etc. It went to the Supreme Court and was deemed that those orders violated the constitutional rights of the people being held and the Bush administration then said "ok, we'll stop doing that." But the thing is, just because Bush felt that it was constitutional doesn't mean that it's OK until a court says otherwise. It means that he was in violation of those constitutional rights all along. Bush should be impeached for breaking his oath.

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Mateo_LeFou (859634) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:55PM (#16521453) Homepage
        So do you think there should be a merit badge about not-breaking every law, or just the most important ones (murder/rape/filesharing)?

      • Re:Scouts Honor.... (Score:5, Insightful)

        by Pollux (102520) <splien@OPENBSDgauss.cord.edu minus bsd> on Friday October 20 2006, @04:13PM (#16521725) Journal
        God forbid the Boy Scouts teach kids how to obey the law!

        As an Eagle Scout, I can say first-hand that the Boy Scouts DOES teach scouts how to obey the law. Here are a few examples:

        • One of the twelve points of the Scout Law (a moral code which all scouts pledge to follow and uphold) is that every scout is obedient, to leaders, and to the law.

        • Scouts, as they work towards their Eagle Scout rank, are required to obtain the Citizenship in the Community, Nation, and World merit badges (three separate badges) that teach scouts how the law is created, legal methods in changing and upholding law, as well as what it means to be good citizens in the community.

        However, I am personally sad to see special interest groups who are imposing a political agenda upon scouts. Once upon a time, scouting was about kids discovering themselves. While there was a core set of requirements which every scout was expected to achieve as they worked their way up the ranks (the basic skills of camping, first aid, being a leader...), there were hundreds of merit badges which scouts could work towards and earn, depending on what interests they had. A great example of this was when Spielberg, himself an Eagle Scout, helped create the Cinematography merit badge, for any scout who may have an interest in learning more about movie making. Looking back, the most amazing thing about scouts was all the opportunities I had to learn about new things, as well as all the people who willingly worked so hard to offer me those opportunities.

        Nowadays, I feel more and more that special-interest groups, including but not limited to the RIAA, are seeing scouting as a vehicle for "indoctrinating" their agendas onto future leaders of America (and believe you me when I say that Eagle Scouts truly are leaders). I was asked last year by a parent if I could be a merit badge counselor for the Computer merit badge. As the tech coordinator at my school, I thought it would be a great chance to catch-up with boy scouts again. I opened up the merit-badge book, and lo-and-behold, one of the requirements to obtain the merit badge was for scouts to be able to understand and give examples of piracy, whether it was burning CDs or P2P. This had NOTHING to do with learning about computers, how they work, learning about how to create documents, spreadsheets, and databases, and programming a computer. This was a political agenda, and it didn't sit well with me.

        Scouts are certainly educated every day about how to be obedient to the rules and be good citizens of this country. But I want scouts to find and grow their own ideals, not have them spoon-fed by the RIAA.

  • Great (Score:5, Funny)

    by Who235 (959706) <secretagentx9@cNETBSDia.com minus bsd> on Friday October 20 2006, @03:23PM (#16520903)
    There's another badge I wouldn't have gotten.

    Just like the "Don't Stab Hoboes" badge.

  • Make sense (Score:5, Funny)

    by CastrTroy (595695) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:24PM (#16520915) Homepage
    It makes sense since the Boy Scouts of America [wikipedia.org] shares its initials with the Business Software Alliance [wikipedia.org]

  • Preaching to the choir (Score:5, Funny)

    by LunaticTippy (872397) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:24PM (#16520917)
    Seriously, how big a threat are Boy Scouts to the content cartels? If they get the boy scouts on their side, who next? 80-year old fundamentalist grandmothers?

    They need to start something that'll get the cool kids. Like an anti-piracy gang. Complete with drugrunning and cap-bustin.

  • fair use (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 20 2006, @03:24PM (#16520921)
    I'm guessing that fair use won't be part of the learning experience.

    • It will when I teach it (Score:5, Interesting)

      by swillden (191260) * <shawn-ds@willden.org> on Friday October 20 2006, @03:41PM (#16521217) Homepage Journal

      The article isn't clear if this is a regular BSA badge or just something cooked up by the local council, but if it's official, I'm going to sign up to be a merit badge counselor (I'm already a counselor for a dozen other merit badges).

      My version will focus on understanding all of copyright law, including (especially) Fair Use, the Doctrine of First Sale and the historical and constitutional basis of copyright law.. I think I'll substitute the "Make a Public Service Announcement" for a 200-word essay on Why the Digital Consumer's Bill of Rights is a good idea".

  • Positively Orwellian ... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by gstoddart (321705) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:24PM (#16520925) Homepage
    This reminds me of the children in 1984 who were trained to turn anyone who may have comitted a thought-crime.

    I realize the Boy Scouts like to try to teach morals and the like, but it doesn't sit well that the *AA's would be able to create a new merit badge and start indoctrinating them.

    Errie.

  • Un-badge. (Score:5, Funny)

    by Wellington Grey (942717) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:27PM (#16520963) Homepage Journal
    Can I get a merit badge for not being a boy scout?

    -Grey [wellingtongrey.net]

  • Merit _Patch_? (Score:5, Informative)

    by gauauu (649169) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:28PM (#16520983) Homepage
    The article is a little short on details. In Boy Scouts, the official things you work towards are Merit Badges, which are determined by the National Boy Scouts of America organization. The L.A. council/district/whatever doesn't, as far as I know, have the authority to create a new Merit Badge.

    What this article makes it sound like is that it's just a patch. Anybody and their uncle can make up a patch and make up their own requirements for it. We had patches made for activities only our troop would do. It sounds like this is just one of those, which if so, is no reason for anyone to get worked up about it. Sure, they're trying to brainwash Scouts, but there's nothing official or magical about it.

    • I concur and remember one patch... (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Chagatai (524580) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:41PM (#16521225) Homepage
      In the 1980s, I remember seeing in Boys Life magazine, the publication for Boy Scouts, that they were offering a "Donor Awareness" patch that would go on the chest pocket of the uniform, which is the spot usually reserved for various summer camp logos or other incidental merits. This patch required the scout having a conversation with his parents, and then sending in a form that said something along the lines of, "I have talked with Mommy and Daddy about who will get my kidneys when I die," plus shipping and handling. The badge looked pretty fruity [usscouts.org] overall, too. I imagine that this is what the "Anti-Piracy" patch would replace. Both merit badges and belt loops (remember those?) had sets of goals that had to be attained across several disciplines. This sounds like a one-step patch, and not a badge.

    • Re:Merit _Patch_? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Gadgetfreak (97865) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:51PM (#16521393)
      Bingo. I'm an Eagle Scout myself (yeah, there are plenty of us) and most people don't realize that there are all kinds of non-sanctioned "patches" that really mean almost nothing besides the fact that you participated in something.

      True merit badges are standardized. They're very much like elective courses in school... you can pick when you want to 'take' a merit badge, but everyone has a standard set of requirements to complete before you get the badge. You also have to take the badge from an authorized instructor. They're obviously not difficult, but some have some significant physical and time-intensive requirements to be done.

      They're like mini-classes for real life. If you have a kid in the 10-15 year old range, even with no interest in Scouting, I'd recommend the merit badge books as a good "quick study" intro course to something new.

      That being said, here is a list of merit badges [wikipedia.org] that are standardized, and the year they were introduced.

      Scouts on the local level have all kinds of extra meaningless crap. It's like getting the volunteer award at college. Cute, but doesn't count towards graduation.

  • Feedback (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Wellington Grey (942717) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:31PM (#16521045) Homepage Journal
    Putting the fair use argument aside for a moment, who thinks it's a good idea to reward people for what they should be doing anyway. Should I expect to be rewarded because I didn't shoplift today or commit murder?

    -Grey [wellingtongrey.net]

  • Swift action needed (Score:5, Funny)

    by digitalamish (449285) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:33PM (#16521087)
    We need to get a Pirate Badge ASAP. Given the choice is some kid going to want to "perform a market study of the impact of copyright infringement on the entertainment industry", or learn how to keelhaul properly?

    Avast!

    • Re:Swift action needed (Score:5, Funny)

      by eclectro (227083) on Friday October 20 2006, @04:05PM (#16521607)
      Ahoy matey! My musings exactly! Here's be a badge [fashion-icon.com] that be given to scouts for helpin' shootin' down big media that be suin' li'l girls and grannies by learnin' the ways of pirates.

      Them know how to tie knots pretty good, so learnin' them to hoist a mast an' fire a cannon nary be hard at all.
       

  • Another Badge (Score:5, Funny)

    by FrankDrebin (238464) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:33PM (#16521089) Homepage
    Perhaps they should also have a badge for not IM'ing your congressman.

  • How about they teach the scouts the real stuff (Score:5, Funny)

    by TheWoozle (984500) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:35PM (#16521137)
    How about they create a "Hollywood Accounting" Merit Badge? The scouts can pursue activities like Screwing People Out of Money and Establishing a Distribution Monopoly? Or the "Hollywood Agent" Merit Badge; they can learn about Being A Money-Grubbing, Bloodsucking Parasite?

  • ftfa (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Wellington Grey (942717) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:38PM (#16521163) Homepage Journal
    The patch shows a film reel, a music CD and the international copyright symbol, a "C" enclosed in a circle. The movie industry has developed the curriculum.

    Shouldn't the boy scouts decide what their badges are? This is like McD's making the health curriculum for a school.

    -Grey [wellingtongrey.net]

  • I need one of those (Score:5, Funny)

    by computational super (740265) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:39PM (#16521185)

    I want to get one of those merit badges for my son, but they cost too much. Does anybody know somewhere I can download one from?

  • Boy Scout Billy goes to the studio (Score:5, Funny)

    by russotto (537200) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:43PM (#16521255) Journal
    Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. So Billy the Boy Scout takes the tour of the movie studio. While he's there, he sees several groups of people. First it's carpenters, putting together a set.

    "Are THOSE the people hurt by piracy?"

    "Oh, no, Billy, the carpenters are paid whether the film sells or not. They aren't the ones hurt by piracy".

    Later they see some writers, smoking cigarettes and muttering under their breath. "Are those the people hurt by piracy"

    "Oh, no, Billy. It's kind of complicated, but we actually don't pay them no matter how well the movie does. It's called 'accounting'"

    Then they pass a group of actors. "How about them, are THEY hurt by piracy?"

    "Oh, no, Billy, they get paid even if the movie flops, no matter how many people pirate it. They're supposed to get extra if it does well, but, well, there's that 'accounting' again"

    Billy then points to a director, sitting in a chair. "Is HE the one hurt by piracy"

    "Well, you're getting a little closer. He's a little better at 'accounting'. But piracy really doesn't hurt him all that much either"

    "Then who IS seriously hurt by piracy?"

    "Well, Billy, it's not normally a part of the tour, but just for you, we'll make a special trip."

    So Billy and the tour guide go to the studio offices. Up, up they go to the very top floor. The guide takes Billy to a large office with a door. "Billy, if you stand right here and look through the door, do you see the man there"

    "Yes"

    "That's one of the vice presidents of the studio. Thanks to piracy, he could only buy 3 Porsches last year instead of 5, and had to cut his cocaine habit in half. He can now only maintain one mistress, and she's in her LATE 20s. This studio alone has 30 executives, and they're all similarly suffering. And THAT'S who is hurt by piracy. NOW do you understand why you mustn't pirate movies?"

    "Loud and clear," said Billy, "Loud and clear". Billy then went home, told his parents he was quitting the Scouts, and asked if they could get a faster Internet connection

  • Me too (Score:5, Funny)

    by jimlintott (317783) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:48PM (#16521325) Homepage
    I have one of those badges.

    I downloaded it.

  • Ok this is just wrong (Score:5, Informative)

    by billsoxs (637329) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:49PM (#16521349) Journal
    This is not standard BSA. FYI: BSA webpage is http://www.scouting.org./ [www.scouting.org] You will not find this 'merit badge' there. In fact, it does not seem to fit into what BSA is trying to do.

    Also for the comment about a merit badge for 'learning how to think'. That is really the whole point of scouting - to give young men the skills they need for adulthood, including thinking.

  • Here is a list of Merit Badges (Score:5, Informative)

    by NutMan (614868) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:51PM (#16521373)
    This article is inaccurate. A Council (local office) of the BSA cannot create their own Merit Badge. This is some local program to educate the Scouts, but whatever award they earn is not "official", and would not help them earn a rank advancement or anything like that.

    Here is a list [meritbadge.com] of the current Merit Badges, along with the requirements to earn each one.

    If you are so inclined, consider volunteering at your local Council as a "Merit Badge Counselor". If you have expertise in a particular area covered by a Merit Badge, you may be a counselor. A scout may not earn a badge unless a counselor verifies that the scout has completed all of the requirements. So if a scout cannot find a counselor for a particular badge, they have no way of earning it.

    For more information, see this training page [usscouts.org], this guide [usscouts.org] and the application form [scouting.org].

    • Re:first its not stealing post (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Scrameustache (459504) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:38PM (#16521155) Homepage Journal
      Its not stealing, since you are not depriving anyone of the thing.
      The editors should be more careful with their phraseology.

      It's straight from the article.
      And more to the point, it's the exact doublespeak that the RIAA wants to drill into these kid's heads, using them to spread their propaganda, astroturf style.

    • Re:As I understand them, (Score:5, Funny)

      by pluther (647209) <pluther.usa@net> on Friday October 20 2006, @03:38PM (#16521171) Homepage
      It isn't for not pirating, it's for actively opposing piracy:

      From TFA:

      Scouts will be instructed in the basics of copyright law and learn how to identify five types of copyrighted works and three ways copyrighted materials may be stolen.

      Scouts also must choose one activity from a list that includes visiting a movie studio to see how many people can be harmed by film piracy. They also can create public service announcements urging others not to steal movies or music.

      Some of this was also quoted in the summary. Now c'mon, we all sometimes respond without reading the article, but to skip the summary??

    • Re:I PLEDGE.... (Score:5, Informative)

      by Conspiracy_Of_Doves (236787) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:41PM (#16521229)
      Communist? Do you even have any idea what communism means? In a communist state, the MPAA wouldn't even be able to exist. The MPAA is about as capitalistic as it is possible to get.

      • Re:I PLEDGE.... (Score:5, Informative)

        by lurker5 (937330) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:52PM (#16521399)
        You needed to grow up in the former USSR to get the joke. The communist party often spread its message through organized youth groups such as pioneers & rewarded those kids with various awards for their political activities.

        • Re:I bet they got a better deal from the RIAA... (Score:5, Insightful)

          by gstoddart (321705) on Friday October 20 2006, @03:48PM (#16521327) Homepage
          I once heard a gay activist emphatically state that almost all child molesters were heterosexual

          I don't have any statistics one way or the other on that. Certainly, I often hear that these people are married and have children. Who is gay or not is up to them. If some people have an agenda whereby they want to define as many people as possible (or as few) as gay, that's their problem.

          My point is, this is not something which is representative of the community any more than the actions of a few priests are representative or Catholics, or the actions of Foley are representative of congress, or that blacks are more likely to commit crimes, or that Hispanics are probably illegal immigrants who are in gangs, or that all Muslims are terrorists, or that all Americans are gun toting fundamentalist rednecks. None of the preceding are fair generalizations to any of those communities.

          You can't go about painting an entire group of people with the same brush. But, this is slashdot, where it's more expedient to do so.

          Cheers

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