Date: Thu, 10 Sep 1998 09:33:28 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Re: AUT: PENTAGON CONTACTS NEW YORK UNIVERSITY RE ECD PAGE


Doug: YOur reaction is one shared by quite a few people in Accion
Zapatista, more or less. As a contribution to a collective response to
the debate about ECN I wrote some stuff up which is still largely personal
and not yet collective, but I'll share it with you. Basically the argument
is that ECD in the form of "netstrikes" or simultaneneous log-ins to a web
site with the aim of momentarily blocking it, is a form of civil
disobedience protest --like a momentary blocking of a draft center, 60s
style and because t's possible to know how many people participate so if
the number is significant, i.e., thousands or millions around the world,
then such an action has significance as an expression of outrage/protest,
etc. As Stefan's current encounter with the state suggests, it's probably
illegal --like blocking the doors of a draft center-- and its
practitioners subject to legal sanction. Personally, I have never been
into such activities but many have and there is a tradition of this type
of protest in other spacial areas. Your concern about repression is well
warranted, but also to be expected in response to ANY kind of civil
disobedience. Many choose to act anyway. 

As for the personalities involved (computer geeks?) my guess is that given
the numbers there are lots of different kinds of people with different
motivations, some might be described by you caracturization, some not.
Anway, here are a few paragraphs that were written in response to Stefan
and Ricardo's actions earlier this year.