free speech?

It's been interesting to see just how many people are being vocal against the SOPA/PIPA bills due to today's big blackout. I've signed the petition, I've shared the petition on my Twitter, and I've blacked out my Tumblr.

And I can't stop thinking about the potential ramifications of these bills passing. I understand the point is to curb online piracy. That would be fine - if you could determine a clear threshold for piracy/copyright infringement. And since many of the people who hold the power don't hold much of the intelligence, it's a quick downward spiral. Anyone could be shut down for posting anything not easily proved as original thought. And who posts only original thoughts? Copyrighted content is everywhere, and it's impossible not to share. No more posting song lyrics in a blog post. No more posting a photo you love, but didn't take. No more sharing brand names. No more uploading concert videos of songs you didn't write or perform. Hell, you wouldn't even be able to make "the Egg McMuffin of" jokes. Yet, the sharing of copyrighted content can be beneficial. It can boost sales, because you were able to check something out online. It can help you stay in the loop. That sharing is the reason for so many online outlets.

Humans, by nature, share. And there's a difference between sharing and stealing - but do you honestly trust these people to know and respect that difference?

I find it funny that the MPAA, one of the organizations behind these bills, is calling today's blackout a dangerous gimmick, that it will hurt the websites' own users. Oh, will it? Because if your bill passes, it will hurt users even more, and for a longer amount of time. Yes, we can live without Wikipedia for 24 hours. It will hinder a lot of people. But even moreso, these bills will hinder a lot more people. These websites aren't doing this as a gimmick. They're doing it to make everyone realize just what these bills have the power to do.

And I find it even funnier that the MPAA is behind this - trying to hinder the sharing of copyrighted material, leaving everyone to only original thoughts, when it seems that the movie industry can't come up with original films anymore, and rely on remaking old movies. Isn't that ironic?