From the daily archives:

Friday, March 24, 2006

Pointing and Contextualizing

by Frank Paynter on March 24, 2006

Ethan Zuckerman blogs about the future of advocacy. He demonstrates a shift from programmatic "representation" to the "pointing and contextualizing" of the blog world. This amplifies an important lesson regarding "tolerance." Just as it is embarassingly presumptuous to emphasize "tolerance" as a value (who am I to presume to tolerate you!?), so also is the tendency idealistically to adopt-a-cause and represent the less fortunate who come along with the ideal.

Ethan quotes Martin Kimani,

[A benefit show's organizers] will lay claim to the very last thing so many Africans own: our problems. And it will be terrible and evil beyond imagining for owning your problem is at the heart of what it is to be human. It is when we wrestle and suffer and triumph over our problems that we are most human, but this alas is not to be if the soul stealers on show succeed. I do not want anyone to suffer needlessly. I would prefer everyone to live in a democratic, prosperous community that knows no war or want. But these are conditions that must be battled and struggled for; they have never arrived as a gift from a stranger.

It’s a far cry from representing others to representing ourselves, and the smug sanctimonious bullshit that can accompany our charitable impulses often dehumanizes, depersonalizes and neutralizes the best intentions. How much better it is to support another’s representation of herself by pointing to it and providing context.

(cross posted at NetSquared)

Technorati Tags: Global Voices,freehaowu,ethan_zuckerman

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Network Neutrality

by Frank Paynter on March 24, 2006

Four freedoms, four freedoms, and an FCC order.

To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet , consumers are entitled to access the lawful Internet content of their choice.

To encourage broadband de ployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet , consumers are entitled to run applications and use services of their choice, subject to the needs of law enforcement.

To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to connect their choice of legal devices that do not harm the network.

To encourage broadband deployment and preserve and promote the open and interconnected nature of the public Internet, consumers are entitled to competition among network providers, application and service providers, and content providers.

What does Internet mean?

What is "Lawful Content?"

CALEA, Carnivore, and the needs of law enforcement.

Customer Premises Equipment…

Competition

Thanks to Cybertelecom for putting all this information and so very much more at our fingertips!