A Civil Disobedience Thought

It has occurred to me lately how we tend to triage our civil disobedience, if we choose to do so. I know I may sound like I have lost my mind, but there is a thought behind this. Basically, when we decide to disobey a law or cultural custom, we do so by weighing the consequences of those actions. That may have been something I have learned as I have grown older, but I have always been a person who has thought out most decisions, almost to a fault.

An example that comes to mind is a classic that all of us have encountered. This is when you find yourself at a red light in the middle of the night, not a person in sight for blocks. Some of us wait for it to turn green, others will disobey the stupidity of the situation and just go.

A real world example of this is one that I have argued with my friends and family. This concerns using unprotected wireless Internet from neighboring individuals. Some view this as “stealing,” while others think it is perfectly acceptable. I find myself being one who does not see it as doing anything wrong. If I were to broadcast an unencrypted, unprotected signal into surrounding houses, I would expect for those who could to utilize it.

I know that the person who owns a certain wireless router that broadcasts into a neighborhood I know probably does not have selfless intentions and is giving his or her access away to benefit everyone. It is probably someone with a laptop who does not want to have to be tied to one specific location and just opened the box and plugged it in. This practice is very common and has likely been the cause of much grief for many people.

As I look at this unsecured connection, I think about all the things that probably go on over this network. Banking, e-mail, web browsing and other things that could potentially expose this individual to embarrassment or liability. I have not used this network, but I am sure others have. If not neighbors, probably wardrivers. I would be more than willing to help this person secure their network, but I wonder the best way to bring this to this individual's attention.

Most people who use this free Internet access probably don't think of it as civil disobedience. Or maybe they do. For me, in this era of secret laws, sneak and peek warrants, and torture, it's just not worth risking that to get a little free Internet.