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There is an awful lot of discussion back and forth about the finding against
MS and what this is likely to mean, or should mean. A lot of it boils down
to hate without reason.
Hate is an emotion, and as such is unreasoned. In fact it blinds one to reasoning
-- just look at the "argumentation" of those who hate and rant. It also binds
the person who hates just as tightly to the object as love does. If I merely
dislike someone or something, no matter how much, I can still walk
away and focus on other things. By contrast, if I hate, this person
or thing will always be with me, never out my mind for a second, poisoning
everything else in my life. Never underestimate the tackiness of
hate, in both senses of the word.
In this country (Sweden), one of the favorite hobbies is verbally bashing
the state, the monopolies, or of late the almost-monopolies -- notably Post
Office and telco. This does not mean to say that there are not a lot of negative
things that can be said, all true, but the criticism is not of that quality
or that specific. Instead it focuses on perceived maliciousness coupled with
incompetence, which perversely always works to the individual's disadvantage,
so it is claimed. My own experience is more varied than that -- incompetence
is a two-faced and even-handed bludgeon; it clobbers equally well in both
directions. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, most often everyone loses.
Sometimes they actually get things right! Rarely do you see outright
maliciousness... More commonly, you see people beyond their level of competence
trying (defensively) to apply the letter of their understanding of the rules
and regulations, with unfortunate consequences for everyone.
It is a classic truism (see the ancient Greeks), that power breeds arrogance,
and arrogance is a bad thing in any position. It is also, ultimately,
self-destructive with a vengeance -- hubris does indeed lead to
a fall. While there is no lack of indications, specific or anecdotal, that
MS as a company has shown arrogance. We are also generally agreed that MS
products show a deplorable mixture of the innovative and the inane, the polished
and the unfinished, the clever and the crippled. In short, they drive us
to distraction and desperation. This is in itself not criminal, and the laws
of nature (and the marketplace) do in the long run redress the balance, just
as it does for stupidity and other less survivalistic traits.
We the customers and users must take our chances with available products,
but firmly exercise our power of choice whenever possible. This provides
the fastest and most accurate form of corrective force. This does not mean
that we will necessarily get exactly what we want, or that the world will
conform to our expectations. But we will be a damn sight happier and better
off for trying.
Regulation is a curious thing... this faceless "we are doing this for your
own good and for the greater good of all". It is a massive conservative force,
delaying but never able to negate the final reckoning -- and when that reckoning
comes, the change is all the more drastic and destructive for its pent-up
energy.
I don't fully understand this pathological American penchant for lawsuits,
except as an institutionalized and accepted way of "blaming someone else"
for one's troubles. (In Europe we have other, equally institutionalized ways
of laying blame, but sadly much less lucrative.) The blatant going after
money by suing companies is easier to grasp, the more so when clearly it
is mostly the class-action lawyers who gain, not those represented.
It's a shame you cannot sue government with more success...
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Hi,
welcome to this week's journal. The update-link
(above) points to where I last added some text, which should simplify your
keeping up to speed. Of course, this assumes I remember to move it, and you
may still have to scroll back a bit and see if I've updated more than once
since you last visited, but that is easily done.
LeufNet
.
Open yours now!
