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Staff Editorial: Many students unable to define Internet piracy

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Written by Staff Editorial

We seem to think that if we can’t see the effects of our actions that those effects do not exist. It’s the same “If I can’t see you, then you can’t see me” mentality that we used when we were kids playing hide and seek.

When we have some sort of connection to the people our actions affect, we are more likely to let our consciences play a part in our decision-making. Most of us would hesitate to steal from a friend, but so many people don’t think twice about Internet piracy because it doesn’t seem to affect anyone that is in their proximity.

But the truth is it doesn’t matter how far away we are from the people that we are literally stealing from; it’s still wrong. The childhood mantra of “ignorance is bliss” is no longer applicable when we start dealing with people’s property, either physical or intellectual.

We could try to justify our stealing of songs, movies and other types of intellectual property by saying that the famous artists don’t need the money and are already rich anyway without our measly 99 cents or $1.29, but that does not take away from the wrongness of the action. Stealing is stealing, whether we decide the owner needs to make any more money or not.

Of course, not everyone realizes that taking songs, movies, photos and more without paying for them is actually stealing. Although we know that’s what it’s called when we shoplift a CD or DVD, for some reason we think it’s OK to rip it off the Internet. Maybe it’s because we don’t have to avoid cameras or stuff something underneath our jackets when you press the Free Download button. Or maybe it’s because, sadly, everyone else does it.

One of the students interviewed by the Wingspan staff said that Internet piracy is online rape. If we don’t have a clue what it really is, it’s almost no wonder that we do it without a moment’s hesitation. But we really should because by stealing intellectual property we are labeling thought and creativity as worthless.