[extropy-chat] the non-transparent society

[Charlie Stross]

The Avantguardian wrote:
> 
> Agreed its not nice behavior but the very videos that they are
> outlawing are the evidence that could get the happy-slappers, who are
> apparently mostly teenagers, convicted. Crime is crime whether it is
> recorded or not. Outlawing the recording makes little sense from a 
> "law'n'order" perspective and seems irrational enough to make you
> wonder what the true purpose of the law really is.

I'm not sure you're clear on the point; "happy slapping" is the practice
of recording one of your friends assaulting a random stranger. Making
the recording and passing it around your delinquent friends is the whole
point of it: the recording is the motive for the assault. Without the
intention of creating the record, the assault almost certainly wouldn't
take place. *That's* what they're trying to outlaw (and missed by a
mile, because it's a distinction that a lot of people don't get): they
need some wording along the lines of "... it is an offense to make a
recording of an act of violence when the act of violence is carried out
for the purpose of being recorded". Or maybe they should just use some
variation on conspiracy to make the camera-wielder an accomplice in the
assault if they incited it.


-- Charlie