Posted by
Hemos
on from the knowing-your-terms dept.
Rolan writes "An article I found today on ABC News Online actually defends hackers and puts into the media the difference. Take a look, it's short, but better than nothing! " It's a good thing to see that the media can actually get things right sometimes. Although I'm sure katz would disagree.
The gent who writes that column is, in my estimation, not only a good writer, but a solid example of a hacker as well. Unlike many, however, he's decided to take the time and explain all of this high-tech stuff to average folks. And he's darn good at it.
If only the rest of the hackers out there felt the same way toward the mainstream media AND the "clueless" masses, you might find that hacker/cracker misconception start to fade.
Of course, that's just my opinion.
BTW, that particular column is at least six months old, if not older.
The news media image of geeks - a response
by
JSC
·
· Score: 5
Here's a copy of a letter that I sent to CBS Morning News. Hope you don't mind but I included a link to the HellMouth thread on Slashdot. I don't really expect it to do any good, but I couldn't let it go without at least an attempt.
--BEGIN--
The news seems to be focusing on the fact that the two Littleton, Colorado killers were "geeks". That they were outsiders. That they were different.
As a teenager, I attended both a junior high and a high school that were very clique-ish. If you weren't a jock or socially active (or a wannabe), you were subject to ostracism and abuse. Jocks felt free to heap ridicule on the geeks and the geeks were powerless to stop it. School administrators chose not to see the problem. Coaches actually encouraged the behavior.
Please understand that, in no way, am I condoning the murders in Littleton. Nor do I consider violence an acceptable response unless you are acting in defense of yourself or your loved ones. What I am trying to point out is that the stereotypical image of geeks was, in a way, the seminal cause of this tragedy. That image is promoted by Hollywood and is currently being reinforced by the news media. That image and the baggage that accompanies it can be the cause for a great deal of pain when you are young and trying to grow and find out who you are.
No, I'm not placing blame for the murders on the media. That responsibility lies solely on the two murderers and their parents. I faced similar problems growing up and, I'm proud to say, overcame them and feel that I am stronger for it. What I am saying is that being labeled a geek or a nerd gives society free reign to shower you with ridicule and abuse. And now, with the Littleton tragedy so fresh in everyone's minds and with the Media reinforcing the image of geeks as "different" or "outsiders" and therefore not to be trusted, the abuse and ostracism can only increase.
I am a geek. I have grown up with that stereotype and the abuse, both physical and emotional, which accompany it. But I am also a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a boss, an employee, thirty-something, brown haired, average build, ticklish, a romantic and many other labels. No single one of these labels defines who I am. Even looking at me through the combined filter of all of these labels won't show you who I am because you are still filtering me through your labels. You're not seeing me as I actually am.
Calling someone a 'Geek' or a 'Nerd' is prejudice. It differs from racial or sexual prejudice only in kind. Anytime you choose to place a label on a person to the exclusion of everything else that person is, it's prejudice. And that is something that we've had far too much of in this country.
With that in mind, I'm asking you to put aside your prejudices. Look at people and try to see who they really are. Don't filter your perception through the labels that society puts on them. As members of the Media, I challenge you to brush off your reputations as unbiased observers and reporters. Look at all sides of this issue...and all the others...and report facts. Report the truth. Ungarnished, unbiased and unfiltered.
Take a look at and report on the Web Site that I've included a link to and report on the other side of the story. Look at your handiwork and see if it's good. Help educate and inform the public. People don't need any help holding on to our personal prejudices and biases. What we need from the Media and from the entertainment industry, is help opening our minds to the wonders and truths that surround us in everyday life. We need help seeing that every person is special and that we should like or dislike them based on their individual merits, not on the labels that they wear, regardless of whether that label reads black, white, rich, poor, Catholic, Protestant, jock or even geek.
What difference does the name make anyway? Even if journalists and the public at large clued in to the definitions of 'hacker' and 'cracker', they'd act the same way. They'll still fear what they don't understand and every time a government machine gets cracked, the feds will panic, the media will panic, and every 'hacker' will be labeled 'cracker' and we'll all be right back were we started. The only difference will be instead of saying 'no, no, hackers don't do that', you'll be saying 'no, no, I'm not a cracker, I'm a hacker'. You'll still be getting the same side-long looks and the same hassles.
sed s/hacker/cracker/g cnn.old > cnn.new
The article will be just a misinformed as it was before. The President will make the same speeches, the media will spread the same FUD and every hacker will have the same hassles as he/she had before.
The message the media and the public at large have to learn is not an english lesson, it's a simple idea...
Technology is not a bad thing.
hackers vs. crackers - media is into easy
by
jackvalko
·
· Score: 2
When I first wrote the hackers vs. crackers article in June of last year (1998), I had no idea that it would generate this much interest almost a year later.
My background is not in journalism but in UNIX and network admin. I too get frusterated when clueless editors use a term that oversimplifies. Case(s) in point: hackers, computer viruses, etc. But that's what the media does. They have to wrap issues into neat, tidy packages and present them to the masses. Otherwise they'll lose their audiences and ratings. It's wrong, yes. Will they ever change? No.
And I'm quite sure that we, the hacker community, are not the only group that has this complaint. Every field has had run-ins with the media. Just peruse the list of corrections in your favorite local rag and you'll see what I mean. Personally, I'm constantly complaining to my editor because he will often edit my articles for "brevity" and lose the meaning in the process. Then the flame mail rolls in. Arg.
The flood of email I've received from/. readers has been great. I'm glad someone is reading the column:) Maybe things will change when computers become so pervasive they won't be a hot story for the tabloid news. Then again, they need all the fodder they can get...
Slashdot Mirror
Posted by Mike@ABC:
The gent who writes that column is, in my estimation, not only a good writer, but a solid example of a hacker as well. Unlike many, however, he's decided to take the time and explain all of this high-tech stuff to average folks. And he's darn good at it.
If only the rest of the hackers out there felt the same way toward the mainstream media AND the "clueless" masses, you might find that hacker/cracker misconception start to fade.
Of course, that's just my opinion.
BTW, that particular column is at least six months old, if not older.
Here's a copy of a letter that I sent to CBS Morning News. Hope you don't mind but I included a link to the HellMouth thread on Slashdot. I don't really expect it to do any good, but I couldn't let it go without at least an attempt.
8 249&mode=nocomment&threshold=0
--BEGIN--
The news seems to be focusing on the fact that the two Littleton, Colorado killers were "geeks". That they were outsiders. That they were different.
As a teenager, I attended both a junior high and a high school that were very clique-ish. If you weren't a jock or socially active (or a wannabe), you were subject to ostracism and abuse. Jocks felt free to heap ridicule on the geeks and the geeks were powerless to stop it. School administrators chose not to see the problem. Coaches actually encouraged the behavior.
Please understand that, in no way, am I condoning the murders in Littleton. Nor do I consider violence an acceptable response unless you are acting in defense of yourself or your loved ones. What I am trying to point out is that the stereotypical image of geeks was, in a way, the seminal cause of this tragedy. That image is promoted by Hollywood and is currently being reinforced by the news media. That image and the baggage that accompanies it can be the cause for a great deal of pain when you are young and trying to grow and find out who you are.
No, I'm not placing blame for the murders on the media. That responsibility lies solely on the two murderers and their parents. I faced similar problems growing up and, I'm proud to say, overcame them and feel that I am stronger for it. What I am saying is that being labeled a geek or a nerd gives society free reign to shower you with ridicule and abuse. And now, with the Littleton tragedy so fresh in everyone's minds and with the Media reinforcing the image of geeks as "different" or "outsiders" and therefore not to be trusted, the abuse and ostracism can only increase.
I am a geek. I have grown up with that stereotype and the abuse, both physical and emotional, which accompany it. But I am also a husband, a father, a son, a brother, a boss, an employee, thirty-something, brown haired, average build, ticklish, a romantic and many other labels. No single one of these labels defines who I am. Even looking at me through the combined filter of all of these labels won't show you who I am because you are still filtering me through your labels. You're not seeing me as I actually am.
Calling someone a 'Geek' or a 'Nerd' is prejudice. It differs from racial or sexual prejudice only in kind. Anytime you choose to place a label on a person to the exclusion of everything else that person is, it's prejudice. And that is something that we've had far too much of in this country.
With that in mind, I'm asking you to put aside your prejudices. Look at people and try to see who they really are. Don't filter your perception through the labels that society puts on them. As members of the Media, I challenge you to brush off your reputations as unbiased observers and reporters. Look at all sides of this issue...and all the others...and report facts. Report the truth. Ungarnished, unbiased and unfiltered.
Take a look at and report on the Web Site that I've included a link to and report on the other side of the story. Look at your handiwork and see if it's good. Help educate and inform the public. People don't need any help holding on to our personal prejudices and biases. What we need from the Media and from the entertainment industry, is help opening our minds to the wonders and truths that surround us in everyday life. We need help seeing that every person is special and that we should like or dislike them based on their individual merits, not on the labels that they wear, regardless of whether that label reads black, white, rich, poor, Catholic, Protestant, jock or even geek.
Sincerely,
John S. Coxen
http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=99/04/25/143
--END--
Time's fun when you're having flies. - Kermit the Frog
What difference does the name make anyway? Even if journalists and the public at large clued in to the definitions of 'hacker' and 'cracker', they'd act the same way. They'll still fear what they don't understand and every time a government machine gets cracked, the feds will panic, the media will panic, and every 'hacker' will be labeled 'cracker' and we'll all be right back were we started. The only difference will be instead of saying 'no, no, hackers don't do that', you'll be saying 'no, no, I'm not a cracker, I'm a hacker'. You'll still be getting the same side-long looks and the same hassles.
sed s/hacker/cracker/g cnn.old > cnn.new
The article will be just a misinformed as it was before. The President will make the same speeches, the media will spread the same FUD and every hacker will have the same hassles as he/she had before.
The message the media and the public at large have to learn is not an english lesson, it's a simple idea...
Technology is not a bad thing.
When I first wrote the hackers vs. crackers article in June of last year (1998), I had no idea that it would generate this much interest almost a year later.
/. readers has been great. I'm glad someone is reading the column :) Maybe things will change when computers become so pervasive they won't be a hot story for the tabloid news. Then again, they need all the fodder they can get ...
My background is not in journalism but in UNIX and network admin. I too get frusterated when clueless editors use a term that oversimplifies. Case(s) in point: hackers, computer viruses, etc.
But that's what the media does. They have to wrap issues into neat, tidy packages and present them to the masses. Otherwise they'll lose their audiences and ratings. It's wrong, yes. Will they ever change? No.
And I'm quite sure that we, the hacker community, are not the only group that has this complaint. Every field has had run-ins with the media. Just peruse the list of corrections in your favorite local rag and you'll see what I mean. Personally, I'm constantly complaining to my editor because he will often edit my articles for "brevity" and lose the meaning in the process. Then the flame mail rolls in. Arg.
The flood of email I've received from
Jack Valko
aka The Answer Geek