Translated to English by Donatas Pocius.
After I have written about the powers which have their own interests to push ACTA, there were a lot of talks, but only in the comment no. 130-something (that was article in Lithuanian, published in another my blog) one person finally named what position I represent. Yes, some kind of ideological pirate visited my blog and immediately recognised the enemy. Recognised in the way that people recognise ideological enemies – those with whom there is nothing to negotiate about. Such enemies, about whom it is said that there are us and there are them.
Yes, I am an author. Yes, if I would try to count how much money I have made during my lifetime only from writing (probably my third most important activity), the resulting sums would be very substantial (some of my younger readers might have not earned this much during their lifetimes). Yes, I am interested in taking money from readers, because I know I can earn from what I create. Yes, for very pragmatic and mercantilist reasons I am an anti-pirate and the apologist of authors’ rights. And so on. I do not deny this. It is true.
Even their symbols are entirely different. Masks. Who would have thought 20 years ago that the new political power would fight not for economic rights, not for something understandable, but for abstract freedom of information? And that the masks would become the symbols of the political movement? Truth be said, most of the people even now fail to identify them as a political power. In this photo: protests in Vilnius against ACTA and censorship, February 11, 2012.
It is strange that a couple of days have passed, there were huge discussions where I was being attacked by the defenders of allegedly my (or other authors’) rights, and the whole deal was cracked by a real, ideological pirate. Maybe it is even a sign. I belong to the old generation. To those who have to disappear from the internets. And those who are replacing us – we cannot understand them, they are entirely different from us, we cannot even perceive their thinking. But they recognise us. Such as myself or as those guys who so resented me and argued without even understanding what is really going on. It is just that people such as myself or those other anti-pirates already do not understand how the world has changed.
By the way, in that other article I proposed to the anti-pirates speaking particular nonsense to pay for reading my article. And I did so very honestly: they could read, they could evaluate, and then decide whether they want it or not. I did not propose to buy a pig in a poke, as those to legally go to cinemas have to. For some reason none of the anti-pirates were interested, but I do not think this is because of entirely pure hypocrisy. It is much more likely that they simply do not believe in that idea of payment themselves, thinking it is futile. Maybe, in their point of view, even the attempt to show that there is at least one honest fighter for authors’ rights would not pay off.
But I do not want to talk about them, I want to talk about the changes. Because as unpleasant as it is to accept this, I am also an anti-pirate. An anti-pirate, because I am trying to find a way to save the currently existing system of authors’ rights. That system, which is not needed by the new generation. That system, which, let us be honest, is simply collapsing.
(continue reading…)
After mass protests in Vilnius, Kaunas and Klaipėda, and after thousands of people sent mails, and text messages (SMS) to Lithuanian ministers, we have won a small victory – Lithuanian Government steps away from ACTA. This is the very first step: a battle is won, but war is still going.
