__aagmrb7289's Journal: Shades of Grey - Is Any Entity "Evil"?

I've noticed a really disturbing tendency among /.'ers, some of whom are my friends - once we've painted an organization as evil, everything that organization does is represented as evil. This usually results in that person lying about said organization. And, of course, that is evil.

Companies that are the "boogie-men" of /., such as Microsoft, SCO and the RIAA can "do no right", to turn an old phrase. I'm very concerned by this perspective - mostly because it lessens our credibility as a whole. I'm not arguing that these organizations don't do evil things - or even that their actions, as a whole, aren't mostly evil. I am saying, however, that not all of their actions are going to ALWAYS be evil or wrong. And when they do something right, they should be encouraged, not slandered.

Look at it this way - you, personally, you, the one reading this speil, have done many things that are wrong and evil in your life. So does that mean that you are evil and wrong? Does that mean I (and everyone else) should ignore you, since you are obviously evil and wrong? That's a simple answer, isn't it? For those of you who think that you have never done anything evil or wrong, or who think that they should be ignored, please go commit suicide or something - you don't ever want to meet me. You aren't evil and wrong - but you are dangerous and insane. I'll gladly take the opportunity to put you down like the sick animal you are.

So, what is my point? Judge an organization's actions on a case by case basis - it's the old saw - "It is the actions that are evil, not the organization.", and "Hate the sin, not the sinner." Give it a try - you might gain some credibility

Thanks!

Individual vs. corporation

[kemorgan]

I agree that as a community, we need to encourage and hold each other accountable, and that includes big corporations.

But I don't think personal actions can be weighted equally with corporate actions. Since a corporation is composed of many people, they should collectively be able make better decisions than would a single person. Therefore, corporations should be held against higher standards than an individual.

Re:Individual vs. corporation

[__aagmrb7289]

I do agree that corporations should be held against higher standards than an individual, but I don't agree with the idea that a corporation should be able to make a better decision than a person - I don't know how involved you've been in making decisions in a corporation, but the reality is, one or two people make the decisions, usually a higher level executive (at least decisions that we see in the marketplace). There are no corporations that I am aware of that are truly run as a committee, and even if th